UNC’s defense limited Western Illinois to just 17 made shots in 40 minutes as the No. 4 seeded Tar Heels defeated the No. 13 Leathernecks 82-51 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday in Carmichael Arena. It’s Carolina’s fifth consecutive win in the tournament’s Round of 64 under head coach Courtney Banghart.
Lanie Grant, Nyla Harris, Indya Nivar and Nyla Brooks combined for 57 of UNC’s 82 points. Carolina won comfortably despite struggling on three-point attempts; UNC shot just 10-40 (25.0 percent) from deep after finishing the season as the ACC’s leading three-point shooting team. The Tar Heels were much more efficient on two-pointers, shooting 20-29 (68.9 percent). Harris recorded her sixth double-double of the season, combining her 17 points with a game-high 12 rebounds.
For Western Illinois, leading scorer Mia Nicastro scored 21 points but was limited in her efficiency. Nicastro, who entered the day as the NCAA’s fourth leading scorer at better than 24 points per game, shot 6-15 from the field.
Carolina controlled the paint, outrebounding the Leathernecks 47-32 and scoring 38 paint points to Western Illinois’ 10. UNC also scored 16 second-chance points compared to the Leathernecks’ five. The Tar Heel defense also limited Western Illinois’ outside shooting, as the Leathernecks made just two three-pointers on the day. It’s the sixth time this season UNC has limited a team to two or fewer three-point makes.
The Tar Heels led 38-24 at halftime, then blew the game open by outscoring Western Illinois 17-3 in the first 6:40 of the second half. Grant and Aarnisalo each made threes during the run.
With Friday’s win, Carolina is now 25-1 in NCAA Tournament games played in Chapel Hill. Up next, the Tar Heels will face No. 5 seed Maryland, which defeated No. 12 Murray State in the day’s first game in Chapel Hill, Sunday. The winner of that game will advance to the Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, TX.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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