UNC women roll to big win after morning tipoff

For the third time in three games, the No. 13 Tar Heels earned a win. Six players in double figures, UNC beat visiting South Carolina State 93-25 to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Carolina welcomed more than 1,000 school kids to Carmichael for the team’s Field Trip Day, which featured an 11 a.m. tipoff in order to work with the school day schedule. Despite the earlier-than-usual start, the Tar Heels were ready to go, rolling out to a 6-0 advantage and eventually leading 32-1 at the end of the first quarter. UNC shot 61.9 percent in the first period, with junior Anya Poole leading the way with her eight points (3-3 from the field, 2-2 from the line) and four rebounds.

Giving up just one point in the first quarter set a school record, and the Tar Heels limited the Bulldogs to single digits in three of four quarters. The 68-point final was Carolina’s second-largest margin of victory in fourth-year head coach Courtney Banghart’s UNC tenure.

Sophomore Destiny Adams, making her first start as a Tar Heel, led the way with a career-high 23 points on 10-14 shooting. Her total was more than double her previous scoring high (10) and she also had a career-high eight rebounds.

In just 21 minutes of play, junior Alyssa Ustby had 14 points and 10 boards, her second double-double in this season’s three games.

Redshirt freshman Teonni Key, making her collegiate debut after missing last season with an injury, finished with 13 points, which also happens to be her jersey number. Key, who was ranked ninth in her recruiting class and was named to the ACC Newcomer Watch list in 2021 before being injured, played just over 18 minutes and also had seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Poole finished with 11 points and nine boards.

Senior Eva Hodgson also hit double figures with 10 points and handed out a team-best eight assists, her high as a Tar Heel.

UNC now plays four in a row away from home. First up is a road game at James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va., on Sunday.