UNC Opens With UCLA At Paradise Jam

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands - The Tar Heels will spend the Thanksgiving week participating in the Paradise Jam on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. Carolina will face UCLA on Thursday at 3 p.m., No. 17 USF on Friday at 3 p.m. and Kentucky on Saturday at 1 p.m. All times listed are Eastern Time.

WHERE TO WATCH
Fans can watch a live stream of all three games through FloHoops.com. You must purchase a subscription to watch any of the games streamed at the Paradise Jam.

TUNE IN
Catch the Tar Heel Sports Network call with Matt Krause on GoHeels.com, the GoHeels app, as well as TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app (search "Tar Heel Sports Network").

SERIES HISTORY
UCLA: Carolina leads 5-4. A home-and-home series was played between these two collegiate powers as recently as the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. UNC won both games, the first in Los Angeles, 78-68 in November 2013, and the following November in Chapel Hill, 84-68.

USF: Tied 1-1. These same two teams met just two years ago at the Junkanoo Jam in Bimini, Bahamas. Behind 34 points from Kitija Laksa, the Bulls won in impressive fashion, 83-55 on Nov. 24, 2016. Now a senior, Laksa was off to a phenomenal final season at USF before suffering a season-ending knee injury last week in a victory over Bethune-Cookman. Paris Kea led UNC with 20 points in the loss.

Kentucky: Carolina leads 5-0. The perfect 5-0 record against the Wildcats is tied alongside Illinois as the best record for the Tar Heels against a fellow Power 5 program. The most recent matchup came in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M. Italee Lucas scored 22 points and Jessica Breland added 18 for the fifth-seeded Tar Heels.

LAST TIME OUT
A combined 49 points from Annika Jank and Kennedy Leonard lifted Colorado to an 86-74 victory over the North Carolina women's basketball team on Sunday from the CU Events Center. Janelle Bailey led North Carolina with a season-high 26 points, her sixth career game with 20 or more points. Bailey also hauled in 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Shayla Bennett had 18 points.

Carolina led 11-1, but followed its strong start with a poor shooting stretch that allowed Colorado to take a 26-19 lead at the first intermission. A season-high 11 three-pointers saw the Buffaloes lead grow to double figures most of the second half. The Tar Heels were making their first trip west of the Mississippi River since visiting Oklahoma State in 2015.

TAR HEEL TIDBITS
• Coach Hatchell is four wins shy of setting the record for most wins at an ACC school (Currently held by Debbie Ryan, Virginia, 739).
• Janelle Bailey leads Carolina in scoring (17.5) and rebounding (9.3) through four games. She has been even better the last two, averaging 22.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per outing.
• Senior Paris Kea's registry of pre-season watch lists includes the John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Wade Trophy, all national player of the year awards. Kea is also on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch list for the nation's top point guard.
• Carolin leads the ACC with a +5.3 turnover ratio.
• Stephanie Watts is 56 points from 1,000 and 48 rebounds away from 500.
• Paris Kea is three points shy of 1,200 at Carolina
• Taylor Koenen is six points from 500 career points

NEXT UP
Carolina visits Ohio State in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Janelle Bailey

Shayla Bennett

Paris Kea

Taylor Koenen

Stephanie Watts