Carolina Visits Elon Tuesday In Season Opener

    North Carolina visits Elon on Tuesday in the opening game of the 2018-19 campaign from the brand-new Schar Center on the campus of Elon University in Elon, N.C. The matchup pits UNC head coach Sylvia Hatchell against her former student-athlete and current Phoenix head coach Charlotte Smith, who played at Carolina from 1992-95 and hit the game-winning shot in the 1994 NCAA National Championship game.
   This is the third such meeting between Hatchell and Smith. The Tar Heels won 85-67 during the 2014-15 season in Myrtle Beach and earned a 78-73 victory in Chapel Hill during the 2016-17 campaign.
   The Tar Heels begin a season on the road for the first time since 2000-01 at Buffalo on Nov. 17, 2000.
   Carolina is 38-6 all-time in season-opening games, but has lost two of the last three years to begin a season.

GAME INFORMATION
North Carolina (0-0) at Elon (0-0)
Elon, North Carolina
Schar Center
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018
Tip: 7 p.m.

WHERE TO WATCH
Fans can watch the game on Phoenix All-Access, located on the elonphoenix.com home page. A link is also included within this article and on the women's basketball schedule page of GoHeels.com

TUNE IN
The radio broadcast with Matt Krause available worldwide on GoHeels.com, and also on the TuneIn app.

SERIES HISTORY
North Carolina leads 9-1. The Tar Heels have won eight in a row over the Phoenix in the series.

FAST BREAK POINTS
• UNC is receiving votes in the Preseason USA Today Sports Coaches' poll.
• Paris Kea, the lone senior on the roster, returns after earning first team All-ACC honors one season ago. Kea is listed on the Nancy Lieberman Award watch list this season, the annual award given to the top point guard in the country. She is also a Preseason Third Team All-America selection by Street & Smith's and is on the Preaseason All-ACC team.
• Sophomore Janelle Bailey, the 2018 ACC Freshman of the Year, is also on the Preseason All-ACC team and the Lisa Leslie Award watch list for the best center in the nation.
• Junior Taylor Koenen and sophomore Jaelynn Murray are also starters back for the Tar Heels. Koenen started all 31 games, while Murray started all but two games in 2017-18.
• Coach Hatchell is seven wins shy of setting the record for most wins at an ACC school (Currently held by Debbie Ryan, Virginia, 739)
• Paris Kea owns the highest scoring average in program history (18.3 ppg). She was a first team All-ACC selection in 2017-18 after averaging 19.4 points, the third highest total in the league last season.
• Stephanie Watts and Destinee Walker, who both missed the entire 2017-18 season due to knee injuries, return for the Tar Heels. Watts was the 2016 ACC Rookie of the Year and owns career averages of 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Walker was an ACC All-Freshman selection in 2016 that has contributed 13.3 points per game in her career.
• Newcomer guard Shayla Bennett was the 2018 WBCA Two-Year College Player of the Year that averaged 20.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Florida. Led Gulf Coast State to the 2017 NJCAA national title, scoring 21 points in the national-title game.
• Freshman guard Claudia Dickey is playing both soccer and basketball for North Carolina. She is a goalkeeper for the nationally-ranked women's soccer team and will join the basketball team once the soccer season has come to an end.
• Leah Church helped lead Team USA to an undefeated record at the inaugural FISU America Games, held July 2018 in Brazil. Team USA knocked off host Brazil to claim the gold medal.

NEXT UP
The Tar Heels return home to Carmichael Arena for the next two games of the season, hosting Kent State on Friday at 6 p.m. and VCU on Nov. 14 at 11 a.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Janelle Bailey

Shayla Bennett

Leah Church

Claudia Dickey

Paris Kea

Taylor Koenen

Jaelynn Murray

Destinee Walker

Stephanie Watts