Friday, November 15
Chapel Hill, N.C.
5 PM
North Carolina
3-0,0-0ACC
85
vs
54
Charleston Southern
0-3,0-0Big South
1
2
3
4
F
Charleston So.
8
17
13
16
54
North Carolina
28
23
16
18
85
Freshman Malu Tshitenge logged a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds against Charleston Southern.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tar Heels Rain Threes To Improve To 3-0
November 15, 2019 | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – With five players in double figures and a record-tying barrage of three-pointers, the North Carolina women's basketball team beat visiting Charleston Southern 85-54 Friday at Carmichael Arena. The win boosted the Tar Heels to 3-0 on the season, while the Buccaneers fell to 0-3.
UNC hit 14 three-pointers to once again match an oft-equaled school record. The Tar Heels have now reached that mark on eight occasions, but have never surpassed it.
Senior Taylor Koenen led all scorers with 16 points, including four of the Tar Heels' threes. Freshman Malu Tshitenge was right behind with 15 points and 16 rebounds for her first double-double as a Tar Heel. Senior Madinah Muhammad had 14 points to go with five rebounds and five assists, all career bests. Junior Janelle Bailey had 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Junior Leah Church came off the bench to score 10 points, including three three-pointers.
Senior guard Shayla Bennett had an unlikely double-double with 10 rebounds (a career high) and 10 assists (equal to her career high).
"I thought there were moments of good things," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We only took about 10 threes against Navy because their zone was more extended. These guys really packed it in, tried to take away our inside game, so we had to share it and shoot it. We did that.
"We can play with better energy on the defensive end, and we will. But to have five in double-figures, to have two double-doubles, to have Shayla Bennett come outside of herself and celebrate others in such an aggressive way was really fun to see."
The game got off to an unusual start as Charleston Southern was assessed a technical foul for not turning in its lineup by the pregame deadline. Koenen stepped up and hit two free throws to begin the action on a quiet note, and the Tar Heels steadily pulled away after that, leading 28-8 after the first quarter.
The Buccaneers got rolling in the second quarter, hitting eight of 11 attempts (72.7 percent), but still couldn't keep pace with UNC. Carolina capped the second quarter with a three-pointer by Bennett, assisted by Bailey, that was the team's 10th of the game and put the Tar Heels up 51-25.
UNC continued to pull away down the stretch, hitting threes and also pounding the ball inside. Tshitenge scored the team's last three buckets of the game, adding six points to her total in the final 4:21.
"The first two games, they had a tough time taking away our inside game," Banghart said. "We're happy to hammer if we need to, or play with our width if we need to. I told them the sign of a good team is that you can play in a variety of ways based on your opponent. It was a different way to play, and so I think that made people a little bit uncomfortable at times. But what matters is that we showed our versatility and we're 3-0."
The Tar Heels have a week before they play again. They host Elon next Friday (Nov. 22) at Carmichael for a 6 p.m. game.
UNC hit 14 three-pointers to once again match an oft-equaled school record. The Tar Heels have now reached that mark on eight occasions, but have never surpassed it.
Senior Taylor Koenen led all scorers with 16 points, including four of the Tar Heels' threes. Freshman Malu Tshitenge was right behind with 15 points and 16 rebounds for her first double-double as a Tar Heel. Senior Madinah Muhammad had 14 points to go with five rebounds and five assists, all career bests. Junior Janelle Bailey had 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Junior Leah Church came off the bench to score 10 points, including three three-pointers.
Senior guard Shayla Bennett had an unlikely double-double with 10 rebounds (a career high) and 10 assists (equal to her career high).
"I thought there were moments of good things," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We only took about 10 threes against Navy because their zone was more extended. These guys really packed it in, tried to take away our inside game, so we had to share it and shoot it. We did that.
"We can play with better energy on the defensive end, and we will. But to have five in double-figures, to have two double-doubles, to have Shayla Bennett come outside of herself and celebrate others in such an aggressive way was really fun to see."
The game got off to an unusual start as Charleston Southern was assessed a technical foul for not turning in its lineup by the pregame deadline. Koenen stepped up and hit two free throws to begin the action on a quiet note, and the Tar Heels steadily pulled away after that, leading 28-8 after the first quarter.
The Buccaneers got rolling in the second quarter, hitting eight of 11 attempts (72.7 percent), but still couldn't keep pace with UNC. Carolina capped the second quarter with a three-pointer by Bennett, assisted by Bailey, that was the team's 10th of the game and put the Tar Heels up 51-25.
UNC continued to pull away down the stretch, hitting threes and also pounding the ball inside. Tshitenge scored the team's last three buckets of the game, adding six points to her total in the final 4:21.
"The first two games, they had a tough time taking away our inside game," Banghart said. "We're happy to hammer if we need to, or play with our width if we need to. I told them the sign of a good team is that you can play in a variety of ways based on your opponent. It was a different way to play, and so I think that made people a little bit uncomfortable at times. But what matters is that we showed our versatility and we're 3-0."
The Tar Heels have a week before they play again. They host Elon next Friday (Nov. 22) at Carmichael for a 6 p.m. game.
Team Stats
ChaSou
UNC
FG%
.356
.370
3FG%
.273
.318
FT%
.600
.579
RB
36
57
TO
15
8
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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