University of North Carolina Athletics
Thursday, November 28
Cancun, Mex.
9 PM ET
North Carolina
vs
Temple
The Tar Heels on the red carpet on their way to the Cancun Challenge banquet
Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications
Tar Heels Ready For Cancun Challenges
November 27, 2019 | Women's Basketball
CANCUN, Mexico – The UNC women's basketball team will put its undefeated record on the line Thursday night, taking on Temple in the Cancun Challenge, played at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. Tipoff is 9 p.m., making it UNC's latest start of the season by a full two hours.
The teams have met just three times before (with Carolina winning all three), but the most recent meeting was in 1986, a nearly a decade before anyone on this team was born. With a 4-2 start to the season, the Owls should present the Tar Heels, who have won their first four games by 30 or more points, with their biggest challenge thus far. "Temple is bringing back a lot," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "It's an experienced team. They have three dynamic guards who have had a really productive start to the season, and they want to play fast."
Tar Heel fans can watch the action on FloHoops, which requires a subscription. Click here for the radio broadcast, or tune to WCHL 97.9/1360 in the Chapel Hill area, or the TuneIn app. Or follow the team on twitter @UNCWBB.
Those who watch will see the teams competing in a conference center ballroom that's turned into a basketball gym for the week. "The environment is unique and that's kind of what these tournaments are all about, to put you out of your comfort zone and see how you respond," said Banghart, who also coached Princeton twice in the Cancun Challenge. "That's one of the things I really love about it."
The players love it, too, even though it can be challenging to balance fun in the sun with the basketball that has brought them here. On Wednesday, the Tar Heels enjoyed the hotel's many pools, beaches and restaurants until midafternoon, when it was time for study hall, a team meeting and film, and then practice.
In the evening, all of the Cancun Challenge teams came together for the tournament banquet, then the Tar Heels watched the championship game of the men's event or spent time around the resort.
"We know this is a business trip," junior Janelle Bailey said. "We're trying to manage both and enjoy the warm weather, and soak it all in because the trip is going to go by fast. But we're excited to play and get back on the court and play a really good team."
Combine the unfamiliar opponent, the unorthodox setting and the unusually-late tipoff (which means about a 19-hour turnaround before UNC plays Missouri on Friday), and you get a game that will test the Tar Heels in ways they haven't yet been tested yet this season.
"It's a late tip and a quick turnaround but you program your athletes to be ready when game is called," Banghart said. "We've managed it well enough, I hope, that when the game is called – whether it's an 11 a.m. game or a 9 p.m. game – they'll be ready."
The teams have met just three times before (with Carolina winning all three), but the most recent meeting was in 1986, a nearly a decade before anyone on this team was born. With a 4-2 start to the season, the Owls should present the Tar Heels, who have won their first four games by 30 or more points, with their biggest challenge thus far. "Temple is bringing back a lot," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "It's an experienced team. They have three dynamic guards who have had a really productive start to the season, and they want to play fast."
Tar Heel fans can watch the action on FloHoops, which requires a subscription. Click here for the radio broadcast, or tune to WCHL 97.9/1360 in the Chapel Hill area, or the TuneIn app. Or follow the team on twitter @UNCWBB.
Those who watch will see the teams competing in a conference center ballroom that's turned into a basketball gym for the week. "The environment is unique and that's kind of what these tournaments are all about, to put you out of your comfort zone and see how you respond," said Banghart, who also coached Princeton twice in the Cancun Challenge. "That's one of the things I really love about it."
The players love it, too, even though it can be challenging to balance fun in the sun with the basketball that has brought them here. On Wednesday, the Tar Heels enjoyed the hotel's many pools, beaches and restaurants until midafternoon, when it was time for study hall, a team meeting and film, and then practice.
In the evening, all of the Cancun Challenge teams came together for the tournament banquet, then the Tar Heels watched the championship game of the men's event or spent time around the resort.
"We know this is a business trip," junior Janelle Bailey said. "We're trying to manage both and enjoy the warm weather, and soak it all in because the trip is going to go by fast. But we're excited to play and get back on the court and play a really good team."
Business trip 💼#InPursuit | #CancunChallenge pic.twitter.com/2kLiEEMI5u
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) November 27, 2019
Combine the unfamiliar opponent, the unorthodox setting and the unusually-late tipoff (which means about a 19-hour turnaround before UNC plays Missouri on Friday), and you get a game that will test the Tar Heels in ways they haven't yet been tested yet this season.
"It's a late tip and a quick turnaround but you program your athletes to be ready when game is called," Banghart said. "We've managed it well enough, I hope, that when the game is called – whether it's an 11 a.m. game or a 9 p.m. game – they'll be ready."
Players Mentioned
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