Carolina Suffers First Homecourt Loss In Final Nonconference Matchup

Saturday, December 28

Chapel Hill, N.C.

1 PM

North Carolina

9-2,0-0ACC

Yale

8-3,0-0Ivy League

Yale

North Carolina

Shayla Bennett tied her career high with 25 points in UNC's loss to Yale.

Carolina Suffers First Homecourt Loss In Final Nonconference Matchup

December 28, 2019 | Women's Basketball

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By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina women's basketball team suffered its first homecourt loss of the season in its final nonconference contest of the year, falling 66-63 to Yale Saturday afternoon at Carmichael Arena. The Tar Heels (9-2) have a quick turnaround before their next game – they host Pitt Monday at 2 p.m. for the Atlantic Coast Conference opener.

Senior guard Shayla Bennett led UNC in scoring with 25 points, equal to her career high. Junior Janelle Bailey, who was honored prior to the start of the game for reaching the 1,000-career-points mark at the end of last season, turned in a double-double with 16 points and a season-high 16 rebounds.

Ellen Margaret Andrews led Yale (8-3) with 24 points and Roxy Barahman added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

"We knew that was a good Yale team – I obviously have a lot of familiarity with Yale," said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, an Ivy League coach (Princeton and Dartmouth) and player (Dartmouth) prior to her move to Chapel Hill.

Saturday's loss is just the second for Banghart as the Tar Heel coach, with the other a Dec. 15 setback at Alabama. Even in defeat on Saturday, she saw things from her team that pleased her.

"When you look at what we asked them to do since our loss to Alabama, we wanted to be deeper and we wanted to stay together," she said. "We stuck together and we got deeper, so they're continuing to do what we're asking them to do. Now it's a quick turnaround for Pitt."

Saturday's game provided several unfortunate firsts for UNC: It marked the first time this season the Tar Heels, who lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring offense, haven't hit for at least 70 points. It was the first time UNC has trailed in any game by double digits (Yale's 14-point lead near the end of the first quarter was the largest UNC deficit this season), and the Bulldogs' 30-28 halftime lead marked the first time the Tar Heels have trailed at the break. It was also the first time this season UNC hasn't had three or more players score in double figures.

Coming off the holiday break, the Tar Heels hit just four of 22 attempts in the first quarter. After the first 10 minutes of play, they trailed 21-9 and had been outrebounded 15-8. But by halftime they'd closed the gap to two, 30-28, powered by Bennett, who scored 13 of UNC's 19 points in the second quarter.

Carolina tied the score at 30-30 coming out of halftime, but Yale surged ahead again, increasing its lead to 10 (42-32) with 5:47 to play in the third quarter. UNC again battled back and tied the game 44-44 on two free throws by Bennett with 1:25 to play in the period. The Tar Heels carried their first lead of the game into the fourth quarter, up 46-45. They stretched the lead to three, 50-47, on a jumper by Bennett with 7:52 to play but Yale again came back. Carolina tied the game at 57-57 on a three-pointer by junior Leah Church with 2:28 to play, but could never regain the lead.

The UNC bench outscored the opponent bench (14-8) for just the fifth time this year. The Tar Heels led 21-5 on second-chance points.

"We stuck together," Banghart said. "There was optimism, there was support of one another. I'd come into the huddle and they're talking to each other about, "Come on guys, stick with it," – that means a team is growing. The nonconference is supposed to do that, make sure you're ready. We have a stretch in January when we play four top-25 teams in a row. We know what's coming."

After the home opener against Pitt, the Tar Heels hit the road for games at Virginia on Jan. 2 and Virginia Tech on Jan. 5. Then comes the stretch Banghart referenced, when the Tar Heels host NC State, play at Florida State and then return home again to host Miami and Louisville.