Tar Heels Open ACC Play Monday With Visit From Pitt

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina starts its march through the conference season Monday afternoon, hosting Pitt at Carmichael Arena for the team's Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Tipoff is 2 p.m.

"We are all excited for the start of the ACC season," said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, who will start her first trip through the league. "The ACC continues to be one of the top women's basketball conferences in the nation and we look forward to the challenges we will face night after night. There are great players and great coaches in this league and success will surely require our best. We're excited to get it all started with Pitt."

Click here for tickets. Fans attending the UNC men's game Monday evening can show that ticket at Carmichael to get a UNC-Pitt women's basketball ticket for just $1.

This Dec. 30^th tipoff marks the first time UNC has played a pre-January conference game at Carmichael since the 2001-02 season, when the Tar Heels hosted former-member Maryland on Dec. 30, 2001, and won 85-58. The last time Carolina played an ACC game before New Year's Day was two seasons ago, in a loss at Florida State on Dec. 31, 2017.

UNC and Pitt are the last two teams to open conference play. Carolina comes into its ACC opener at 9-2 following its first homecourt loss of the season, 66-63 to Yale on Saturday afternoon. That wrapped up nonconference play for the Tar Heels, who have 18 games – all in the ACC – remaining in the regular season. Pitt comes into the game 3-8 and after losing its last four.

The Tar Heels trail 6-3 in the series with Pitt, including a loss in Pittsburgh last season, 91-78 on Feb. 14, 2019. Shayla Bennett led Carolina with a career-high 25 points (a mark she equaled in Saturday's game against Yale) and Janelle Bailey registered her 11th double-double of the season with 18 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

After Pitt, Tar Heels hit the road for two more ACC games, at Virginia on Jan. 2 and at Virginia Tech on Jan. 5, to kick off 2020.

Notable Numbers
• All five UNC starters are averaging in double figures, led by Janelle Bailey with 15.7 ppg. She's also the team's rebounding leader with 10.8 per game.
• UNC leads the ACC in scoring offense (80.73 ppg), scoring margin (+23.55), turnover margin (+4.27), assist/turnover ratio (1.35) and offensive rebounding (15.55 per game). The Tar Heels rank second rebounding and three-point percentage.
• Senior Shayla Bennett leads the ACC in assist/turnover ratio (2.30) and freshman Malu Tshitenge leads the league in offensive rebounding (5.27 per game).

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Players Mentioned

Janelle Bailey

Shayla Bennett

Malu Tshitenge