University of North Carolina Athletics
Sunday, December 8
Chapel Hill, N.C.
2 PM
North Carolina
vs
NC Central
The 7-0 Tar Heels host NC Central on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Photo by: Dana Gentry
Carolina To Host NC Central On Sunday
December 7, 2019 | Women's Basketball
The North Carolina women's basketball team plays the second of back-to-back home games on Sunday, hosting N.C. Central for a 2 p.m. tipoff at Carmichael Arena. The Tar Heels are 7-0 following a win Thursday over Illinois (85-60) in Big Ten/ACC Challenge play.
Although the campuses are less than 15 miles apart, this is the first time since 2012 that UNC and NCCU have met in women's basketball. Carolina leads the all-time series
UNC leads the series with NCCU 6-0.
Following Sunday's game, UNC has a week off during final exams before playing its first true road game of the season at Alabama on Dec. 15.
By the Numbers
• UNC last started 7-0 in 2014-15, when the Tar Heels won their first nine games en route to a 26-9 season.
• Three players – Janelle Bailey, Shayla Bennett and Taylor Koenen – had double-doubles in Thursday's win over Illinois. It was the first time since 2013 that UNC has had three double-doubles in the same game. (That was in an 81-65 homecourt loss to Tennessee on Nov. 11, 2013.)
• Koenen scored a career-high 23 points against Illinois.
• UNC has had at least four players in double figures in each game this season. Three times – including the past two games – five Tar Heels have scored in double figures. All five starters are currently averaging double figures.
Carmichael happenings
There's lots going on at Carmichael Sunday in addition to basketball:
• The UNC team will sign autographs after the game.
• Fans are asked to bring new, unwrapped toys to donate to Toys for Tots.
• For UNC students, the game provides an exam-time study break. The first 100 students will get free pizza and blue books. Therapy dogs will be in attendance, and there will be yoga on the court after the game. (Yoga is open to all – bring your own mat!)
• It's the first Sunday Kids' Day of the season. (They're also scheduled for Jan. 19, Feb. 2, Feb. 9 and March 1). The first 200 kids 8th grade and younger get free combo meals from the concession stand. Additionally, there will be free face painting and a photo booth.
The road less traveled
UNC hosts NC Central Sunday for its sixth home game of the season's eight games. The Tar Heels opened with four home games, played two neutral-site games last week in the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, then returned to Chapel Hill for two more games.
• UNC's first true road game is up next, Dec. 15 at Alabama. After that, the Tar Heels face UNCW in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Dec. 20.
• UNC will play back-to-back home games on five more occasions this season, including this week. But the season-opening four-game stretch is the only time they'll be home for more than two in a row.
Larkins back at Carmichael
One of UNC's all-time greats will be back in Carmichael on Sunday. Erlana Larkins, who played for the Tar Heels 2005-08, is in her first season as an assistant coach for the Eagles.
At Carolina, Larkins was part of four ACC championships and two Final Four trips. After earning All-America honors as a senior, she was a WNBA first-round draft pick in 2008 (New York Liberty) and went on to win a championship with the Indiana Fever in 2012.
Although the campuses are less than 15 miles apart, this is the first time since 2012 that UNC and NCCU have met in women's basketball. Carolina leads the all-time series
UNC leads the series with NCCU 6-0.
Following Sunday's game, UNC has a week off during final exams before playing its first true road game of the season at Alabama on Dec. 15.
By the Numbers
• UNC last started 7-0 in 2014-15, when the Tar Heels won their first nine games en route to a 26-9 season.
• Three players – Janelle Bailey, Shayla Bennett and Taylor Koenen – had double-doubles in Thursday's win over Illinois. It was the first time since 2013 that UNC has had three double-doubles in the same game. (That was in an 81-65 homecourt loss to Tennessee on Nov. 11, 2013.)
• Koenen scored a career-high 23 points against Illinois.
• UNC has had at least four players in double figures in each game this season. Three times – including the past two games – five Tar Heels have scored in double figures. All five starters are currently averaging double figures.
Lunch & Basketball? 🌭 🏀
UNC hosts NC Central at 2 PM tomorrow with food and fun for the kiddos! Come join us – autographs afterward! 📝#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/wOCtm30bJY
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) December 7, 2019
Carmichael happenings
There's lots going on at Carmichael Sunday in addition to basketball:
• The UNC team will sign autographs after the game.
• Fans are asked to bring new, unwrapped toys to donate to Toys for Tots.
• For UNC students, the game provides an exam-time study break. The first 100 students will get free pizza and blue books. Therapy dogs will be in attendance, and there will be yoga on the court after the game. (Yoga is open to all – bring your own mat!)
• It's the first Sunday Kids' Day of the season. (They're also scheduled for Jan. 19, Feb. 2, Feb. 9 and March 1). The first 200 kids 8th grade and younger get free combo meals from the concession stand. Additionally, there will be free face painting and a photo booth.
The road less traveled
UNC hosts NC Central Sunday for its sixth home game of the season's eight games. The Tar Heels opened with four home games, played two neutral-site games last week in the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, then returned to Chapel Hill for two more games.
• UNC's first true road game is up next, Dec. 15 at Alabama. After that, the Tar Heels face UNCW in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Dec. 20.
• UNC will play back-to-back home games on five more occasions this season, including this week. But the season-opening four-game stretch is the only time they'll be home for more than two in a row.
Larkins back at Carmichael
One of UNC's all-time greats will be back in Carmichael on Sunday. Erlana Larkins, who played for the Tar Heels 2005-08, is in her first season as an assistant coach for the Eagles.
At Carolina, Larkins was part of four ACC championships and two Final Four trips. After earning All-America honors as a senior, she was a WNBA first-round draft pick in 2008 (New York Liberty) and went on to win a championship with the Indiana Fever in 2012.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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