UNC Plays For Third ACC Win On Sunday At Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. – North Carolina continues its first Atlantic Coast Conference road swing of the season with a game on Sunday afternoon at Virginia Tech. Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is 2 p.m.

Carolina comes into the game 11-2 overall and 2-0 in ACC play. Virginia Tech is 10-3 (0-2 ACC).

The game is UNC's third this week: the Tar Heels opened ACC play on Monday with a homecourt win over Pitt. They played at Virginia on Thursday, winning 65-47 to improve to 2-0 in conference play. Because classes at UNC don't resume until Jan. 8, the team stayed in Charlottesville then headed straight to Blacksburg on Saturday instead of returning to Chapel Hill in between the two games.

From here on out, the Tar Heels will play every Thursday and every Sunday through the regular season, except for a week in mid-February when the Tar Heels play road games on Feb. 16 and Feb. 23 but are off on the Thursday in between.

"The Thursday-Sunday rhythm is something we're going to have to get used to, but we don't often have both games on the road like this week and that presents a different challenge," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We're playing a very good team on their home floor – we have some work to do to be ready for that."

UNC vs. Virginia Tech
The Tar Heels and Hokies are meeting for the 26th time in a rivalry that dates back to the 1979-80 season.
• Sunday's matchup is the second in a row in Blacksburg. The teams last met on Jan. 24, 2019, with the Tar Heels winning 81-69 at Cassell Coliseum. UNC trailed by 10 at the half but came out of the break with a 9-1 run. Paris Kea led Carolina in scoring with 26 points and Janelle Bailey had a double-double with 21 points and a team-best 14 boards.
• Three starters from the last matchup – Bailey, Shayla Bennett and Taylor Koenen – are expected to be in the starting lineup on Sunday.
• The teams will meet again in Chapel Hill on Feb. 9.

By the Numbers
• All five UNC starters are averaging in double figures, led by Janelle Bailey with 15.3 ppg. She's also the team's rebounding leader with 10.2 per game.
• UNC leads the ACC in scoring margin (+21.92), turnover margin (+3.85) and assist/turnover ratio (1.29). The Tar Heels rank second in three-point percentage and are tied for second in scoring.
• UNC is one of two schools (Louisville is the other) that rank in the top 10 in every statistical category.
• Freshman Malu Tshitenge leads the league in offensive rebounding (4.92 per game) and senior Shayla Bennett ranks No. 1 in assist/turnover ratio (2.29).
• Three Tar Heels are among the top 10 in free throw percentage: 3. Bennett (85.7); 8. Bailey (77.0); 10. Madinah Muhammad (72.9).

Scouting the Hokies
The Hokies' most recent game was Thursday night, when they fell 76-69 at No. 9 NC State. Both ACC losses have come on the road.
• Junior guard Aisha Sheppard tied the school record with eight three-pointers in the game against the Wolfpack.
• Sheppard leads the team in scoring with 17.4 points per game. Dara Mabrey (14.2), Elizabeth Kitley (11.5) and Trinity Baptiste (10.1) also average in double figures.

Up Next
The Tar Heels return home to host Triangle-rival NC State on Thursday. Tipoff at Carmichael Arena is 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Janelle Bailey

Shayla Bennett

Paris Kea

Taylor Koenen

Madinah Muhammad

Malu Tshitenge

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