Tar Heels Host No. 18 Syracuse For ACC Home Opener

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina women's basketball team plays its first Atlantic Coast Conference home game of the season Thursday night, hosting No. 18 Syracuse for an 8 p.m. tipoff at Carmichael Arena. The Tar Heels are 5-2 overall and 0-2 in ACC play after starting with two league road games. Syracuse, UNC's first ranked opponent of the year, comes in at 4-0 (1-0 ACC).

The game will air live on ACC Network. Watch online here, listen here and follow live stats here.

Notes on the Tar Heels:
• Four Tar Heels are averaging double-figure scoring with seven at 8.0 or more. Freshman Deja Kelly currently leads the team with 12.3 points per game.
• Two Tar Heels are ranked among the top 20 active scorers in NCAA DI. Janelle Bailey is 15th (1,482 points) and Stephanie Watts is 20th (1,413). UNC and Arkansas are the only schools in the nation with two players in the top 20.
• The Tar Heel bench has outscored the opponent bench in every game this season. UNC is getting an average of 31.6 points from its subs in the first seven games, including 15.5 points per game in ACC play.
• The Tar Heels rank in the ACC's top three in rebounding (2nd), scoring defense (2nd), assist-turnover ratio (2nd), scoring margin (3rd), rebounding margin (3rd) and turnover margin (3rd).
• Despite averaging 82 points per game, the Tar Heels don't have an individual scorer in the ACC's top 20. UNC is the only school in the league without a player in the top 20 in points.
• In career stats, Stephanie Watts is six three-pointers away from moving into a tie for second on UNC's all-time list. She currently has a career total of 245 in 91 games as a Tar Heel.

Notes on the matchup:
The Tar Heels and Orange are meeting for the 12th time in a series that dates back to the 1998-99 season. The Tar Heels won the first three matchups but Syracuse has held the advantage since its first year of ACC play, in 2013-14.
• SU has won seven of eight against UNC since joining the league. One meeting came in the second round of the 2017 ACC Tournament but the rest have been in regular-season play.
• UNC's last win in the series came in the 2015-16 season and Syracuse has won five in a row since then.
• Current grad student guard Stephanie Watts was a freshman in that 2015-16 game and a major reason the Tar Heels were able to come from behind to win. After UNC had trailed for most of the game, Watts' bucket with 2:57 to play put the Tar Heels ahead for good. She finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in playing all 40 minutes. Watts would go on to earn ACC Freshman of the Year honors.

Notes on the Orange:
Syracuse is 4-0 overall and 1-0 in ACC play coming off a win at Miami on Dec. 10. The Orange has been idle since then after a Dec. 13 matchup with Binghampton was canceled.
Freshman center Kamilla Cardoso leads three SU players in double figures with 14.3 per game. Fifth-year senior Tiana Mangakahia adds 13.0 per game and redshirt senior guard Kiara Lewis is at 11.3. Senior Digna Strautmane leads the team in rebounding with nine per game.
• Syracuse leads the ACC in scoring defense, allowing 52 points per game. (UNC is second at 56.14.) Syracuse also leads the ACC in rebounds (51.25) with UNC again second (50.29). SU also leads the league in steals with 11.75 per game, an average that's more than UNC's single-game high of 11 against High Point.

Next up for Carolina:
After Thursday's game, UNC looks ahead to another home conference game, on Sunday against Wake Forest. The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons, who met on Dec. 10 in Winston-Salem, will tip off at 1 p.m. in a game that will air live on ACC Network Extra.

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Players Mentioned

Janelle Bailey

Deja Kelly

Stephanie Watts

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University of North Carolina Athletics