Tar Heels Host Duke Sunday To Cap Regular Season

Sunday, March 1

Chapel Hill, N.C.

2 PM

North Carolina

Duke

Buy tickets

Leah Church and the Tar Heels host Duke on Sunday for the final game of the regular season.

Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications

February 29, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes Get Tickets!

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina women's basketball team ends its home season with a bang on Sunday, hosting Duke for Senior Day at Carmichael Arena. Tipoff is 2 p.m. For tickets, click here.

In addition to the Tobacco Road rivalry, the game is:

• Rameses' Birthday, with a mascot basketball game at halftime
• Carolina Kids Club Day and Rams Club Day
• The final "Sundays are for the Kids" of the season: Free kids' combo meals for the first 200 fans in 8^th grade or younger, face painting, and a photo booth
• Senior Day, with ceremonies immediately after the game

Get your tix now‼️ They're going fast ⏩⏩⏩ 🎟️ https://t.co/UqAKpDlqNC#GoHeels | #InPursuit pic.twitter.com/cvaQJWXR8B — Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) February 28, 2020

Young fans (8^th grade and younger) will have the opportunity to try a layup on the court following the postgame Senior Day ceremonies.

The first 500 fans will get free "cheer banners" commemorating Senior Day.
The first 500 UNC students will get free Senior Day t-shirts.

UNC will honor seven senior players after the game: Shayla Bennett, Taylor Koenen, Madinah Muhammad, Liz Roberts, Olivia Smith, Emily Sullivan and Naomi Van Nes. The Tar Heels will also recognize three senior managers: Sam Carson, Godwin Dooley and Anna Grace Kelley.

The matchup is the second of the season between UNC and DUke. The Blue Devils won the first, 71-61 on Feb. 6 in Durham.

Tar Heels vs. Blue Devils
Heading into the 101st meeting between the Tobacco Road rivals, the series is tied at 50-50. The Blue Devils have won the last four and 11 of the past 12.
• Duke won both of last season's matchups: 85-69 on Feb. 7, 2019, in Chapel Hill and 62-44 in Durham on March 3.
• UNC's last win in the series was Jan. 21, 2018, in Chapel Hill, 92-86 in overtime. The Tar Heels were down 19 in the second quarter and trailed 41-33 at halftime but stormed back to tie the game at 72-72 at the end of regulation.
Current junior Leah Church, then a freshman, came off the bench to hit five three-pointers and score 19 points, then a career high.

By the Numbers
• All five UNC starters are scoring in double figures, led by junior Janelle Bailey with 14.9 points per game.
• UNC leads the ACC in scoring (73.8 ppg) and in assist/turnover ratio (1.16), with 398 assists and a league-low 343 turnovers. The Tar Heels are second in turnover margin (+2.75) and in free throw percentage (.737).
• UNC is 27th in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio and 30th in offense.
• Freshman Malu Tshitenge leads the league and ranks 13th in the nation in offensive rebounds (4.1 per game). Senior Shayla Bennett leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.07) and is third in assists (5.25). Bailey is second in total rebounds (9.5) and defensive rebounds (7.2).
• Two Tar Heels rank in the league's top six in free throw shooting: Bennett at No. 4 (.827) and Bailey at No. 6 (.805).

Scouting Duke
The Blue Devils come into Sunday's game 17-11 overall and 11-6 in ACC play. They're coming off a 70-56 loss at Virginia Tech on Thursday but prior to that Duke won six in a row, a streak that started with the Feb. 6 win over UNC.
Haley Gorecki leads Duke in scoring with 18.1 points per game and is also the team's top rebounder with 6.4 per game. Leaonna Odom contributes 14.2 points and 6.2 boards per game.
• Duke leads the ACC in steals with 10.14 per game. Individually, Gorecki is third in scoring, third in free throw percentage and fourth in minutes.