Tar Heels Host Syracuse Thursday For 1st ACC Home Game

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 24 North Carolina women's basketball team plays its first home Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season on Thursday, hosting Syracuse for a 4 p.m. tip-off at Carmichael Arena.

UNC comes into the game at 11-0 (1-0 ACC) and is one of just five NCAA DI teams still undefeated. Syracuse is 8-4 overall and 1-1 in ACC play.

Click here for tickets or buy them at the Carmichael box office.

If you can't be there in person, watch live on ACC Network (online here), or listen here.

News and Notes
• Thursday's game is UNC's first action since a homecourt win over Alabama State on Dec. 21, a nine-day break.
• Carolina is off to an 11-0 start for the eighth time in program history. The last time UNC won more than 11 to start the year was 2010-11, when the Tar Heels opened 14-0.
• Sophomore guard Deja Kelly leads the team and ranks third in the ACC in scoring with 16.8 points per game. She's the only Tar Heel to have scored in double figures in all 11 games this season. Sophomore Alyssa Ustby leads the team in rebounds with 9.2 per game, up significantly from her 5.7 average last season.
• UNC moved up a spot to No. 24 in this week's AP poll. The Tar Heels are 18th in the coaches' poll. Prior to this season, Carolina's last national ranking was in the 2015-16 preseason.
• Carolina leads the nation in scoring margin (+33.2) and is tied for first in won-lost percentage with five other undefeated teams. The Tar Heels rank in the top 10 in five other categories:
- 4th in field goal percentage defense (32.0)
- 8th in rebounding margin (+12.4)
- 10th in scoring defense (50.5 ppg by opponents)
- 6th in scoring offense (83.6 ppg)
- 7th in turnover margin (+8.18)

The Rivalry
UNC and Syracuse are meeting for the 14th time in program history. The Orange leads the series 8-5 and has won six of the past seven including the most recent game: On Jan. 19, 2021, Syracuse won 88-76 in Syracuse.
• UNC won the last matchup at Carmichael, 92-68 on Dec. 17, 2020. Deja Kelly was among four Tar Heels in double figures with a then-career-high 22 points. She also had eight assists, which still stands as a career high for her. Anya Poole led the way with 11 rebounds in that game, and Alyssa Ustby scored 10 in her first career start.
• The homecourt win on Dec. 17, 2020, broke a string of five consecutive wins by the Orange.

Scouting the Orange
Syracuse arrives in Chapel Hill with an overall mark of 8-4 and an ACC record of 1-1. The team's most recent action was an 82-50 win over UMBC on Dec. 18th. SU had planned to play Siena on Dec. 22 but that game was canceled.
• Chrislyn Carr leads five SU players in double figures with 15.6 points per game. Alaysia Styles leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game and Teisha Hyman is just behind with 6.2 per game.
• Syracuse leads the ACC and ranks 12th in the nation in free throw percentage at 78.2. The Orange is third in the ACC and 19th in the nation in assists per game, 17.8.

Up Next
Thursday's game is the first of back-to-back ACC home games for Carolina. The Tar Heels host Clemson on Sunday at 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Deja Kelly

Anya Poole

Alyssa Ustby

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