WBB Travels To Take On No. 5 NC State

The North Carolina women's basketball team, 13-0 and ranked No. 19, makes the short trip to Raleigh on Thursday to face fifth-ranked NC State. Tipoff is 8 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum and the game will be broadcast live by ACC Network.

Fans can listen to the Tar Heel Sports Network radio broadcast here, follow live stats here, or follow on Twitter here.

Both teams come into the game 3-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

UNC and NC State are meeting for the 114th time in a rivalry that dates back to the 1974-75 season, Carolina's first as a varsity program under the umbrella of the Department of Athletics.
NC State leads the series 60-53 and won the most recent meeting, 82-63 in Raleigh on Feb. 21, 2021.

• The teams have split the two meetings in each of the past three seasons. In the last two years, each team has won on its home court. In 2018-19 that trend was reversed, with each winning on the road.

• UNC's last win in the series came in last year's meeting in Chapel Hill, 76-69 on Feb. 7, 2021 at Carmichael Arena.

• The Tar Heels' last win in Raleigh was in the 2018-19 season, when UNC won 64-51 on Feb. 3, 2019. Fifth-year senior Jaelynn Murray is the only current player or staff member who was part of that team – she came off the bench to play four minutes in the victory. NC State has won the two at Reynolds since then.

• Prior to the past three seasons, NC State won four in a row and six of seven dating back to the 2015-16 season. Before that, UNC won eight in a row, dating back to the 2011-12 season.

Scouting the Wolfpack
NC State is 12-2 overall and 3-0 in ACC play following a 79-52 win at Clemson on Dec. 30.
• Senior center Elissa Cunane leads the Wolfpack in scoring with 13.1 points per game and in rebounding with 7.3 rebounds per game. Diamond Johnson is the only other NC State player scoring in double figures (12.8 ppg), but three others are averaging at least 8.5 points per game.
• The only common opponent the two teams have had this season is the most recent one for both: NC State won 79-52 at Clemson on Dec. 30, and UNC beat the Tigers 81-62 at home on Jan. 2.
• UNC and NC State rank 1-2 in the ACC in scoring average, scoring margin and rebounding margin. Carolina leads the way in each of those categories and is also No. 1 in turnover margin, steals, rebounds and three-pointer defense. NC State leads the ACC in field goal percentage and three-point percentage.

Been here before
Although Thursday will mark the first time that graduate student Carlie Littlefield has played at NC State as a Tar Heel, she's competed at Reynolds Coliseum twice in the past, both times coached by Courtney Banghart.
• In the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Princeton played Maryland in a first-round game at Reynolds, falling 77-57. Littlefield, then a freshman, started and played 25 minutes, contributing two points and an assist.
• The following year, Princeton went back to Raleigh and fell to Kentucky 82-77 in the 2019 NCAA first round, again at Reynolds. Littlefield played all 40 minutes, with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. That was Banghart's final game as the Tigers' coach.

Up Next
UNC hosts Virginia Tech on Sunday at Carmichael Arena for a 6 p.m. tipoff. The Tar Heels then get a bye week before they travel to take on Notre Dame on Jan. 16. After that it's back home to host Virginia on Jan. 20 before hitting the road for two more (Georgia Tech and Duke).

UNC plays back-to-back home games on only one more occasion throughout the rest of the season, on Feb. 6 vs. Pitt and Feb. 10 vs Miami.

National Leaders
Carolina leads the nation in scoring margin (+32.3) and is tied for first in won-lost percentage with two other undefeated teams, Arizona and Colorado. The Tar Heels rank in the top 10 in eight other categories:
• 4th in field goal percentage defense (31.8)
• 5th in rebounds per game (46.31)
• 5th in free throw attempts (304)
• 6th in rebounding margin (+12.8)
• 6th in scoring offense (83.1)
• 6th in turnover margin (8.54)
• 7th in free throws made (209)
• 9th in 3pt FG defense (22.8)

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Carlie Littlefield

Jaelynn Murray

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