Tar Heels Top Wake To Hand Banghart Win Number 300

Thursday, February 3

Winston-Salem, N.C.

8 PM

North Carolina

17-4,7-4ACC

Wake Forest

12-10,2-9ACC

North Carolina

Wake Forest

Jaelynn Murray, one of the UNC team captains, presents Courtney Banghart with a ball after win No. 300.

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

February 3, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The No. 24 North Carolina women's basketball team earned a lopsided Atlantic Coast Conference victory at Wake Forest Thursday night, winning 78-59 at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum to hand coach Courtney Banghart her 300^th career win as a head coach.

The Tar Heels improved to 17-4 overall and 7-4 in ACC play heading into Sunday's home game against Miami. Tipoff is noon at Carmichael Arena.

For Banghart, the milestone came in her 15^th season as a head coach, her third at UNC.

"It means I've been in this game a long time," she said afterward with a laugh. "I'm just really enjoying coaching this particular team. This job takes a lot out of you and it requires a lot from you, and when you get to do it with people that you genuinely really, really love ... I'm grateful.

"And they let me coach them and that takes an element of trust and it takes a lot of commitment. And there's something really sweet when you love your team and you get to celebrate this moment with them."

Sophomore Alyssa Ustby led UNC with 18 points and 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. A total of six Tar Heels scored eight points or more with Kennedy Todd-Williams (14) and Deja Kelly (12) also hitting double figures.

A big road win for @CoachBanghart's 300th victory! 👏👏👏 Highlights from tonight's game vs Wake Forest ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/2ekEMbKu1e
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) February 4, 2022

Carolina got off to a fast start, led by Ustby, who scored five points – two free throws and a three-pointer – in the first 39 seconds of the game. UNC led 16-6 by the end of the first quarter, marking the eighth time this season but the first in ACC play that Carolina has held an opponent to single digits in the first quarter.

The Tar Heels held the Demon Deacons to single digits in the second quarter as well and were up 40-15 by halftime.

Wake Forest's Jewel Spear, the ACC's leading scorer, had two points at halftime (both on free throws) and finished with 13. Niyah Becker added 11 for WFU (12-10, 2-9 ACC).

Wake Forest put together a 7-0 run early in the third quarter to pull within 17, 42-25. But Carlie Littlefield drove for a lay-up to stop the Carolina drought, then got a steal on the next Wake possession and dished to Ustby for a layup to make it 46-25. Wake got within 15 late in the third period but never closer.

UNC's largest lead was 29 midway through the fourth.

The Tar Heels won the rebounding battle 43-36 en route to the program's first win in Winston-Salem since 2018.

As a team, Carolina was 18-23 from the foul line, with Kelly hitting all six of her chances and Anya Poole all five.

"I'm just really enjoying this team," Banghart said. "Our guys stayed cohesive through kind of an up-and-down, sloppy game. So, really happy with the win and looking forward to the next one."