WBB Picks Up Win Over Hampton On Field Trip Day

Wednesday, November 15

Chapel Hill

11 AM

North Carolina

3-0,0-0ACC

Hampton

0-2,0-0CAA

Hampton

North Carolina

RyLee Grays exchanges high fives with young fans following the win.

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

November 15, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – With about 1,500 local school kids cheering all the way, the No. 17 UNC women's basketball team beat Hampton 62-32 Wednesday in a rare morning-tipoff game. Carolina's victory in the second-annual Field Trip Day boosted the team's record to 3-0 heading into this Saturday's home game against Elon.

Tar Heel senior guard Deja Kelly led all scorers with 12 points, junior guard Paulina Paris had 11 and junior center Maria Gakdeng added 10. Ten players scored for the Tar Heels.

Hampton made the first shot of the 11 a.m. game, 44 seconds in, but didn't take another for almost three minutes and didn't make another until the 5:39 mark of the first quarter. The Tar Heels led 15-6 after 10 minutes and held the Pirates to single digits in the second and third quarters as well, with seven and eight points, respectively, in those periods.

The margin stayed in double digits from the second quarter on, and Carolina led 32-13 at halftime.

Aisha Dabo led Hampton (0-2) with seven points. She grabbed five rebounds as did Le'Asia Foreman as the Pirates won the rebounding battle 34-33.

Carolina committed just nine turnovers in the game and scored 27 points off of Hampton's 29 turnovers. The Tar Heels led 15-0 on fast break points and had 14 assists on 18 made field goals.

The enthusiastic group of students at the game represented 15 different elementary and middle schools from throughout the area. "This is always a game we really look forward to, thinking about all those kids and remembering – a long time ago now – being one of those kids," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "It was really cool the energy they brought."

Next up for the Tar Heels is a fourth consecutive home game, this one against the Phoenix, coached by Carolina legend Charlotte Smith. This year marks the 30^th anniversary of UNC's 1994 NCAA Championship, in which Smith famously hit a buzzer-beating three to win the game.