Led by a full performance by first-year point guard Kennedy Todd-Williams, the North Carolina women’s basketball team defeated the South Carolina State 98-28 at the Carmichael Arena on Thursday to continue their undefeated start to the season.
What happened?
From the start, UNC smothered the Bulldogs in defense. South Carolina’s first three possessions consisted of two air balls and a spin when Trinity Klock left the field on the opposite sideline.
When the first quarter ended, Tar Heels allowed only 10 points and was already leading by double digits behind Todd-Williams’ nine points in the first period.
One of the most impressive points in the defense of North Carolina was the position of Heniaya Moton, of the State of South Carolina, who scored 51 points in the two games that preceded Thursday’s game, without goals in the first 13 minutes of the dispute.
Tar Heels’ aggressive defense helped them take a 43-13 lead until the break, keeping them in pace to overcome the 38.3 victory margin in the first three games of the season.
North Carolina spent the second half of the game on the road to victory, beating the Bulldogs 35-8 in the third quarter as part of the 70-point attack. UNC held his opponent with just 9-53 shots in the night and rebounded the Bulldogs 58-24 in victory.
Who stood out?
Todd-Williams played his most complete game of his short career at UNC against the Bulldogs by entering the break with a potential triple-double in his hands with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The first-year playmaker played just 13 minutes in the first two quarters, but led her team through the interval by over-29 in that short period. She accumulated 14 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and four steals until the end of the match
First year guard Deja Kelly, another member of the UNC coach’s first hiring class, Courtney Banghart, also scored 16 points from 6-7 shots to help reinforce the attack.
When was it decided?
Since Tar Heels took a 15-5 lead in the middle of the first quarter, they never left Bulldogs in single digits for the rest of the night.
They held the state of South Carolina with just three points in the next quarter and dominated from that point with a 16-1 run to close the first half. By the time the fourth half started, the Bulldogs had only made seven shots and were close to 20 turns.
Why does it matter?
North Carolina had 11 players who scored points when passing through the state of South Carolina, further proving that the depth of this year’s team is much more important compared to last season.
At the start of their fight with the Bulldogs, the Tar Heels averaged 45 points per game off the bench, a big improvement on last year’s bank unit, which they failed to score on four occasions.
When do they play next?
Tar Heels will return to the Carmichael Arena for an afternoon showdown with UNC-Charlotte on Sunday, December 6, at 4pm.
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