UNC Basketball: Tar Heels hand No. 9 Wolfpack first loss of season

UNC women’s basketball program knocks off unbeaten NC State in Thursday night thriller at Carmichael Arena

Shayla Bennett scored a team-high 20 points on Thursday night, as North Carolina knocked off the undefeated NC State Wolfpack 66-60 at Carmichael Arena.

Bennett hit 9-of-21 shots from the floor and 2-of-6 from three-point range, while playing all 40 minutes for the second consecutive game. UNC senior guard Taylor Koenen scored 14 points, and pulled down 11 rebounds for the game, and Madinah Muhammad added 13. Janelle Bailey struggled for the second game in a row, finishing with eight points and seven rebounds, and connecting on just three of her 10 shot attempts. Like Bennett, Bailey played all 40 minutes for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina only shot 40 percent for the game, and 28 percent from beyond the arc, but committed just seven turnovers as a team, and came up with big defensive stops against the Wolfpack when it mattered most. The Tar Heels also outrebounded the Wolfpack 40-32, and committed just six fouls to NC State’s 13. The victory improves North Carolina to 12-3 on the season, and 3-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

NC State was led by Aislinn Konig, who scored a game-high 24 points on an ultra-efficient 8-for-11 shooting performance. That included a 6-of-9 mark from three-point range, and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Jakia Brown-Turner added 12 points and five assists for the Wolfpack, and Kayla Jones scored 10.

The Wolfpack hit better than 41 percent of their three-point attempts for the game, but struggled from the field overall, hitting less than 38 percent of their shots. And they only got to the foul line four times in 40 minutes. Their game against the Tar Heels becomes the first blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the 2019-20 season. They fall to 14-1 on the season, and are tied with the Tar Heels in conference play with a 3-1 record.

The Tar Heels will be back in action when they play the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee on Sunday afternoon.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the UNC women’s hoops program, and everything UNC basketball.