UNC Basketball: Women’s team faces Minnesota in Big 10/ACC Challenge
The undefeated UNC women’s basketball team will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Big 10/ACC Challenge.
The North Carolina women’s basketball team is fresh off of a pair of victories and a tournament title at the Goombay Splash in Bimini, Bahamas, and they’re looking to continue their hot start to the 2021-22 season.
That’ll begin with a matchup against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Wednesday night in the Big 10/ACC Challenge. North Carolina is 6-0 through the season’s first three weeks, with double-digit victories over every team they’ve played. Minnesota is 6-3, and coming off of convincing wins over Bradley and UTSA.
Key Players, North Carolina
Sophomore guard Deja Kelly is the Tar Heels’ leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game on nearly 40 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent from three-point range. She’s also averaging 3.5 rebounds and just under two assists per game.
Fellow sophomore guard Alyssa Ustby is averaging 14.8 points and a team-high 10.7 rebounds per game. She’s also shooting 51.4 percent overall this season and playing a team-high 29.7 minutes per game. North Carolina is also getting solid contributions from redshirt junior Eva Hodgson, who’s scoring 11 points per game and shooting better than 47 percent from three-point range.
Key Players, Minnesota
Sara Scalia is Minnesota’s leading scorer at 13.2 points per game. She’s hitting nearly 37 percent of her shots from beyond the arc, and converting 91 percent of her free throw attempts. Junior guard Jasmine Powell is averaging 13 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game and shooting just under 37 percent from downtown. Kadiatou Sissoko is averaging 11.1 points per game and a team-high 6.6 rebounds.
Team Stats, North Carolina
The Tar Heels are averaging 79.8 points of offense per game and scoring 35.5 points more than their opponents over the first six contests of the season. They’re shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and 34.5 percent from three-point range.
On the other end of the court, the Tar Heels are allowing just 44.3 points per game, and their opponents are shooting a meager 29.1 percent. North Carolina is averaging 46 rebounds per game, 14.2 more than their opposition. They’re also averaging 5.5 more assists, and turning the ball over 8.2 fewer times per contest.
Team Stats, Minnesota
Minnesota has a razor-thin scoring margin, averaging 67.1 points per game and giving up 62.3. The Golden Gophers are shooting just 39.4 percent overall, but a very solid 36.2 percent from beyond the arc. They’re averaging less than one rebound per game more than their opponents, and have just one more assist on the season than those nine teams combined. They’re also turning the ball over at an alarming rate, better than 16 per game, while their opponents are committing 15.2 on average.
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The Tar Heels’ game against the Golden Gophers has a 9:00 p.m. EST start time, and will be televised on BTN. Check back with Keeping It Heel for more coverage of the game, and all the latest on the UNC women’s basketball program.