UNC Women's Basketball takes control to defeat North Carolina A&T

The UNC women's basketball program got the job done in their first road contest of the 2024-2025 season on Tuesday night, defeating North Carolina A&T by a score of 66-47.

Although the Aggies came in with an 0-2 record, this is a team that is much better than their record indicates. The Tar Heels learned that right away as they struggled offensively in the first quarter, connecting on just four of 15 shot attempts from the floor.

While the Aggies competed, the Tar Heels simply found a rhythm to pull away a bit. A 17-3 run, highlighted by six points from forward Alyssa Ustby, helped guide the Tar Heels to a 14-point lead at the half.

From there, North Carolina did enough to keep North Carolina A&T at distance, securing their third win of the early 2024-2025 season.

Once again, the Tar Heels featured a balanced offensive attack, led by a career-high 14 points from redshirt freshman Laila Hull. Lexi Donarski was the only other Tar Heel in double figures, while the likes of Trayanna Crisp (8 points) along with Ustby, Lanie Grant and Ciera Toomey (7 points a piece) helped carry the load offensively.

Without center Maria Gakdeng, we got to see a bit of a different mix for the UNC women's basketball program. While the hope is that Gakdeng isn't sidelined for an extended period of time, it was a great opportunity for the Tar Heels to get their youth some valuable experience as the schedule starts to get tougher, especially over the next few weeks.

The UNC women's basketball program is back in Greensboro on Friday night for a highly-anticipated neutral site clash with No. 2-ranked UConn.