GREENSBORO, N.C. –– UConn’s Geno Auriemma tied recently retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer to be the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history with a 69-58 win over North Carolina last night in Greensboro, N.C.
UNC had a sloppy start and fell to 3-1 on the season, committing seven turnovers in the first quarter, which the Huskies turned into eight points and remained unbeaten.
A fourth quarter push by the Tar Heels simply wasn’t enough to rout the Huskies who were led by star player Paige Bueckers, who poured in 29 points including 18 in the first half alone and emphatic buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first quarter.
“We play to make him happy and are lucky to play for him,” Bueckers said jokingly after the contest.
After dealing with injury, junior Tar Heel Indya Nivar didn’t disappoint in her season-opening debut, nearly having a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Cierra Toomey was the only other double-digit scorer for the Tar Heels with 10 points.
North Carolina came within striking distance when it switched to zone, and a layup by Nivar put the Tar Heels within nine. Yet they went scoreless from the field for six minutes – continuing an already poor shooting night where veterans Lexi Donarski and Alyssa Ustby were unable to find a groove and combined for just eight total points.
“The fight was pretty consistent across the roster,” UNC head coach Courtney Banghart said during post game pressers. “The fact that our seniors didn’t play well doesn’t mean they didn’t play hard. There’s a difference. They need to be responsible for the way they performed. They didn’t perform at the level we need them to perform. They know that, but I think the effort across the roster was pretty good.”
UNC allowed 25 first-quarter points, which can be compared to their first three games where they allowed just 50 points per game. The Tar Heels’ defense struggled and their inability to push the pace and careless mistakes eventually lost them the game.
Banghart gave Bueckers her flowers saying that her ability to create shots for her teammates is uncanny and that she is the consensus No.1 draft pick and credits her to growing the game of women’s basketball.
While Auriemma didn’t speak much about his individual accomplishments, he emphasized that he is “exceptionally proud” of his team’s role in growing the culture of the game.
North Carolina will travel to Indiana to face the Ball State Cardinals next Saturday, Nov. 23rd at 4:00 p.m.
