By: Katelyn Stevens
The battle of the Carolinas will take place Thursday, November 30 in the Carmichael Arena. The UNC Tar Heels will host the Carolina Gamecocks to see who’s really the “other Carolina”.
Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks are still sitting at No. 1 for the third consecutive week and are 5-0 going into Thursday’s game. They are traveling to Chapel Hill almost a week after wiping the floor with Mississippi State 101-19. They made program history by allowing the fewest points scored in a game.
Te-Hina Paopao definitely showed she missed the court, due to an injury, by scoring 10 points and securing 8 rebounds during her 21 minutes. Staley also expressed she missed Paopao’s presence on the court.
“It makes a big difference to have someone like Pao who’s always cool, calm and collected,” Staley said “You have to guard her, and she doesn’t take bad shots. It was great to have her back on the floor.”
The Tar Heels started their season strong with a 3-game win streak, but over the weekend they lost two non-conference games back-to-back during the Gulf Coast Showcase. No. 16 Kansas State defeated UNC 63-56 and Florida Gulf Coast prevailed 65-64 over the Tar Heels.
Embed from Getty ImagesThese losses dropped UNC all the way down to the 24th place in the latest AP poll. Head coach, Courtney Bangart, wasn’t impressed with the way her girls played during the showcase and just overall expected better.
“We need more guys playing better,” Banghart said. “That’s the first thing is getting individually — what is it that they are holding back from to be playing better? Ball has to move better East-West.”
Although the Tar Heels lost over the weekend, this SEC matchup will be a sight to see. Guards like Deja Kelly from Chapel Hill and Milaysia Fulwiley from Carolina, are averaging around the same amount of points this season. Kelly is hitting 16.1 PPG and Fulwiley is averaging 15.0.
UNC could use a win over Carolina before playing UNC- Greensboro and the UConn Huskies, but Carolina won’t go down without a fight. Dawn Staley has been combating the “rebuild” status of her team since week 1 and has no intentions of stopping throughout the rest of the season.
