CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina women ran into the nation’s top-ranked team Sunday night and never found an answer, falling 84-39 to No. 1 South Carolina at the Ally Tipoff in Charlotte.
The 12th-ranked Tar Heels dropped to 0-2. South Carolina improved to 2-0 and has now beaten its border rival five games in a row.
UNC stayed close early. Blanca Thomas scored the first two Carolina baskets, and the Tar Heels got eight of their first 10 points in the paint to sit just 15-10 down after one quarter.
The Gamecocks took over from there. A 10-0 run in the second quarter stretched the margin, and South Carolina carried a 34-17 lead into halftime. The third quarter was worse for the Tar Heels, who turned the ball over 20 times in the second half as the Gamecocks pushed the lead to 66-26 entering the fourth.
The game opened with UNC winning the jump ball, but South Carolina used its size to build an early 8-6 edge. By the middle of the third quarter the Gamecocks had reeled off 12 straight points, and an Agot Makeer three-pointer made it 57-26.
Chloe Kitts, who picked up two early fouls, came back after the break to keep scoring inside, and Joyce Edwards led South Carolina with 15 points by late in the third quarter. Jerzey Robinson added several three-pointers as the lead grew past 40.
Nyla Brooks led North Carolina with 13 points for the second straight game, hitting four three-pointers to extend her streak of games with a made three to 15. Kate Harpring pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, a career best. The Tar Heels scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, their best period of the night.
North Carolina plays its home opener Wednesday at 7 p.m. against NC Central at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill.
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