UNC women roll in first-round NCAA Tournament win over Western Illinois

North Carolina’s women lacked the sharpness and aesthetics that come with lofty basketball expectations and the history of Carmichael Arena, but the Tar Heels made up for with grit on defense.

Fourth-seeded North Carolina (27-7) left fans uncomfortable with its sluggish first-half shooting, but the Tar Heels’ defense ultimately carried them to an 82-51 victory over No. 13 Western Illinois (26-6) in the teams’ NCAA Tournament’s first-round game at Carmichael Arena on Friday.

“There were some cobwebs,” said North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart, noting the Tar Heels hadn’t played since their loss on March 7 to Louisville in the ACC Tournament semifinals. “It’s amazing how rhythmic these athletes can be. They hadn’t had a game against another team in two weeks. You could tell that. We were a little short on shorts and even a little slow on throwing and catching the ball.”

In the end, a “W” looks fine for a home crowd enjoying its second straight postseason with the Tar Heels at home for the opening two rounds.

Four Tar Heels finished scoring in double figures, led by senior Nyla Harris with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds. Lanie Grant added 15, Nyla Brooks 14 off the bench, and Indya Nivar 11.

The Tar Heels (27-7), hosting at Carmichael for the second straight year, bumped their all-time NCAA Tournament record at home to 25-1.

North Carolina advanced to Sunday’s Round of 32 game against Maryland (24-8), the No. 5 seed that defeated No. 12 Murray State 99-67 in the first game of the double-header. Sunday’s game time is to be announced.

Western Illinois (26-6), the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season co-champion and tournament champion, hoped to play Cinderella with a fast-paced game that averages 75.9 points per outing.

But UNC’s defense stayed in front of the Leathernecks while contesting shots inside and outside. Western Illinois’ first-half shooting was 6-of-24 from the field (25%) and 0-of-5 from 3-point range. For the night, Western Illinois was 17-of-56 from the field (30 percent) and 2-of-15 from 3-point range (13 percent).

Mid-major teams need to be on their game to threaten an upset performance. The Leathernecks entered the game shooting 46.4 percent and 35.0 on 3-pointers.

Western Illinois’ Mia Nicastro, a 6-foot-2 senior, struggled to get off shots with starting center Ciera Toomey, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, and backup center, Blanca Thomas, a 6-5 sophomore, remaining between her and the basket.

Niacastro entered the game leading mid-major players in scoring with 24.2 points a game, but she was held to 2-of-6 shooting in the first half. Her 7-of-8 free throws accounted for 11 first-half points. For the game, she finished with 21 points, but she only scored 12 points on field goals (6 of 15) and committed six turnovers. She was 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

“If you take away her free throws, we held her to 12 points,” Banghart said. “We take great pride in taking away the other team’s strength. We’ve done that. We wanted to guard the arc with ball pressure and we also wanted to make their best player work harder. Defense, rebounding and ball control wins you a lot of games. Defense is something you can control.”

Although North Carolina’s halftime lead was double digits at 38-24, the margin was deceptively within range for the Leathernecks, but they struggled to mount momentum. The Tar Heels shot only 4-of-19 from 3-point range (21%). UNC entered the game averaging 35.6% from distance.

UNC runs away

North Carolina put away the game early in the third quarter when the Tar Heels went on a 15-3 run for 53-27 lead with 4:52 remaining. Grant hit two 3-pointers and Elina Aarnisalo one. The third-quarter start was the hot streak the Tar Heels lacked earlier in the game.

“All of the coaches and my teammates continued to implore me to keep shooting,” Grant said. “Don’t turn down open shots. They built a lot of confidence in me, and I pulled from that to hit two in a row. Everyone on our team on our team is capable of hitting a three.”

Grant, a 5-9 freshman, was 4-of-10 on 3-pointers, the only Tar Heel to shoot near the team’s season percentage of .356. As a team, they finished 10-of-40.

The 3-pointers were followed by Nivar’s showcasing her explosive speed. She was at midcourt with the ball and two Western Illinois players back on defense, but instead of pulling up, the senior from Apex Friendship put on a move and split the bewildered defenders for a layup.

North Carolina opened the first quarter with an 18-10 first lead when Harris finished the period with back-to-back layups in the final 43 seconds off a pass inside and an offensive rebound that she put back up before the buzzer.

“Western Illinois was packing it inside and making it hard for the offense to rebound and make a basket,” Harris said. “I think it was important for me to get that because it was a little bit in my head at the beginning. I was struggling a little bit. Getting that basket at the buzzer was good to keep the momentum going for the second quarter.”

The Tar Heels appeared positioned to pull way early in the second quarter when Brooks and Grant hit 3-pointers for a 27-13 lead. But a shooting slump led to a scoring drought over the next 3:09.

Western Illinois went on a 7-0 run, but it wasn’t the type of spurt to rattle nerves. The Leathernecks managed only one field goal with 5-of -6 free throws.

Scouting Maryland

The Terrapins were led by Mir McLean, a 5-11 senior guard who scored 19 points with 14 rebounds. Former Duke star Oluchi Okananwa, a first-team All-Big Ten pick and All-Defensive pick, averaging 18.0 points a game shooting 52.4 percent from the field, was in foul trouble early and limited to seven points in 14 minutes. Okananwa helped lead Duke to the 2025 ACC Tournament title as the Most Outstanding Player.

The Terrapins are playing in their 16th straight NCAA tournament, a stretch dating to their days as an ACC member before moving to the Big Ten in the 2014-15 season.

Maryland was ranked No. 17 in the final regular-season AP poll (writers) and No. 16 in the Coaches poll. North Carolina rankings entering tournament play were No. 15 in both, which accounted for the right to host first- and second-round games.

According to the NET rankings, No. 14 Maryland’s marquee wins are over No. 9 Minnesota, No. 16 Kentucky, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 23 USC and No. 28 Nebraska. Maryland finished the Big Ten tied for sixth.

This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 7:54 PM with the headline "UNC women roll in first-round NCAA Tournament win over Western Illinois."