Tag: Indya Nivar

UNC Women’s Basketball at Florida State: Game preview, info, prediction and more

The UNC and Florida State women’s basketball team play each other, on Thursday night, in a battle of two top teams in the ACC. Who wins?

If you’re a college basketball fan, turn your televisions to the ACC Network on Thursday night.

At 6 p.m. ET, the UNC (20) and Florida State (21) women’s basketball teams will be playing each other in a Top-25 matchup. This game pits two of the ACC’s best teams against each other, with the victor owning a tie-breaker that will prove crucial come conference tournament time.

The Tar Heels (11-4, 3-0) are winners of their past five games, starting with a 60-point drubbing of Charleston Southern and also including a pair of ranked wins – Syracuse (at the time) and Notre Dame. UNC has one of the country’s most-talented senior duos in Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby, plus a couple of key transfers in Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski.

The Seminoles (13-4, 4-1), hoping to make their 11th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, are coming off a 78-72 win at Clemson on Sunday afternoon. While FSU nearly upset N.C. State in Raleigh last Thursday, the highlight of its season was a 1-point win over Tennessee in early November. The Seminoles are led by 20-point scorer Ta’Niya Latson.

If Carolina wins Thursday night, it’ll either take sole possession of first place in the ACC or stay tied with Virginia Tech. If the ‘Noles win, they could take over first place.

Tar Heels back in Women’s Hoops AP Poll for Week 10

Thanks to one of the biggest upsets in women’s college hoops over the weekend, UNC jumped back into the latest AP Poll. Where did it land?

In one of the ACC’s greatest upsets this year so far, the UNC women’s basketball team took down a ranked Notre Dame squad, 61-57, on Sunday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.

Carolina (11-4, 3-0) led for most of the first half, but fell behind entering the fourth quarter. The Tar Heel defense then locked down in the fourth quarter, limiting the Fighting Irish (10-3, 1-2) to just 11 points. UNC withstood double-digit scoring performances from Sonia Citron (18), Hannah Hidalgo (17) and KK Bransford (12).

Indya Nivar (16) and Lexi Donarski (13), both offseason transfers, were the only two Tar Heels to score in double-figures. Nivar and Maria Gakdeng, the Boston College transfer, were the only two Tar Heels to shoot over 50 percent.

With its fifth-consecutive win, UNC returned to the AP Poll at 20, just a spot ahead of Florida State.

Carolina’s loss to UConn seemed to spur its hot streak, as the women in baby blue have taken down Western Carolina, Oklahoma, Clemson, Syracuse and now Notre Dame. The victory over WCU saw a 60-point spread, while UNC beat Syracuse by 24 points.

The Tar Heels get another tough test on Thursday, Jan. 11, as they travel to Tallahassee and play 21st-ranked Florida State. Carolina will try for just its third win in 10 tries against the Seminoles (8-1, 3-1).

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UNC stays hot, downs ACC power Notre on road in crucial WBB matchup

The UNC women’s basketball team continued its winning ways on Sunday, upsetting ACC power Notre by four points on Sunday afternoon.

The UNC women’s basketball team is playing its best ball as it heads into the thick of ACC play.

The ACC is loaded, with N.C. State (3), Virginia Tech (13), Louisville (17), Florida State (22) and Notre Dame (16) all ranked in the AP Poll.

UNC was ranked earlier this year, but has a great case to climb back in after its latest result.

Carolina traveled to Notre Dame, which sports one of college basketball’s premier women’s hoops programs, to shock many with a 61-57 victory on Sunday, Jan. 7.

UNC (11-4, 3-0 ACC) helped its case for an upset early on, when it outscored the fighting Irish by eight in the opening quarter. Carolina scored the game’s first basket 17 seconds in, when center Maria Gakdeng converted on a layup, then didn’t give up the lead again until the third quarter.

With UNC down 46-45 after three quarters, Indya Nivar banked in a layup just 1:30 into the final frame. The Tar Heels never trailed again and limited Notre Dame to just 11 fourth-quarter points, its lowest in a quarter this game.

Carolina overcame a poor shooting night, as Nivar and Gakdeng were the only two Tar Heels to shoot over 50 percent. Nivar led UNC with 16 points.

The Tar Heels, now tied atop the ACC with Virginia Tech, stay on the road for a ranked matchup at Florida State. Carolina and the Seminoles (12-4, 3-1) will play Thursday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.

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Notre Dame has Citron again but not Westbeld in loss to North Carolina

A lost weekend for Notre Dame basketball.

Notre Dame’s [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] returned to the starting lineup against North Carolina after missing nine games with a knee sprain. However, her return was canceled out by the absence of [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag], who was being evaluated for a concussion after being injured in the Irish’s last game at Pittsburgh. With the Irish down to six rotational players, they lost to the Tar Heels, 61-57, who won their first game in South Bend in six tries.

Except for most of the third quarter in which the Irish led by as much as seven, the Tar Heels showed from the beginning that they were the better team during this particular evening at Purcell Pavilion. They made more plays when it really mattered and took advantage of having more available depth. While neither team shot well, the Heels held the advantage there (38.7% from the field for them and 31.1% for the Irish), and that made the big difference.

After tying the game at 55 with 3:41 left on a pair of Citron free throws, the Irish didn’t score again until the outcome already was decided. They still had a chance with time running out and trailing by only three, but [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag]’s layup attempt was blocked by Maria Gakdeng, forcing the Irish to foul Deja Kelly.

Even when Kelly missed both free throws, Gakdeng got the offensive rebound, and the ball got to Indya Nivar, who was fouled and split her ensuing two free throws for the last of her team-leading 16 points, putting the Heels up four. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] was fouled on the subsequent possession and missed two free throws. Lexi Donarski then finished the Irish off with two free throws of her own, bringing her total to 13 points.

The Irish wasted 18 points from Citron and a double-double from Hidalgo (17 points, 11 rebounds). [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] scored 12 points.

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Indya Nivar shines in Tar Heel debut

North Carolina women’s basketball transfer Indya Nivar shined in the Tar Heel’s game-one victory.

The North Carolina women’s basketball program kicked off its season with a lopsided 102-49 victory over Gardner-Webb.

One of the stars in the win is sophomore transfer [autotag]Indya Nivar[/autotag], who led the team in scoring with 17 points and notched in 11 rebounds. Nivar scored more points and rebounds in her debut with UNC than she had in any game last season with Stanford.

After the game, Nivar met with the media alongside head coach Courtney Banghart and teammate Alyssa Ustby, who was asked about her blockbuster performance in her debut.

“I just feel really happy that I’m here,” Nivar said. “The people around me have been supporting me through my process of adjusting to a new school and a new environment. I think they’ve been really helpful in my process, and making sure I’m developed in the way that I need to and that I’m comfortable in the way I need to perform for this team.

It was a great start to the regular season for the ball club, as they turned their sights to Davidson.

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North Carolina gets five-star transfer Indya Nivar

The North Carolina women’s basketball program lands five-star transfer Indya Nivar.

The North Carolina women’s basketball program continues to build momentum heading into next season, this time by getting Stanford player Indya Nivar from the transfer portal.

It was announced Sunday evening that Nivar would return to her home state to lace up for UNC. Before committing to Stanford, Nivar was a five-star recruit out of Apex, North Carolina, spending one year before putting her name in the transfer portal. Nivar appeared in 35 games, averaging 3.2 points with an average of 12.5 minutes per game.

This is another excellent addition for Courtney Banghart, whose already been busy grabbing talent like Maria Gakdeng from Boston College. UNC also has some of the nation’s best recruits coming in the fall, such as five-star recruits Ciera Toomey and Lexi Donarski.

Banghart is heading into her fifth year with the Tar Heels, and snagging another talent like Nivar is huge for UNC championship hopes.

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