GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC women’s basketball team opens ACC Tournament play Thursday, taking on Clemson at 6 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.
North Carolina (20-9, 11-7 ACC) is seeded seventh in the tournament field. Clemson (17-14, 7-11 ACC) is the No. 10 seed and advanced to the second round with a first-round win over Pitt on Wednesday.
Tar Heels vs Tigers
The Tar Heels and Tigers are meeting for the 90th time in a rivalry that dates back to the 1975-76 season, Carolina’s second as a varsity program under the umbrella of the Department of Athletics.
The Tar Heels lead the overall series 61-28 after winning this season’s first matchup, the last six in a row, and 11 of the past 13.
Rivalry Notes
• UNC won the season’s first meeting, 69-58 at Clemson on Jan. 29.
• The game was the collegiate debut for redshirt freshman guard Kayla McPherson, who had missed all of 2021-22 with a knee injury and then was sidelined for the first 20 games of 2022-23 with a separate injury.
• Freshman guard Paulina Paris made her first start and led UNC with a career-high 22 points, including six 3-pointers. She was named ACC Freshman of the Week the following day.
• UNC led wire-to-wire and was up by 22 early in the third quarter before Clemson used a 17-0 run to cut the margin to four heading into the fourth quarter.
• The game was one of five times this season but the only time in ACC play that UNC never trailed.
• UNC grabbed 16 steals – equal to the season high, which also came against Jackson State in the opener – but also committed a season-high 22 turnovers.
Tournament Notes
• UNC and Clemson last met in ACC Tournament play in 2012, with fifth-seeded Carolina winning 90-51 in a first round game against the No. 12 Tigers.
• UNC is 11-4 all-time against Clemson in ACC Tournament play.
• UNC beat Clemson on the way to five of its nine championships. The Tar Heels beat the Tigers for the ACC title in 1997 and 1998. Clemson beat UNC for the conference championship in 1999.
• UNC’s last loss to Clemson in ACC Tournament play was in 2001, when No. 2 Clemson beat No. 7 Carolina in the quarterfinals, 75-57.
Tar Heel Trends
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