North Carolina

No. 19 Cal Women Lose at Home to No. 15 North Carolina

Published

4 weeks ago

January 31, 2025

No. 19 Cal Women Lose at Home to No. 15 North Carolina

Cal’s offense disappeared in the fourth quarter and it resulted in the19th-ranked Bears women’s basketball team suffering its first home loss of the season on Thursday, as No. 15 North Carolina defeated Cal 65-52 at Haas Pavilion.

Ioanna Krimili set a Cal single-season record for three-pointers when she made her third triple of the game in the third quarter. That gave her 65 three-pointers for the season, surpassing the previous record of 64 set by Jennifer Self in 1991-92. She finished with 20 points and four three-pointers, giving her 66 for the season, but it was not enough to overcome the Bears’ fourth-quarter struggles.

The Bears trailed by just two points after three quarters and had the crowd of 2,886 behind them. But they missed their first seven field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter to fall hopelessly behind. Cal ended up shooting 2-for-12 in the final quarter when the Bears scored just seven points.

“I thought we had some good looks that didn’t fall,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said of the fourth-quarter troubles. “I’ve got to say their defensive pressure, their intensity gave us some trouble. They kind of bullied us off our lines in trying to set screens, let alone use screens. And Michelle [Onyiah] is a big piece for us, and when she’s not in the game it’s harder for us to get our shooters looks.”

Onyiah scored 10 points in the first quarter and 14 for the game, but she was limited to 18 minutes of court time because of foul trouble, and she ultimately left the game with three minutes left because of leg cramps.

Krimili had a different take on the Bears’ fourth-quarter struggles.

“Just not hitting shots we normally do,” she said.

Krimili was 4-for-8 from long range but the rest of the team was just 1-for-9 from beyond the arc. Lulu Twidale, the Bears’ second-leading scorer at 13.2 points per game entering Thursday’s action, had just three points on 1-for-9 shooting. Marta Suarez was 4-for-14 from the field, including 0-for-4 from deep, for eight points, while Kayla Williams, who averages 11.4 points, had just two points for Cal.

North Carolina made 47.4% of its shots from the field for the game, while Cal shot 37.3%. Cal’s 52 points represented the Bears’ second-lowest output of the season and their lowest at home.

“This was really a good defensive effort,” said North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart, whose team leads the ACC in scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense.

Cal ‘s record slipped to18-4 overall and 6-3 in the ACC. Cal had been 11-0 at home this season before Thursday’s loss to North Carolina (19-4, 7-3 ACC). The Tar Heels are now 5-0 in games played on their opponent’s home court and 9-1 in all games played away from home. And on Thursday they pulled off the difficult task of winning the first game of a two-game road trip after traveling from the East Coast the day before.

The Bears let the game get away from them in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. They trailed by just 47-45 to being the quarter but the deficit grew to 56-47 with 4:11 remaining.

North Carolina led by 11 points early in the third quarter, but the Bears rallied to get within one point midway through the third period, which ended with North Carolina holding a two-point lead at 47-45.

The Tar Heels scored the final seven points to the second quarter to take a 33-26 lead at halftime.

Onyiah led all scorers in the first half with 10 points, all coming in the first quarter on 5-or-5 shooting.

Cal’s only lead in the first half was at 2-0, although the Bears tied the score at 26-26 with 4:09 left in the second quarter on a bucket by Marta Suarez. But a follow basket by Alyssa Ustby, and inside shot by Lexi Donarski and a three-pointer by Donarski gave North Carolina a seven-point lead at intermission.

Cal shot 44% from the field in the first half and was 2-for-9 on three-pointers. Both triples were scored by Krimili, who tied the Cal single-season record for three-pointers with her second three-pointer, which gave her 46 for the season. She had eight first-half points.

NOTES: Thursday’s game was the first time two top-20 teams met at Haas Pavilion since the then-No. 14 Golden Bears hosted then-No. 1 UConn on Dec. 22, 2018.

Cal was hoping to beat a ranked team for the third time this season, but it didn’t happen.

Cal’s 18-3 record before Thursday’s game represented the Golden Bears best record after 21 games since 2012-13, when Cal began the season 30-2 and reached the NCAA tournament Final Four.

North Carolina entered Thursday’s game leading the ACC in both scoring defense, allowing 54.9 points, and field-goal percentage defense, at 34.7%.

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North Carolina

Statewide project aims to prevent human trafficking across NC

Published

2 hours ago

February 28, 2025

Press Room

Statewide project aims to prevent human trafficking across NC

Central North Carolina had two Amber Alerts issued for
15-year-old girls: One in Harnett County and the other in Siler City.

Both girls were found safe, but resulted in human trafficking
charges for the men allegedly involved.

Between July 2023 – July 2024, the North Carolina Department
of Administration helped 767 human trafficking survivors in the state.

Since 2007 throughout the country, the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection reported 2,503 human trafficking cases and 7,002 victims

On Friday, WRAL News spoke with Dean Duncan, the principal investigator
for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Project No Rest.

Project No Rest is
a statewide project to increase awareness and prevention around human
trafficking and how it affects our children and young people in North Carolina.

Duncan explained what human trafficking looks like.

“What they’re going through is they’re experiencing a great
deal of trauma, and they’re doing something that ordinarily they wouldn’t do,
but they’ve been motivated by the person who is exploiting them,” Duncan said.

Duncan said the person who is committing a crime or exploiting
someone else is usually doing it for money. He said authorities categorize
trafficking between sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

In 2023, the National Human Trafficking Hotline ranked North
Carolina eighth in the nation in the number of calls to its hotline. Duncan
said North Carolina ranked 10th in the nation in the number of cases
or instances of human trafficking because of those calls.

Duncan is also a research professor at UNC’s School of
Social Work. He recommended parents keep communication open with their children
to keep them safe.

National Human Trafficking Hotline

The National Human Trafficking hotline is
available 24/7 by calling 1-888-373-7888.

People can also text 233733 or use the organization’s chat

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North Carolina

I-40 near NC-Tennessee line to reopen Saturday with unusual conditions, NCDOT says

Published

21 hours ago

February 28, 2025

Press Room

I-40 near NC-Tennessee line to reopen Saturday with unusual conditions, NCDOT says

Interstate 40 will reopen Saturday in western North Carolina with some exceptions.

On Thursday, a North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesperson discussed this weekend’s I-40 reopening with one lane in each direction near the North Carolina-Tennessee state line.

“We are happy to have this open for the people who depend on a connected transportation system between North Carolina and Tennessee,” said Wanda Payne, an engineer with NDOT. “This opening improves the flow of people, goods and services between our two states and between locations far beyond Haywood County.”

Portions of the road were swallowed into the Pigeon River in late September 2024 when Hurricane Helene ripped through the Southeast, causing devastating flooding in the North Carolina mountains and nearly wiping some communities off the map.

In February, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced I-40 would partially reopen by March 1.

According to NCDOT, Helene washed away 3 million cubic yards of dirt, rock and material from the side of I-40. The interstate has been closed since late September 2024.

NCDOT, Wright Brothers and GeoStablization International began fixing the road. This included driving steel rods into bedrock, filling the rods with grout, applying a metal screen, and spraying concrete on the face of the walls.

Crews installed nearly 90,000 square feet of soil-nail walls at 10 different locations of the interstate. They also drilled nearly 2,100 feet of nails and fortified four miles of the shoulder for truck traffic.

NCDOT said the one-lane stretch will extend around approximately 12 miles from Cold Springs Creek Road in North Carolina to Big Creek Road in Tennessee. They are anticipating delays due to the unique conditions, especially during the weekends and holiday weekends.

NCDOT gave WRAL News a list of the other conditions drivers can expect in the area:

Narrow lanes with reduced shoulders
A reduced speed limit of 35 mph
A 9-inch-by-9-inch concrete curb separating traffic.
Periodic breaks to provide EMS access.
Standard 18-wheeler tractor-trailers are allowed, but no wide loads. Wide loads must utilize I-77 and I-81 to travel between the two states.
18-wheelers should note that while they will be allowed to travel on I-40 through the gorge, there is no alternate routes available beyond Exit 20.

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North Carolina

What channel is Duke vs North Carolina on today? Time, TV schedule to watch women’s basketball

Published

2 days ago

February 27, 2025

Press Room

What channel is Duke vs North Carolina on today? Time, TV schedule to watch women’s basketball

The North Carolina-Duke rivalry between two top 20-ranked teams highlights the women’s college basketball schedule on Thursday.

The Blue Devils, who fell to the Tar Heels 53-46 earlier this season, look to even the season series at 1-1 and move into a tie with 13-4 conference records heading into the final game of the regular season.

It’ll be quite the challenge for North Carolina to complete the season sweep of Duke, as the Blue Devils are 13-1 this season at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

North Carolina and Duke will both ask for big games from leading scorers Maria Gakdeng and Toby Fournier, who are averaging 11.2 and 13.4 points per game this season for the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, respectively.

Here’s how to watch the in-state rivalry game between North Carolina and Duke on Thursday:

Watch North Carolina-Duke women’s basketball live with Fubo (free trial)

What channel is North Carolina vs Duke on today?

TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN app, Fubo

North Carolina-Duke will air live on ESPN, with streaming options available on the ESPN app or Fubo, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

North Carolina vs Duke time today

Time: 7 p.m. ET
Date: Thursday, Feb. 27
Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina)

North Carolina-Duke is set for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff on Thursday, Feb. 27, at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

North Carolina vs Duke predictions, picks, odds

Duke 61, North Carolina 55: While North Carolina took game one between both rivals earlier this season, Duke will capitalize on its strong home crowd to even the season series with the Tar Heels. Look for Fournier, who has scored 20 or more points in three of her seven games in February, to have a strong showing.

North Carolina women’s basketball schedule 2025

Here’s a look at North Carolina’s last five results. See the Tar Heels’ full schedule here.

Feb. 23: North Carolina 79, Louisville 75
Feb. 20: North Carolina 68, Syracuse 58
Feb. 16: North Carolina 66, NC State 65
Feb. 13: North Carolina 67, Virginia Tech 62
Feb. 9: North Carolina 53, Clemson 51

Duke women’s basketball schedule 2025

Here’s a look at Duke’s last five results. See the Blue Devils’ full schedule here.

Feb. 23: Duke 80, Syracuse 49
Feb. 20: Louisville 70, Duke 62
Feb. 17: Notre Dame 64, Duke 49
Feb. 13: Duke 72, Wake Forest 47
Feb. 9: Duke 90, Miami 49

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