No. 15 North Carolina women beat Charleston Southern 83-53 to begin the season

Updated Nov. 4, 2024 1:25 p.m. ET

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Alyssa Ustby had 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Lexi Donarski added 14 points, and No. 15 North Carolina beat Charleston Southern 83-53 on Monday to begin the season.

UNC has won 12 straight games against Charleston Southern and seven consecutive season openers. The Tar Heels open the season ranked for the third consecutive year.

UNC coach Courtney Banghart returns nine players from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad, including starters Ustby, Donarski and Maria Gakdeng. The trio accounted for 47.4% of UNC’s scoring in 2023-24. Ustby averaged a double-double in ACC action last season with 12.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.

Trayanna Crisp, a transfer from Arizona State, added 11 points off the bench for UNC. Gakdeng grabbed seven of the Tar Heels' 46 rebounds, while Charleston Southern had just 34.

Catherine Alben led Charleston Southern with 18 points, and Tyonna Bailey had 11 points and eight rebounds. Alben was the Buccaneers' second-leading scorer last season with 13.9 points per game.

UNC plays UNC Wilmington and North Carolina A&T in its next two games before hosting No. 2 UConn in a neutral site game on Nov. 15. The Tar Heels traveled to Connecticut last year and lost to the Huskies 76-64.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

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