UNC Women’s Hoops Schedule Breakdown: South Dakota State

UNC will begin the 2025 Cancun Challenge playing the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

Mar 7, 2025; Greensboro, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Lanie Grant (0) makes a 3 point shot against \Florida State Seminoles during the second quarter at First Horizon Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

UNC women's basketball will play South Dakota State Jackrabbits to begin the 2025 Cancun Challenge on Thursday, November 27, at 11:00 a.m. In that moment, the Tar Heels would enter the contest after playing the likes of NC Central, Elon, UCLA, and Fairfield in the WBCA Challenge, North Carolina A&T, and UNC Greensboro.

The Jackrabbits completed the 2024-2025 campaign with a record of 30-4, going undefeated in the Summit League, finishing 16-0. It also had a record of 14-1 at home, 11-2 on the road and 5-1 in neutral settings.

Nov 25, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart reacts during the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers during the second half at the Atlantis Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Some of South Dakota's wins came against Rice, Creighton, Wisconsin, Oregon, Eastern Washington, Montana, Dakota Wesleyan, Northern Iowa and more.

But interestingly enough, it lost to two ACC schools, Georgia Tech and Duke, with its other two losses happening against Texas and UConn (during the Round of 32 in the NCAAT).

Then-junior, Brooklyn Meyer, a Larchwood, Iowa native, led the team on the stat sheet, averaging 17 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game — shooting an outstanding 62.7 percent from the field.

Mar 24, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; South Dakota State Jackrabbits forward Brooklyn Meyer (31) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Behind Meyer was then-junior Haleigh Timmer, a Rapid City, South Dakota native, who recorded 12.8 points per game, as well as four rebounds and 1.3 assists, converting 48.4 percent from the field. Meyer also shot 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.

The third and final double-digit scorer for head coach Aaron Johnston was then-senior Paige Meyer, who added 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. She shot 43.6 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from the three-point line.

Mar 24, 2034; Columbia, So Carolina, USA; University of North Carolina Coach Courtney Banghart during the first quarter of the second round NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament game at the Colonial Life Center. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images via Greenville News | Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images via Greenville News

Courtney Banghart and Aaron Johnston Go Head-to-Head

It will be an interesting matchup between head coach Courtney Banghart and Johnston. Banghart, an experienced head coach with years of experience dating back to the Princeton days, is entering year No. 7 in Chapel Hill, while Johnston has stands at a 75 percent winning percentage, being the winningest head coach in the history of the program. This game will come down to strategy, execution and simply which team has the better performance.

Mar 22, 2024; Columbia, SC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart directs her team against the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

North Carolina will benefit from playing South Dakota as it charts its path toward the postseason next March. The Tar Heels' loss to rival Duke in the Sweet 16 has led to a revamped roster after losing key pieces, one that could make some noise throughout the 2025-2026 campaign. And it all starts on November 3, inside Carmichael Arena in front of its Carolina faithful.

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