No. 11 North Carolina women beat North Carolina Central 90-42 for 8th straight season-opening win

Audio By Carbonatix

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Freshman Nyla Brooks scored 15 points off the bench, Ciera Toomey and Nyla Harris each had a double-double and No. 11 North Carolina beat North Carolina Central 90-42 on Monday to begin the season.

North Carolina, coming off of its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and second Sweet 16 in the last four seasons, won its eighth season opener in a row. The Tar Heels have multiple challenges in nonconference play, taking on seven teams from the tournament — including two Final Four squads.

Toomey scored a career-high 13 points to go with 11 rebounds and Harris, a transfer from Louisville, had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Elina Aarnisalo, a transfer from UCLA, and Indya Nivar each added 13 points. North Carolina had a 48-20 rebounding advantage and a 12-0 edge in fast-break points.

Aarnisalo and Nivar each scored 11 points in the first half, and Brooks added 10 as North Carolina opened a 54-21 lead at the break. Aarnisalo, Nivar and Brooks combined to make 14 baskets, while NCCU was just 8 of 32 (25%) from the field. North Carolina turned 12 turnovers into 17 of its 53 points.

Morgan Callahan, the MEAC preseason player of the year, was held to six points and seven rebounds for NCCU. Aysia Hinton added a team-high nine points. NCCU also has No. 2 South Carolina and No. 6 Oklahoma on its schedule in December.

North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick sat courtside in the first half.

___

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