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The UNC women's basketball team is a tough one to figure out. North Carolina (13-4, 2-2 ACC) beat a majority of its opponents with ease, but struggled against ranked competition.
The Tar Heels entered Sunday with four straight wins, but lost a 77-71 overtime decision against Stanford. UNC carried a 4-point lead into the fourth quarter, but only scored six points in the extra time period.
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As a result of their 1-1 week, which started with a 16-point win against California, the Tar Heels dropped to 18th in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches' Poll.
North Carolina, which fell three spots from last week, found itself sandwiched between Ole Miss (17th) and Ohio State.
UNC is a deep, defensive-minded squad anchored by Ciera Toomey and Indya Nivar. The Tar Heels have four players averaging double-digit point totals: Toomey (11.7 points per game), Nivar (11.6), Nyla Harris (10.6) and UCLA transfer Elina Aarnisalo (10.3).
North Carolina faces a tough test in Notre Dame, led by superstar Hannah Hidalgo, on Sunday. UNC returns home on January 15 to host Miami (FL), then travels to Florida State on Jan. 18. Georgia Tech (Jan. 22) and Syracuse (Jan. 25) close out the month, then a trip to NC State opens February for the Tar Heels.
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There's still plenty of season left for North Carolina, which head coach Courtney Banghart has playing a winning brand of basketball. If UNC can solve the issue of beating ranked teams, though, a rise in future rankings is coming.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC WBB ranked 18th in January 6 Coaches Poll
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