North Carolina welcomed the return of head coach Sylvia Hatchell to the sidelines by charging from the gate to a 7-0 overall record that includes winning the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Hawaii during Thanksgiving weekend.
Hatchell has returned to coach the Tar Heels this season after missing last season as she battled leukemia.
The three victories scored in Hawaii were against Stanford (70-54), Prairie View A&M (81-45) and Hawaii (74-65). Those wins, combined with first week victories against UCLA, Oklahoma State and Oregon, has North Carolina now No. 6 in the Associated Press poll.
The biggest win of the week was the 16-point victory against Stanford, which came seven months after the Cardinal had ended North Carolinaâs season in the regional championship game of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Latifah Coleman scored a career-high 19 points and Xylina McDaniel added 15 points in the decisive win.
The Tar Heels will return to action on Thursday with a road game at Rutgers, which will come into that game undefeated as well with a 6-0 mark.
