CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Fifth-year senior Leigha Brown had 25 points and eight rebounds, and 19th-ranked Michigan knocked off No. 6 North Carolina 76-68 on Tuesday night at the inaugural Jumpman Invitational.
The 6-foot-1 Brown was 9 of 15 from the field and made three 3-pointers in her 113th career game for the Wolverines.
Laila Phelia added 20 points for Michigan (11-1), which shot 46% from the field while holding North Carolina to 32%.
Deja Kelly had 15 points and Eva Hodgson had 13 for North Carolina (9-2), which couldn’t complete the comeback after falling behind by 23 points in the first half. Alyssa Ustby had 11 points and 11 rebounds for UNC.
The two-day event at the Spectrum Center features both the men’s and women’s teams from the original four schools to sign partnership deals with Jordan Brand in both basketball and football: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
Michigan got off to a spectacular start behind Brown, shooting 64% from the field to build a 47-24 advantage midway through the second quarter. Brown had 18 points in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting from the field along with three 3s.
UNC would close the first half on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 17 and capture some momentum heading into the locker room.
Using a half-court trap, the Tar Heels cut Michigan’s lead to eight with 4 1/2 minutes to play as Kelly stripped Brown and scored on an easy layup.
But Brown answered with a jumper and the Tar Heels didn’t cut the lead to single digits until 20 seconds remained.
IN THE CROWD
Hall of Fame college basketball coach Roy Williams was seated courtside in his Tar Heels gear. NBA star Carmelo Anthony was also on hand, as was former Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan: This is a potent offensive team. The first quarter was particularly impressive with the Wolverines playing near flawless basketball, scoring 35 points on 75% shooting while committing just one turnover. Their only loss of the season was to unranked Toledo on Dec. 8.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels had scored 99 and 89 points in their previous two games but struggled to put the ball in the net in the first half. UNC’s only other loss of the season came against No. 4 Indiana on Dec. 1.
UP NEXT
Michigan: Visits Nebraska on Dec. 28.
North Carolina: Hosts Florida State on Dec. 29.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
