Gameday preview: Gophers women's basketball vs. North Carolina

8 p.m. vs. North Carolina at Williams Arena in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge * Big Ten Network, 96.7-FM

Gophers update: This is the first of three consecutive games against teams from Power Five conferences; the Gophers open Big Ten play next, with games vs. Nebraska and at Michigan. The Gophers have won two straight since returning from the Bahamas; their 81-52 victory Sunday over Texas-San Antonio was the program's biggest margin of victory since beating Penn State in February 2019. G Jasmine Powell is coming off a 23-point, eight-assist, six-rebound game. G Alexia Smith had a career-high 14 points Sunday. G Gadiva Hubbard (1,297) has moved into 16th on the program's all-time scoring list.

North Carolina update: North Carolina is undefeated but has not really been tested. Its two victories over Power Five teams — TCU and Washington — came against struggling programs. The Tar Heels lost their top three scorers from last season's NCAA tournament team. They are led by Deja Kelly (15.8 points per game), Alyssa Ustby (14.8) and Eva Hodgson (11.0). North Carolina has a plus-35.5-point scoring margin in its six wins and is holding opponents to 29% shooting overall, 21.3% shooting on threes and just 44.3 points per game.