UTM first-year head coach Tara Tansil has seen, played and coached against championship teams in the past. Now she has exposed her young Skyhawk team to one of the best in the country, No. 2 North Carolina.

The host Tar Heel women posted a 96-36 win over the Skyhawks Thursday night in Carmichael Auditorium to run their record to 7-0. Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, the Memphis roster looks just as intimidating as North Carolina’s with five players taller than six foot.

“The one thing we talked about was being aggressive about getting to the basket, and that’s the one thing we did not do,” Tansil said.

Five Tar Heels scored in double figures as North Carolina won its second game in two nights and its fourth in six days. North Carolina is off to its best start since going 7-0 in 1996-97.

Ivory Latta led North Carolina’s starters with 15 points and five assists. Nikita Bell added 12 points and Erlana Larkins chipped in 10. The Skyhawks sustained their third straight defeat. No UT Martin starter had more than Andreika Jackson’s five points. Reserve Deina Willingham came off the bench to score a team-high eight points.

“They’ve got one heck of a team,” Tansil said. “When they sub you don’t see any drop-off in talent at all.”

North Carolina scored on seven of its first eight possessions, took a 16-0 lead and was up 49-21 by halftime. North Carolina held the Skyhawks scoreless for a stretch of 8:26 in the second half and without a basket for 10:18.

“We didn’t do a good job at all with fundamentals, and they’re a great defensive team,” Tansil said. “That’s where our 21 turnovers came from.”