Senior center Candace Sutton led UNC with 19 points in 20 minutes of play and sophomore wing La'Tangela Atkinson added 13 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds as the Tar Heels won the rebounding battle 59-29. Junior Nikita Bell came off the bench to score 12 points and Ivory Latta had 10 points and a game-high seven assists. Freshman Camille Little and junior Leah Metcalf scored nine points each, and Little added 10 rebounds. Every player on the UNC roster scored at least four points.
Senior Julie Young and junior Chandra Carey led Tennessee-Martin with 11 points each. Young and freshman Andrieka Jackson were the team's top rebounders with four each.
"We had a lot of rebounds, but we also missed a lot of easy shots," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We got the ball inside and showed good balance, and I liked the way we pushed the ball up the floor. I think we rushed some of our shots because of the tempo we were playing."
UNC's final score was the team's highest of the season and the first time the Tar Heels had scored 100 points since a 106-40 win over East Tennessee State on Nov. 24, 2002.
"We played at UNC two years ago, and they have a much more athletic team this year," Gary Van Atta, co-head coach of the Skyhawks. "UNC has speed and quickness at every position.
"My team played hard and competed. We got off to a good start and we forced 17 turnovers. I saw a lot of good things."
Carolina's 17 turnovers were a season high, but so were the team's 22 assists and 20 steals.
UT-Martin led 10-9 after two free throws by junior Danielle Page with 15:18 remaining in the first half. UNC then went on a 14-0 run that included points by six different Tar Heel players, and the lead stayed at double-digits for the rest of the game.
North Carolina shot 50.6 percent from the field, but 14.3 percent (1-for-7) from three-point range. Tennessee-Martin's shooting percentage was 34.8 , the highest by any UNC opponent this season. (The previous high was 31.4 percent by Kentucky.)
The Tar Heels return to action on Friday, hosting South Carolina State for a 7 p.m. game. Tennessee-Martin plays at Memphis on Saturday at 5 p.m.