Exactly one year ago, South Carolina handed the Tar Heels their worst loss of the season, a 85-53 drubbing.
UNC got a bit of revenge knocking off previously unbeaten and 18th ranked South Carolina tonight, 78-69.
South Carolina native La'Tangela Atkinson shined in her return to her home state with a double-double and Nikita Bell added 15 points, many of them key scores.
The game was won down the stretch as UNC went out to a 23 point lead and had to hold off a hard charging Gamecock squad who got 29 points from Jocelyn Penn.
Atkinson, who is rapidly turning into a force to be reckoned with, had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The freshman from Bishopville, S.C leads the Heels in scoring (12.8 points per game) and rebounding (7.9 per game).
She wasn't alone as five Carolina players were in double figures. In a balanced attack, the Heels got 15 points from center Candace Sutton, 12 from guard Leah Metcalf and 10 from Coretta Brown.
Carolina went into halftime with a 39-25 lead helped substantially by a horrible shooting half from USC. Then South Carolina rallied in the second half with a 25-11 run but could not overcome foul trouble and the clock.
The Heels are in playing in the Carolinas Classic at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Next up for 13th ranked Carolina is nine-day holiday break. The Tar Heels will return to action on Dec. 29 with a home game against Charleston Southern. Tipoff is 2 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium.