Indya Nivar had 16 points and six assists, Nyla Harris had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five steals as No. 16 North Carolina beat California 71-55 on Thursday.
Ciera Toomey also scored 13 and finished with nine rebounds and three blocks for North Carolina (13-3, 2-1 ACC).
The Tar Heels have won four in a row.
Cal led 17-14 after one quarter and 34-32 at halftime, but North Carolina went ahead for good in the third quarter.
Lanie Grant hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer that sparked a 10-2 run that culminated when Reniya Kelly made another 3 that made it 50-45 with 1:05 left in the third quarter.
Nivar scored six points before Kelly converted a three-point play that capped a 16-4 run to open the fourth that pushed UNC’s lead to 16 points with 3:56 to play.
Sakima Walker led Cal (9-6, 0-2) with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The rest of the team shot 33% (13 of 39) from the field as starting point guard Puff Morris was out with a leg injury.
North Carolina scored 19 points off 22 Bears turnovers and outscored Cal 50-26 in the paint.
Up next
North Carolina: Hosts Stanford on Sunday.
Cal: Visits North Carolina State on Sunday.