Fifth graders dance to Drake and cheer on UNC’s women’s basketball to third straight win

They were younger and smaller than most fans. Yet when the fifth graders from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School district cheered at the North Carolina women’s basketball game, they yelled louder than the others.

They waved their Carolina Blue and white pompoms around, screamed and danced to Drake’s “In my feelings,” while sneaking a glance at the video board up above, hoping that a camera caught them.

“I know they make a lot of noise, a lot of the older folks don’t like it, but that’s their problem,” UNC women’s basketball coach, Sylvia Hatchell, said after her team’s 59-47 win over Virginia Commonwealth. “I like having the kids around and I hope we can do more of this.”

The Tar Heels held the inaugural “Education Day” at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The game was held earlier than normal so fifth grade students from seven of the 11 elementary schools in the CHCCS district could attend the game. The students received pamphlets and workbooks that taught them about basketball and health.

June Pacheco, an Exceptional Children’s teacher at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, said some of the students had never been to a basketball game before.

“I think any new association to anything is great for kids, so coming into a university setting, seeing players work as a team, the pompoms, the concession stands, the grounds here, is just educational and exposes them to something different than maybe what they’ve never been exposed to,” Pacheco said. “This is great experience for them.”

UNC’s win over VCU was its third of the season. Sophomore center Janelle Bailey led the Tar Heels with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Senior guard Paris Kea, who leads the team with 19 points per game, had 15 points on Wednesday.

The women’s basketball team finished with its third consecutive losing season last year, and are trying to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015, when it finished 26-9.

The Tar Heels have started the 2018-19 season 3-0, and will play at Colorado on Sunday. Their next home game is Dec. 2 against Maine at Carmichael Arena.