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2023–24 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team

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2023–24 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record20–13 (11–7 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCarmichael Arena
Seasons
2023–24 ACC women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 18 Virginia Tech 14 – 4   .778 25 – 8   .758
No. 4 NC State 13 – 5   .722 31 – 7   .816
No. 20 Syracuse 13 – 5   .722 24 – 8   .750
No. 11 Notre Dame † 13 – 5   .722 28 – 7   .800
Louisville 12 – 6   .667 24 – 10   .706
Florida State 12 – 6   .667 23 – 11   .676
No. 17 Duke 11 – 7   .611 22 – 12   .647
North Carolina 11 – 7   .611 20 – 13   .606
Miami (FL) 8 – 10   .444 19 – 12   .613
Georgia Tech 7 – 11   .389 17 – 16   .515
Virginia 7 – 11   .389 16 – 16   .500
Clemson 5 – 13   .278 12 – 19   .387
Boston College 5 – 13   .278 14 – 19   .424
Wake Forest 2 – 16   .111 7 – 25   .219
Pittsburgh 2 – 16   .111 8 – 24   .250
† 2024 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2023–24 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Tar Heels were led by head coach Courtney Banghart, in her fifth season in Chapel Hill. She was assisted by Joanne Aluka-White, Adrian Walters, and Itoro Coleman. The Tar Heels played their home games at Carmichael Arena, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Tar Heels started the season ranked sixteenth in the nation and won their first five straight games. However, they then lost four of their next five games, including two at their early season tournament, the Gulf Coast Showcase, and their ACC–SEC Challenge matchup. Three of these four losses were to ranked teams, including number 16 Kansas State, number 1 South Carolina and number 17 Connecticut. They finished the non-conference season with two straight wins and a 8–4 record. The Tar Heels won their first three ACC regular season games, including wins over number 25 Syracuse and at number 16 Notre Dame. They dropped a game to number 21 Florida State before winning their next four straight games. Their four game winning streak included a win over number 13 Louisville. The Tar Heels lost their next four straight games and fell out of the national rankings. They lost two of their final six games of the season, including to number 8 Virginia Tech. A highlight of the wins was a rivalry win over number 6 NC State.

The Tar Heels finished the season 20–13 overall and 11–7 in ACC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the eighth seed in the ACC tournament,lost to ninth seed Miami in the Second Round. They received an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, marking the fourth straight time the Tar Heels qualified for the tournament. As the eighth seed in the Albany 1 region, they defeated ninth seed Michigan State in the First Round before losing at first seed South Carolina in the Second Round to end their season.

Previous season

[edit]

Ranked No. 12 in the preseason AP Poll, Banghart's Tar Heels got off to another hot start. They won six straight to start the season, culminating in a come-from-behind victory to defeat No. 5 Iowa State in the championship game of the women's PKI, climbing as high as No. 6 in the nation during their win streak.[1] ACC play proved more challenging for the Tar Heels, as the team would lose its first three conference games in a row before upsetting then-No. 4 Notre Dame at home in Carmichael to earn their first ACC win of the season.[2]

The Tar Heels would finish ACC play with an 11–7 conference record, tying Miami for sixth in the regular season standings, but lost the tiebreaker to the Hurricanes and were awarded the 7 seed in the ACC Tournament. They would face and defeat 10th seed Clemson in the second round, giving Coach Banghart her first victory in the ACC tournament as Tar Heel coach.

After being in contention most of the season for a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament, which would have given them the privilege of hosting first and second round games, the Tar Heels ultimately earned the 6 seed in the Seattle 3 Regional. They would defeat 11 seed St. John's in the first round before losing to 3 seed Ohio State in the second round, ending their season just shy of a second-straight sweet sixteen appearance and with a 22–11 overall record.[3]

Offseason

[edit]

Shortly following the conclusion of the 2022–23 season, guard/forward Destiny Adams announced her intentions to enter the transfer portal via social media.[4] Adams later committed to Rutgers, returning to her home state of New Jersey.[5]

A day after Adams, multi-year starter Kennedy Todd-Williams also entered the transfer portal, to the surprise of many in Chapel Hill.[6] She committed to Ole Miss shortly thereafter.[7]

Guards Eva Hodgson and Ariel Young also departed the team at the end of the season. Young was forced to medically retire due to a knee injury sustained in 2021,[8] and Hodgson completed her fifth and final year of college eligibility.

In addition to a highly touted incoming recruiting class, Banghart and the Tar Heels have been active in the transfer portal to mitigate the departures, as on April 3, former Boston College F/C Maria Gakdeng committed to the Tar Heels for the 2023–24 season.[9]

The Tar Heels added another player from the transfer portal on April 24, when former Iowa State guard and 2022 Big XII Defensive Player of the Year Lexi Donarski committed to the team. She has two years of eligibility remaining.[10]

The roster received another boost when 2022 NC Gatorade POY and McDonald's All-American Indya Nivar committed to the team on April 30, in a post on social media.[11] She had spent her first year of college basketball at Stanford.

Departures

[edit]
Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Destiny Adams 20 G/F 6'3" Sophomore Manchester, NJ Transferred to Rutgers[5]
Eva Hodgson 10 G 5'10" RS Senior Rindge, NH Exhausted Eligibility
Kennedy Todd-Williams 3 G 6'0" Junior Jacksonville, NC Transferred to Ole Miss[7]
Malu Tshitenge 21 F 6'3" Senior Germantown, MD Graduated
Ariel Young 11 G 6'1" RS Senior Tallahassee, FL Medical Retirement[8]

Additions

[edit]

Incoming transfers

[edit]
Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Lexi Donarski 20 G 6'0" Senior La Crosse, WI Iowa State[10]
Maria Gakdeng 5 F/C 6'3" Junior Lanham, MD Boston College[9]
Indya Nivar 24 G 5'10" Sophomore Apex, NC Stanford[11]

Recruiting class

[edit]
College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ciera Toomey
P 		Dunmore, PA Dunmore 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) N/A Apr 11, 2022 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 97
Reniya Kelly
PG 		Hoover, AL Hoover 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) N/A Nov 20, 2021 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 95
Rylee Grays
P 		Houston, TX Pearland 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) N/A Jun 20, 2022 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 92
Laila Hull
F 		Zionsville, IN Zionsville Community 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A Oct 25, 2022 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 91
Sydney Barker†
G 		Durham, NC Jordan 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Sources:[12][13]

† Denotes Walk-On

Roster

[edit]
2023–24 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Alexandria Zelaya 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Sr Millennium Goodyear, AZ
G 1 Alyssa Ustby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Lourdes Rochester, MN
G 2 Paulina Paris 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Saddle River Day School Congers, NY
F 4 Laila Hull 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Zionsville Community Zionsville, IN
F/C 5 Maria Gakdeng 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Boston College Lanham, MD
G 10 Reniya Kelly 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Fr Hoover Hoover, AL
G 11 Kayla McPherson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS So Madison County Hull, GA
G/F 13 Teonni Key 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS So Cary Cary, NC
G 15 Sydney Barker 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr Jordan Durham, NC
G 20 Lexi Donarski 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Iowa State La Crosse, WI
F/C 21 Ciera Toomey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Dunmore Dunmore, PA
F/C 22 Rylee Grays 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Pearland Houston, TX
G 24 Indya Nivar 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So Stanford Apex, NC
G 25 Deja Kelly 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Duncanville San Antonio, TX
F 31 Anya Poole 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Southeast Raleigh Raleigh, NC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 3, 2023

Schedule

[edit]

Source[14]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference Regular Season
November 8, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 16 Gardner–Webb W 102–49  1–0
 Carmichael Arena (2,212)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 12, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 16 Davidson W 74–70  2–0
 Carmichael Arena (2,336)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 15, 2023*
11:00 a.m., ACCNX 		No. 17 Hampton W 62–32  3–0
 Carmichael Arena (3,144)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 18, 2023*
3:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 17 Elon W 68–39  4–0
 Carmichael Arena (2,566)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 24, 2023*
1:30 p.m., FloHoops 		No. 18 vs. Vermont
Gulf Coast Showcase first round 		W 54–51  5–0
 Hertz Arena (327)
Estero, FL
November 25, 2023*
5:00 p.m., FloHoops 		No. 18 vs. No. 16 Kansas State
Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals 		L 56–63  5–1
 Hertz Arena (2,207)
Estero, FL
November 26, 2023*
5:00 p.m., FloHoops 		No. 18 vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast Showcase 3rd place game 		L 64–65  5–2
 Hertz Arena (2,120)
Estero, FL
November 30, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 24 No. 1 South Carolina
ACC–SEC Challenge 		L 58–65  5–3
 Carmichael Arena (6,319)
Chapel Hill, NC
December 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 24 UNC Greensboro W 81–66  6–3
 Carmichael Arena (2,066)
Chapel Hill, NC
December 10, 2023*
5:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 24 vs. No. 17 Connecticut
Hall of Fame Women's Showcase 		L 64–76  6–4
 Mohegan Sun Arena (8,428)
Uncasville, CT
December 15, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 25 Western Carolina W 96–36  7–4
 Carmichael Arena (2,643)
Chapel Hill, NC
December 19, 2023*
9:30 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 24 vs. Oklahoma
Jumpman Invitational 		W 61–52  8–4
 Spectrum Center (7,027)
Charlotte, NC
ACC Regular Season
December 31, 2023
12:00 p.m., The CW 		No. 24 Clemson W 82–76  9–4
(1–0) 		Carmichael Arena (3,820)
Chapel Hill, NC
January 4, 2024
6:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 25 Syracuse W 75–51  10–4
(2–0) 		Carmichael Arena (2,006)
Chapel Hill, NC
January 7, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at No. 16 Notre Dame W 61–57  11–4
(3–0) 		Purcell Pavilion (6,418)
Notre Dame, IN
January 11, 2024
6:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 20 at No. 21 Florida State L 62–70  11–5
(3–1) 		Donald L. Tucker Center (1,946)
Tallahassee, FL
January 14, 2024
4:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 20 Virginia W 81–68  12–5
(4–1) 		Carmichael Arena (4,579)
Chapel Hill, NC
January 18, 2024
6:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 23 at Georgia Tech W 73–68  13–5
(5–1) 		McCamish Pavilion (1,605)
Atlanta, GA
January 21, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 23 No. 13 Louisville W 79–68  14–5
(6–1) 		Carmichael Arena (6,073)
Chapel Hill, NC
January 25, 2024
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 20 Miami (FL) W 66–61  15–5
(7–1) 		Carmichael Arena (2,530)
Chapel Hill, NC
January 28, 2024
12:00 p.m., The CW 		No. 20 at Virginia L 66–81  15–6
(7–2) 		John Paul Jones Arena (5,690)
Charlottesville, VA
February 1, 2024
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 24 at No. 5 NC State
Rivalry 		L 59–63  15–7
(7–3) 		Reynolds Coliseum (5,500)
Raleigh, NC
February 4, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 24 No. 17 Virginia Tech L 61–70 OT 15–8
(7–4) 		Carmichael Arena (5,618)
Chapel Hill, NC
February 11, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCN 		at Duke L 60–68 OT 15–9
(7–5) 		Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Durham, NC
February 15, 2024
6:00 p.m., ACCNX 		Pittsburgh W 75–62  16–9
(8–5) 		Carmichael Arena (2,508)
Chapel Hill, NC
February 18, 2024
6:00 p.m., ACCN 		at Wake Forest W 58–50  17–9
(9–5) 		LJVM Coliseum (1,943)
Winston-Salem, NC
February 22, 2024
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 6 NC State
Rivalry 		W 80–70  18–9
(10–5) 		Carmichael Arena (4,131)
Chapel Hill, NC
February 25, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCN 		at No. 8 Virginia Tech L 62–74  18–10
(10–6) 		Cassell Coliseum (8,925)
Blacksburg, VA
February 29, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		at Boston College L 74–78  18–11
(10–7) 		Conte Forum (1,621)
Chestnut Hill, MA
March 3, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN 		Duke W 63–59  19–11
(11–7) 		Carmichael Arena (6,319)
Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Tournament
March 7, 2024
1:30 p.m., ACCN 		(8) vs. (9) Miami
Second Round 		L 59–60  19–12
 Greensboro Coliseum (10,823)
Greensboro, NC
NCAA Tournament
March 22, 2024*
11:30 a.m., ESPN2 		(8 A1) vs. (9 A1) Michigan State
First round 		W 59–56  20–12
 Colonial Life Arena (11,536)
Columbia, SC
March 24, 2024*
1:00 p.m., ABC 		(8 A1) at (1 A1) No. 1 South Carolina
Second round 		L 41–88  20–13
 Colonial Life Arena (14,266)
Columbia, SC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
A1=Albany 1.
All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

[edit]
See also: 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP1617182424252424RV20232024RVRVRVRVRV——RV
Coaches17161724242525RVRV22242124RV——————RV

See also

[edit]
See also: 2023–24 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Satterfield Brown, Nia (November 29, 2022). "UNC WBB Notebook: Heels Win PKI, Keep Climbing". InsideCarolina.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Swanson, Shelby (January 8, 2023). "Paris' career-high 16 points lift No. 22 UNC women's basketball to upset win over No. 4 Notre Dame". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "No. 3 Ohio St beats No. 6 UNC 71-69, advances to Sweet 16". ESPN.com. March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Delahanty, Nick (March 22, 2023). "UNC Women's Basketball: Destiny Adams enters transfer portal". keepingitheel.com. Fansided. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Schnyderite, Richard (April 15, 2023). "Rutgers Women's Hoops lands UNC transfer wing Destiny Adams". The Knight Report. Rivals. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Koh, Michael (March 23, 2023). "UNC's Kennedy Todd-Williams Enters Transfer Portal; 2nd Tar Heel to Enter in 24 Hours". chapelboro.com. WCHL Chapelboro. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Eckert, David (March 29, 2023). "All-ACC guard Kennedy Todd-Williams of UNC transfers to Ole Miss women's basketball, Coach Yo". clarionledger.com. Mississippi Clarion Ledger. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Young Will Not Return To The Court For UNC". goheels.com. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Athletics. February 20, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "WBB Adds Gakdeng To Roster". goheels.com. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Athletics. April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Holloway, Jeremiah (April 24, 2023). "UNC WBB Adds Iowa State Guard Lexi Donarski in the Transfer Portal". InsideCarolina.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Nivar, Indya [@indyyy__12] (April 30, 2023). ""Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."-Romans 12:12" – via Instagram.
  12. ^ "2023 UNC Women's Basketball Recruiting Board". tarheeltimes.com. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  13. ^ "2023 High School Girls' Basketball Recruits - North Carolina". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  14. ^ "2023–24 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball schedule". goheels.com. North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
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