By R.L. Bynum
For the second consecutive night, the star power of incoming Carolina freshman wing Laila Hull was on full display as her Indiana All-Stars faced a team of Kentucky All-Stars again.
Hull scored a couple of huge buckets in the last two minutes Saturday and earned MVP honors with a second consecutive double-double to lead Indiana to a 71–67 victory in Indianapolis to avenge a loss one night earlier.
Hull’s 22 points and 14 rebounds led all players in the game, and she added three steals and three blocks. She wore No. 1 in both games as Indiana’s Miss Basketball. She was 9 of 15 from the floor, made one of three 3-point attempts and 3 of 4 free-throw tries.
“Being Miss Basketball is a big responsibility; it’s great honor, being able to represent the state and my city,” Hull said. “It’s a really big thing, so I had to play my best.”
Kentucky, which beat Indiana 72–62 on Friday night in Owensboro, Ky., made it close. But Hull, who played more than 38 minutes, twice gave Indiana a two-point leads: on a 3-point play with 1:31 remaining and a driving layup with 11.4 seconds left.
“I just did what I knew that I could do, and it ended up going in, so I was happy about that,” Hull said. “But my teammates trusted me; my coach trusted me.”
“She’s difficult to guard, and where she’s so long, she causes our kids to have to take a step back to get open looks,” Kentucky All-Stars coach Pete Fraley told the Indianapolis Star. “Obviously, she’s Miss Basketball. There’s a reason for that. She’s really good and North Carolina is getting a dandy player.”
The 6–1 Hull had seven points, four rebounds and three steals in the first quarter as Indiana took a 12–11 lead, scoring three of her team’s five field goals. Indiana led 32–30 at halftime, with Hull the only player on either team scoring in double digits with 10 points, along with eight rebounds.
Hull also scored 22 in Friday’s game and had a double-double with 12 rebounds, scoring all of her points in the second half.
During her senior season, she led Zionsville Community High School to a 20–3 record, averaging 22.4 points and making 42% of her 3-point attempts.
Hull is part of a five-player freshman class at Carolina, including five-star forward Ciera Toomey, four-star forward Reniya Kelly, four-star forward Rylee Grays, and point guard walk-on Sydney Barker.
Read about UNC’s freshmen
Five-star forward Ciera Toomey
— Big-time UNC recruit Toomey’s love for Carolina, the state stoked years ago during Pinehurst golf trip
— Five-star UNC recruit Toomey leads team to state title 10 months after ACL surgery
Four-star point guard Reniya Kelly
— Dynamic UNC guard recruit Reniya Kelly won first of four state titles at age 12; at 7, ‘Broadway’ wanted to be great
Four-star forward RyLee Grays
— Funny off court, intense on court, 4-star Grays will give UNC versatile skills for 6–3 player
Indiana Miss Basketball wing Laila Hull
— Hull, a sharpshooting, versatile wing, has expanded, refined her game after talent was evident at an early age
Walk-on guard Sydney Barker
— Barker walking on at UNC to follow dream
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 5 | Liza Astakhova (LEE-zah uh-STAH-koh-vuh) | W | 6–2 | |
| Freshman | 7 | Nyla Brooks | W | 6–1 | |
| Brooks brings dazzling skills, confidence to UNC | |||||
| Freshman | 3 | Taliyah Henderson | W | 6–1 | |
| Long wait, journey for 5-star freshman Henderson after second knee surgery nearly over | |||||
| Freshman | 26 | Taissa Queiroz | G | 6–1 | |
| Queiroz came to USA from Brazil to chase her dreams | |||||
| Sophomore | 17 | Elina Aarnisalo (EH-lee-nah AHR-nee-sah-loh) | G | 5–10 | |
| Aarnisalo brings flash, IQ and pro experience to backcourt | |||||
| Sophomore | 0 | Lanie Grant | G | 5–9 | |
| Sophomore | 34 | Blanca Thomas | C | 6–5 | |
| Sophomore | 1 | Jordan Zubich | G | 5–11 | |
| RS sophomore | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS sophomore | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Junior | 10 | Reniya Kelly | PG | 5–7 | |
| Junior | 15 | Sydney Barker | PG | 5–6 | |
| Senior | 2 | Nyla Harris | F | 6–2 | |
| It was hard for Harris to say ‘no’ to UNC again | |||||
| Senior | 24 | Indya Nivar | G | 5–10 |
Class of 2025
| Player | Rating | ESPN rank | Position | Height | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nyla Brooks | Five star | No. 13 | Wing | 6–2 | Alexandria, Va. |
| Taliyah Henderson | Five star | No. 27 | Wing | 6–1 | Vail, Ariz. |
| Taissa Queiroz | Four star | No. 77 | Guard | 6–1 | Santa Rosa, Calif. |
| Liza Astakhova | — | — | Wing | 6–1 | Moscow, Russia |
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 78 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 6 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ACCN |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. No. 20 Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo courtesy of photo by Thomas Herlt media
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