By R.L. Bynum
Carolina senior guard Deja Kelly will try out next week for one of the four remaining spots on the United States Women’s AmeriCup team, which includes LSU star Angel Reese.
The 5–8 Kelly travels to Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, where the team’s training camp for the competition begins at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The FIBA Women’s AmeriCup is July 1–9 in León, Mexico.
Kelly has been in New York City for a broadcasting internship with SLAM magazine.
Reese was one of eight players named to the 12-woman team in May. Kelly couldn’t participate in the tryouts those tryouts because of a knee injury in the Tar Heels’ season-ending loss at Ohio State. She’s now recovered.
Also picked were former Wake Forest star Jewel Spear of Tennessee, former Stanford star Lauren Betts of UCLA, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson, South Carolina’s Raven Johnson, Southern Cal’s Rayah Marshall, UCLA’s Charisma Osborne and Michigan’s Laila Phelia.
Among the other players trying out for the final spots are Texas A&M’s Janiah Barker, Illinois’ Makira Cook, Columbia’s Abbey Hsu, Oregon’s Chance Gray and former DePaul player Aneesah Morrow of LSU.
The Americans open pool play on July 1 against Venezuela, with games July 2 against Argentina, July 4 against Brazil and July 5 against Cuba. The quarterfinals are July 7, with the semifinals July 8 and the medal games July 9.
Last season, Kelly was first-team All-ACC, leading the team with 16.5 points per game, which was sixth in the ACC.
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| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 11 | Kate Harpring | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | 52 | Noelle Bofia | F | 6–4 | |
| Sophomore | 3 | Gabby White — W | G | 5–10 | |
| Sophomore | 7 | Nyla Brooks | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 26 | Taissa Queiroz | G | 6–1 | |
| Junior | 34 | Blanca Thomas | C | 6–5 | |
| Junior | 1 | Jordan Zubich | G | 5–11 | |
| Senior | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| Senior | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 5 | Sophie Burrows — X | G | 6–2 | |
| Senior | 8 | Achol Akot — Y | F | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 10 | Reniya Kelly | G | 5–7 | |
| Senior | 15 | Sydney Barker | G | 5–6 | |
| Senior | 13 | Chloe Clardy — Z | G | 5–9 |
W — Virginia transfer; X — Syracuse transfer; Y — Oklahoma State transfer; Z — Stanford transfer
Former players transferred
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elina Aarnisalo | Junior | G | 5–10 | UCLA |
| Lanie Grant | Junior | G | 5–9 | TCU |
| Taliyah Henderson | Sophomore | W | 6–1 | Clemson |
| Liza Astakhova | Sophomore | G | 6–2 | BYU |
| Date | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent/event (current rank) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 18 | Sunday | W, 76–66 | vs. Davidson | |
| 24 | Saturday | L, 72–68 | at No. 20 Maryland | |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | Monday | 2:30 ET | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No. 21 Oklahoma | ESPN2 |
| 8 | Sunday | 5:30 | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 1 South Carolina | ESPN |
| 11 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. Central | ACCNE |
| 14 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at Penn in Palestra | ESPN+ |
| WBCA Showcase | Orlando | |||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech | ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. Alabama | ESPN+ |
| ——— | ||||
| 24 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Gardner-Webb | ACCNE |
| 27 | Friday | 7 p.m. | vs. Army | ACCNE |
| 29 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Brown | ACCN |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Wednesday | 7:15 | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 9 LSU | ESPN2 |
| 6 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Elon | ACCN |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop | ACCNE |
| 13 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 25 N.C. State | ESPN |
| 17 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 21 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Norfolk State | ACCN |
| 28 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 31 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Clemson | The CW |
| 7 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 10 | Sunday | 3 p.m. | at No. 7 Louisville | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 17 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 21 | Thursday | 8 p.m. ET | at California | ACCN |
| 24 | Sunday | 2 p.m. ET | at Stanford | ESPN, 2 or U |
| 28 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 13 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 31 | Sunday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ACCNE |
| 7 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at SMU | ACCNE |
| 18 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Florida State | The CW |
| 25 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Virginia | ACCN |
| 28 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 3–7 | Wed.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of the ACC
