By R.L. Bynum

In addition to UNC playing UConn in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase, the Tar Heels will play in an eight-team tournament with Iowa and star Caitlin Clark.

The Tar Heels are one of eight teams in the Gulf Coast Showcase, a tournament that will reportedly include UNC, Iowa and Kansas State. The tournament hasn’t announced its field, so the other five teams for the event aren’t known yet.

The tournament starts the day after Thanksgiving, set for Nov. 24–26 in Estero, Fla., at the Hertz Arena, the home of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades.

Clark led Iowa to a 31–7 record, a No. 2 ranking last season and the NCAA championship game, where the Hawkeyes lost to LSU 102–84.

Clark, a 6–0 senior, averaged 27.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while dishing out a team-high 327 assists and shooting 39% from 3-point range.

Kansas State, which was 19–17 last season and played in the Postseason NIT, upset Iowa on Nov. 17 last season 84–83.

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. 4 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. 2 Texas	8–2
			———————————
7	Sunday	W, 82–40	vs. Boston Univ.	9–2
14	Sunday	L, 76–66, OT	vs. No. 16 Louisville	9–3, 0–1 ACC
17	Wednesday	W, 84–34	vs. UNCW	10–3
21	Sunday	Noon	vs. Charleston Southern	ACCN Extra
29	Monday	8 p.m.	at Boston College	ACCN
	January
1	Thursday	Noon	vs. California	ACCN
4	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. Stanford	ESPN
11	Sunday	1 p.m.	at No. 20 Notre Dame	ESPN
15	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Miami	ACCN Extra
18	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Florida State	The CW
22	Thursday	8 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
25	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	The CW
	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 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. 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