By R.L. Bynum

Unlike some recent seasons, the non-conference women’s basketball home schedule for North Carolina has some sizzle.

UNC released its non-conference women’s basketball schedule Monday, and it’s one of the most challenging in years, dotted with national powers.

The highlight of the home schedule will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30, when perennial power South Carolina (36–1 last season) visits Carmichael Arena as part of the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.

Only one of the other six non-conference opponents had a winning record last season, though.

Carolina opens the season with four November home games, facing Gardner-Webb (29–5) on Nov. 8, Davidson (14–16) on Nov. 12, Hampton (11–18) on Nov. 15 and Elon (9–21) on Nov. 18. There are non-conference home games in December against UNC Greensboro (13–14) on Dec. 6 and against Western Carolina (6–21) on Dec. 15.

Gardner-Webb will mark UNC’s third consecutive opener against an NCAA tournament team from the previous season after facing SWAC champion Jackson State last season and MEAC champion N.C. A&T two seasons ago. The Bulldogs beat High Point 74–61 for the Big South title before losing 103–71 to Utah in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Elon’s coach is Charlotte Smith, who hit the game-winning buzzer-beating 3-pointer to earn UNC the 1994 national championship with a 60–59 victory over Louisiana Tech. Her Carolina No. 23 is retired.

The Gamecocks have won the last two meetings, both in NCAA Sweet 16 games in Greensboro, although the Tar Heels lead the series 11–9. UNC won the last meeting in Chapel Hill 77–73 on Dec. 12, 1987.

North Carolina faces another perennial power in UConn (31–6) at the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on Dec. 10 in Uncasville, Conn. UNC is also part of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Nov. 24–26, which could include a battle with Caitlin Clark’s Iowa team (31–7) on the event’s third day.

In another challenging matchup, the Tar Heels face Oklahoma (26–7) on Dec. 19 in Charlotte at the second Jumpman Invitational.

Date	Day/month	Score	Opponent/event (current rank)	Record
	November
8	Wednesday	W, 102–49	vs. Gardner-Webb	1–0
12	Sunday	W, 74–70	vs. Davidson	2–0
15	Wednesday	W, 62–32	vs. Hampton	3–0
18	Saturday	W, 68–39	vs. Elon	4–0
			Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla.
24	Friday	W, 54–51	Vermont	5–0
25	Saturday	L, 63–56	No. 15 Kansas State	5–1
26	Sunday	L, 65–64	Florida Gulf Coast	5–2
			ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
30	Thursday	L, 65–58	vs. No. 1 South Carolina	5–3
	December
6	Wednesday	W, 81–66	vs. UNC Greensboro	6–3
			Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn.
10	Sunday	L, 76–64	No. 10 Connecticut	6–4
			———————
15	Friday	W, 96–36	vs. Western Carolina	7–4
			Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte
19	Tuesday	W, 61–52	No. 18 Oklahoma	8–4
			ACC season
31	Sunday	W, 82–76	vs. Clemson	9–4, 1–0 ACC
	January
4	Thursday	W, 75–51	vs. No. 22 Syracuse	10–4, 2–0 ACC
7	Sunday	W, 61–57	at No. 9 Notre Dame	11–4, 3–0 ACC
11	Thursday	L, 70–62	at Florida State	11–5, 3–1 ACC
14	Sunday	W, 81–68	vs. Virginia	12–5, 4–1 ACC
18	Thursday	W, 73–68	at Georgia Tech	13–5, 5–1 ACC
21	Sunday	W, 79–68	vs. No. 23 Louisville	14–5, 6–1 ACC
25	Thursday	W, 66–61	vs. Miami	15–5, 7–1 ACC
28	Sunday	L, 81–66	at Virginia	15–6, 7–2 ACC
	February
1	Thursday	L, 63–59	at No. 11 N.C. State	15–7, 7–3 ACC
4	Sunday	L, 70–61, OT	vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech	15–8, 7–4 ACC
11	Sunday	L, 68–60, OT	at Duke	15–9, 7–5 ACC
15	Thursday	W, 75–62	vs. Pittsburgh	16–9, 8–5 ACC
18	Sunday	W, 58–50	at Wake Forest	17–9, 9–5 ACC
22	Thursday	W, 80–70	vs. No. 11 N.C. State	18–9, 10–5 ACC
25	Sunday	L, 74–62	at No. 13 Virginia Tech	18–10, 10–6 ACC
29	Thursday	L, 78–74	at Boston College	18–11, 10–7 ACC
	March
3	Sunday	W, 63–59	vs. Duke	19–11, 11–7 ACC
			ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum
7	Thursday	L, 60–59	Second round: vs. Miami	19–12
			NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C.
22	Friday	W, 59–56	First round: Michigan State	20–12
24	Sunday	L, 88–41	Second round: No. 1 South Carolina	20–13

Potential UNC 2024–25 roster

Year	No.	Players	Pos.	Height
Freshman	—	Lanie Grant (5 star)	PG	5–10
Freshman	—	Blanca Thomas (5 star)	C	6–5
Freshman	—	Jordan Zubich (4 star)	G	5–11
RS Freshman	21	Ciera Toomey	F	6–4
RS Freshman	4	Laila Hull	W	6–1
Sophomore	10	Reniya Kelly	PG	5–7
Sophomore	15	Sydney Barker	PG	5–6
RS Junior	11	Kayla McPherson	PG	5–8
Junior	24	Indya Nivar	G	5–10
Senior	5	Maria Gakdeng	C	6–3
Graduate	—	Grace Townsend	G	5–5
Graduate	20	Lexi Donarski	G	6–0
Graduate	1	Alyssa Ustby	F	6–1

2023–24 UNC players to enter transfer portal

Class	Player	Date entered	Pos.	Hgt	Next school
Junior	Paulina Paris	March 26	G	5–9	Arizona
Graduate	Ali Zelaya	April 1	F	6–4	UNCW
Graduate	Anya Poole	April 1	F	6–2	Clemson
RS junior	Teonni Key	April 2	F	6–4	Kentucky
Sophomore	RyLee Grays	April 5	F	6–3	Virginia
Graduate	Deja Kelly	April 8	G	5–8	TBA