By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — What’s best for a player in the short term may not be best for the current team, but the latter has always been the priority in Coach Courtney Banghart’s UNC women’s basketball program.

This played out two seasons ago when two highly touted freshmen — guard Kayla McPherson and forward Teonni Key — redshirted their first season in Chapel Hill while recovering from right ACL tears. McPherson also missed the first 20 games of last season, and Key sat out the first two.

Carolina faces back to a similar situation this season.

This time, those highly recruited freshmen are five-star stretch four Ciera Toomey (second from left, 21, in top photo), the No. 4-ranked player in the Class of 2023, and wing Laila Hull (middle, 4, in top photo), the Indiana Player of the Year. Both got hurt after arriving in Chapel Hill.

“It’s never easy when a kid redshirts because you’re delaying what you’re excited about,” Banghart said. “We’ve been recruiting these kids for a long time. And so you have your timeline of, ‘I finally get to coach them.’ “

Toomey led her Dunmore High School team to the Pennsylvania Class 3A state title 10 months after surgery on her right ACL. She felt pain in that knee this summer, though, and had July surgery to repair a torn right meniscus.

“When it finally came down to it, she said ‘it’s not about playing for four years, I want to be great for four years,’ ” Banghart said of Toomey. “We have a lot of talented pieces, so the rush is not real. Laila, same deal. She wants to come in and contribute. So it’s never an easy decision, even when it’s the right one.”

---

Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free

Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.

---

Hull, a right-handed shooter, had nagging issues with her right shoulder during her senior high school season but played through them. She tore her right labrum this summer, prompting surgery.

“It was very sad. But it gives me an opportunity to get better,” Hull said.

While Hull practiced with the team Thursday, Toomey was off to the side working with a medicine ball. Since shooting would be a problem in a game, Hull and the staff thought the best path would be to redshirt.

“It says a lot about them that they had two very talented players, but instead of risking their health to produce a good team — and they have an amazing team — they really wanted to focus on our health and make sure that we are bigger and stronger,” Hull said.

---

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

---

One day last summer, Toomey woke up with pain in her knee and asked the athletic training staff to check it out. What happened from there has impressed the future Tar Heels star.

“That just goes to show that they really do care about us as a person,” said Toomey, who expects to be able to practice with the team by January. “Obviously they want us to be out there and be playing. But [Banghart] wants full Ciera. She doesn’t just want post-surgery just coming back as fast as I could Ciera. She wants 110%, much stronger, much faster, all that. It helps to know that they support me as a person but it also I think they want the best version of myself.”

Tar Heels fans eagerly await the UNC debuts of Toomey and Hull a year from now.

---

Date	Day/month	Scores	Opponent/event (current ranks)	Record
	October
30	Thursday	L, 91–82	No. 4 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. 3 Texas	8–2
			———————————
7	Sunday	W, 82–40	vs. Boston Univ.	9–2
14	Sunday	L, 76–66, OT	vs. No. 13 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 No. 22 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	W, 61–59	at N.C. State	18–5, 7–3
5	Thursday	W, 53–44	vs. Clemson	19–5, 8–3
8	Sunday	W, 84–56	vs. Wake Forest	20–5, 9–3
12	Thursday	W, 94–42	vs. SMU	21–5, 10–3
15	Sunday	L, 72–68	at No. 8 Duke	21–6, 10–4
19	Thursday	W, 66–63, OT	at Virginia Tech	22–6, 11–4
22	Sunday	W, 78–50	vs. Pittsburgh	23–6, 12–4
26	Thursday	W, 82–70	at Virginia	24–6, 13–4
	March
1	Sunday	W, 72–69	vs. No. 8 Duke	25–6, 14–4
	ACC tournament		Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga.
6	Friday	W, 85–68	Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech	26–6
7	Saturday	L, 65–57	Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville	26–7
			NCAA tournament Fort Worth 1 Regional
21	Friday	W, 82–51	First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois	27–7
23	Sunday	W, 74–66	Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland	28–7
27	Friday	L, 63–52	Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn	28–8

---

Projected roster if all players with eligibility other than Elina Aarnisalo, Lanie Grant,, Taliyah Henderson and Liza Ashtakhova and Liza Ashtakhova return, with years listed for next season (UNC is one below the 15-player limit)

Year	No./ Stars		Players	Pos.	Height
Freshman	5 star		Kate Harpring	PG	5–10
Freshman	52/4 star		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
RS junior	21		Ciera Toomey	F	6–4
RS junior	4		Laila Hull	W	6–1
Senior			Sophie Burrows — X	G	6–2
Senior	11		Achol Akot — Y	F	6–1
Senior	10		Reniya Kelly	G	5–7
Senior	15		Sydney Barker	G	5–6
Graduate	13		Chloe Clardy — Z	G	5–9

W — Virginia transfer; X — Syracuse transfer; Y — Oklahoma State transfer; Z — Stanford transfer

Former players who entered transfer portal

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

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications