By R.L. Bynum

The most anticipated UNC women’s basketball season in years is finally about to start.

With six former five-star recruits and five former four-star recruits on a roster that includes a mix of youth and experience, Coach Courtney Banghart has laid out plenty of challenges in non-conference play.

Before Carolina gets into the tough part of that schedule, the Tar Heels will be heavy favorites in four non-conference home games — including three opponents with Massey Ratings ranks below 200 — to start the season, beginning with a 7 p.m. Wednesday matchup against Gardner-Webb (ESPN3).

It would have been a tough matchup last season, but the reigning Big South Conference champions are picked to finish last after losing all five starters and their head coach. The Bulldogs welcome nine newcomers.

The big early tests for No. 16 UNC, which rolled over Charlotte in one closed scrimmage and lost narrowly in another in Dallas against No. 4 UCLA, start later this month at the Gulf Coast Showcase, where they could meet No. 3 Iowa. After that, there are December matchups with No. 6 South Carolina and No. 2 Connecticut.

Even with the loss of two freshmen redshirting after summer surgeries — five star stretch-four Ciera Toomey (torn right meniscus) and Laila Hull (torn right labrum), last season’s Indiana Player of the Year — Banghart has a deep, talented roster that gives her many options.

“I love our roster,” Banghart said as she heads into her fifth season in Chapel Hill after the Tar Heels went 22–11 last season. “We’re the most competitive team I’ve had since I’ve been at Carolina. We’re the deepest team I’ve had since I’ve been at Carolina. We hope we’ll be the most well-led since I’ve been at Carolina. We’ve got a lot of good leadership qualities [and the players] have really grown in that role.”

The leadership starts with co-captains Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby, two of five seniors on the team. That group includes returning starter Anya Poole, Alexandra Zelaya and Iowa State transfer Lexi Donarski.

“I feel like my role is really whatever the team calls for, and so whatever Coach Banghart asks me to do, what’s needed from my teammates, whether it’s specifically for that game or that season,” Ustby said. “Stepping into the roles of just being a competitive worker and inspiring my teammates to do the same, because that’s just something that’s really important to us, and we have a collective understanding that if we all come together, we compete well together, then we’ll go far.”

Kelly says the eight newcomers give the team a good chance to build on what it accomplished last season.

“I think everyone brings their own competitive nature, which I think is huge to have on a really good team,” Kelly said. “We all are like-minded and have the same goals. So I think being able to hold each other accountable in those ways and helping each other reach those goals, as well, I think will be huge.”

Gardner-Webb went 29–5 last season and won the Big South regular-season (18–0) and tournament titles before losing to Utah in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season.

But the Bulldogs enter this season No. 211 in the Massey Rating. They lost Big South Player of the Year Jhessyka Williams to graduation, and fellow All-Big South first-team selections Lauren Bevis and Alasia Smith transferred.

Head coach Alex Simmons left in the offseason for Memphis, and took Smith and fellow starters Layken Cox and Ari Cain with her. Bevis transferred to High Point.

G-W’s first-year head coach is Scott Merritt, who had been the associate head coach since 2021 at Wisconsin.

Senior 5–11 guard Micahla Funderburk is the top returning scorer from last season at 3.9 points per game after starting only five games last season.

The Bulldogs have five freshmen and four transfers: Point guard Nyla Walker from USC Upstate, junior guard Ashley Hawkins from Cypress College, graduate student forward Ramatoulaye Keïta from Buffalo and sophomore forward Trinity Moreland from UMKC.

Carolina has won three of the previous four meetings (81–65 Dec. 13, 2009; 109–44 Nov. 12, 2011; and 83–62 at G-W on Dec. 31, 2019). Gardner-Webb won 66–65 in the opener of the 2015–16 season.

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	TBA
RS junior	Teonni Key	April 2	F	6–4	Kentucky
Sophomore	RyLee Grays	April 5	F	6–3	TBA
Graduate	Deja Kelly	April 8	G	5–8	TBA