By R.L. Bynum
Redshirt sophomore guard Kayla McPherson will miss the rest of Carolina’s women’s basketball season after suffering a knee injury that required surgery.
The 5–8 guard redshirted during her first season (2021–22) in Chapel Hill while she rehabilitated from surgery after tearing her right ACL in high school. She missed the first of 13 games last season before making her college debut Jan. 29 at Clemson, and averaging 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 20.4 minutes.
“While I’m devastated to miss the rest of the season, I know that I can play an important role on the team even when I’m not in uniform,” said McPherson, who used crutches to get around at Thursday’s Syracuse game. “I’ll be cheering for my teammates from the bench and continuing to work hard to get back on the court. I want to thank our sports medicine team, our coaching staff, my teammates, my family and all of our fans for their support.”
Since she has already taken a redshirt season, she would have only two more seasons of eligibility unless the NCAA grants her a medical redshirt.
“I continue to be amazed and inspired by Kayla’s resilience,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “We are all heartbroken on her behalf as she faces more time away from playing the game she loves and excels at, but her mindset remains so positive. While she attacks this setback, she is determined to impact our team in every way she can. We’re a better team with Kayla, even when she is on the sidelines. Our entire program is behind her as she faces this new challenge.”
Before the season started, UNC announced that two freshmen, forward Ciera Toomey (recovering from a torn right ACL) and guard Laila Hull (torn right labrum), would redshirt.
After sitting out this season’s opener, she played seven games, averaging 4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 17.7 minutes. In her last game against No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 30, she had three points and three assists in 27 minutes.
During her high school career at Madison County High School in Hull, Ga., McPherson earned McDonald’s Girls All-American Team and the Jordan Brand Classic Girls National team honors.
As a junior, she led the nation in scoring at 36.3 per game and scored 63 points in one game. McPherson was the Georgia Player of the Year in her sophomore and junior seasons.
She arrived at UNC the same year as redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key, who also redshirted during the 2021–22 season after tearing her right ACL before the season. Key played 28 games last season, averaging 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.4 of a block and 10.1 minutes.
Key didn’t debut this season until scoring seven points in the Dec. 15 home 96–34 victory over Western Carolina.
UNC season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Louisville | 2–0 | 11–3 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 2–0 | 8–4 | 31 |
| Syracuse | 1–0 | 10–1 | 40 |
| Stanford | 1–0 | 9–2 | 32 |
| No. 20 Notre Dame | 1–0 | 8–2 | 19 |
| Virginia | 1–0 | 8–3 | 29 |
| Duke | 1–0 | 5–6 | 38 |
| Wake Forest | 1–1 | 10–3 | 127 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–1 | 9–3 | 63 |
| Clemson | 1–1 | 8–4 | 49 |
| Miami | 1–1 | 7–4 | 48 |
| No. 18 North Carolina | 0–1 | 10–3 | 15 |
| California | 0–1 | 8–4 | 70 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 7–6 | 250 |
| SMU | 0–1 | 5–6 | 154 |
| Boston College | 0–1 | 4–9 | 207 |
| Florida State | 0–2 | 4–9 | 112 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–2 | 4–9 | 125 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Wednesday’s games
No. 18 North Carolina 84, UNCW 34
Clemson 78, Charleston Southern 52
No. 16 Louisville 76, Eastern Kentucky 51
Thursday’s results
Virginia Tech 79, Florida State 54
Miami 64, Wake Forest 61
Pittsburgh 98, Saint Francis 46
N.C. State 87, Georgia Tech 58
Duke 97, South Dakota State 54
Friday’s games
Mercyhurst at Syracuse, 10:30 a.m, ACCN Extra
Northeastern at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
SMU at Sam Houston, 6 p.m., ESPN+
No. 22 Washington at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
No. 16 Louisville at No. 17 Tennessee, 11 a.m., Fox
Winthrop at Virginia, noon, ACCN Extra
South Carolina State at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Duke at Belmont, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Sunday’s games
Charleston Southern at No. 18 North Carolina, noon, ACC Network
Radford at Virginia Tech, noon, ACCN Extra
Kennesaw State at Miami, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Davidson, noon, CBS Sports Network
Pittsburgh at Duquesne, 1 p.m., ESPN+
North Florida at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Bellarmine at No. 20 Notre Dame, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Southern at SMU, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Oregon vs. Stanford in San Francisco, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 19 USC vs. California in San Francisco, 8:30, ESPN
| 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 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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