By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s women’s basketball team is hitting its stride as the No. 20 Tar Heels settle in knowing which players will be available the rest of the season.
UNC (11–4, 3–0 ACC) is tied for the ACC lead and takes a five-game win streak into Thursday’s 6 p.m. game (ESPN3) at No. 21 Florida State (12–4, 3–1).
Coach Courtney Banghart has eleven healthy scholarship players — plus walk-on guard Sydney Barker —and knows three other scholarship players won’t be available.
“We’re just deeper, and so you have way more to go to,” Banghart said.
Many times during the first 13 games of the season, Banghart didn’t know until the morning of the game who could play and who couldn’t.
“We’re just better. They’re so much better. They’re more confident,” she said. “Their mindset’s better. They’ve been through more, and we’re a better team for sure. I think that was a perfect storm of things that we don’t really want to revisit.”
Sophomore transfer Indya Nivar reached another level in her breakout game Sunday with 16 points, a career-high five steals, two assists and terrific defense in the 61–57 victory over No. 18 Notre Dame. Freshman guard Reniya Kelly missed three games after suffering a concussion in the second quarter of the Dec. 10 loss to UConn but played 14½ minutes against the Irish.
With 12 healthy players, the burden on the top players in the rotation isn’t as great.
“It’s hard to be the one that’s hurt,” Banghart said. “It’s also hard to be the one that’s playing when all your teammates are hurt because if you’re Lexi [Donarski] or if you’re Indya or you’re Deja [Kelly], you’re like, ‘Oh God, I’ve got 40 minutes regardless of how I play. I’ve got to not foul. I’ve got to try to conserve energy where I can.’ ”
Barring any further injuries, the game-by-game routine of seeing who is available and who is out of uniform and watching warmups is over.
Not so coincidently, the Tar Heels are playing their best basketball of the season.
“It’s a hard slog. And then also we had eight new faces to this team. It takes time to build what you’ve got, especially when they’re huge parts of our core,” Banghart said, referring to Donarski, Nivar and junior center Maria Gakdeng. “[They] are huge parts of what we’re doing. Every day goes a long way. It’s like a five-year-old — every day is a lot more of their life than for me.”
Coming into the season, Banghart knew she’d be without two redshirting freshmen recovering from surgeries (forward Ciera Toomey, who tore her right ACL, and wing Laila Hull, who tore her right labrum).
Redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key missed the first 10 games while recovering from a torn right ACL. Redshirt sophomore guard Kayla McPherson missed the season opener before playing seven games but suffered a season-ending knee injury that required surgery.
Banghart said on her weekly radio show that she shed tears along with McPherson’s parents, sad for her fate.
“She has done so much to have that luck,” Banghart said of McPherson. “It’s also a really good time to remind them that she’s so much more than her legs, and so much more than what she’s so talented at. I told her, ‘I recruited you because I wanted to coach you, and I’m not coaching the game without you. I’ll just have you on the sidelines. She’s totally engaged in what we’re doing. She’s a huge piece of who we are and watches us practice.”
Given the injuries Notre Dame has battled, Thursday’s game at Florida State will likely be UNC’s toughest challenge of the league season.
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The Seminoles have won five of their last six, with the loss coming 88–80 in overtime at No. 6 N.C. State on Jan. 5.
Sensational 5–8 sophomore guard Ta’Niya Latson, who is averaging 21.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, leads the way for the Noles.
Latson has at least 30 points in three of four ACC games, and no doubt Donarski will get the main defensive assignment, with help from Nivar.
“They’re dynamic,” Banghart said. “They’ve got a lot of guys who will try to take you off the dribble. They’ll throw ball screens at you. They’re great in transition. They’ve got one of the very best players in the country. They’re fast at all positions; they’re bouncy.”
Three other Seminoles average double-figure points: 5–4 junior guard O’Mariah Gordon (13.7 points, 4.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds, team-leading 27 3-pointers), 6–2 junior forward Makayla Timpson (13.4 points, team-leading 9.5 rebounds, leads ACC and is sixth in the country with 45 blocks) and fifth-year Arizona State transfer guard Sara Bejedi (11.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists).
Timpson (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Latson (21 points, six assists) combined for 41 points in the Seminoles’ 78–71 win at UNC last season.
NOTES — Carolina has won consecutive games over ranked teams for the third time under Banghart. … UNC leads the all-time series 34–17, but the Seminoles have won seven of the last eight meetings. … UNC is 3–0 in the ACC for the 15th time. The Tar Heels earned a top-four ACC tournament seed in 12 of those previous 14 seasons. … Opponents are shooting 18.5% from 3-point range in the last five games. … Latson’s 11 career games with at least 30 points are tied for the school record with all-time leading scorer Sue Galkantas. … Latson trails only Iowa’s Caitlin Clark in such games in the first 30 career games. … Thursday will be the 47th career game for Latson, who is 25 points away from 1,000 career points. Galkantas is the fastest to 1,000 points in program history, needing 48 games in the 1981–82 season. … Carolina is 37th and Florida State 39th in the NET rankings. Notre Dame is 12th, Syracuse 51st and Clemson 94th. … UNC is 23rd in the Massey Rating, with the Irish 17th, the Orange 31st and the Tigers 85th.
UNC season statistics
Florida State season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Duke | 16–2 | 21–8 | 10 | 13 |
| No. 12 Louisville | 15–3 | 25–6 | 13 | 10 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 14–4 | 25–6 | 19 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 13–5 | 20–9 | 23 | 27 |
| Syracuse | 12–6 | 22–7 | 40 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–6 | 22–8 | 41 | 34 |
| Notre Dame | 12–6 | 20–9 | 24 | 23 |
| Clemson | 11–7 | 20–10 | 44 | 40 |
| Virginia | 11–7 | 19–10 | 36 | 49 |
| California | 9–9 | 18–13 | 53 | 60 |
| Stanford | 8–10 | 19–12 | 42 | 56 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 16–13 | 58 | 65 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–10 | 12–17 | 76 | 109 |
| Florida State | 5–13 | 10–20 | 107 | 138 |
| Wake Forest | 4–14 | 14–16 | 121 | 134 |
| SMU | 2–16 | 9–21 | 220 | 209 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–17 | 8–23 | 262 | 238 |
| Boston College | 1–17 | 5–26 | 247 | 283 |
* — Through Sunday games
Thursday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 82, Virginia 70
No. 12 Louisville 69, Georgia Tech 50
Notre Dame 72, Syracuse 62
Miami 79, Pittsburgh 58
N.C. State 65, Wake Forest 58
No. 13 Duke 80, Florida State 52
Stanford 87, SMU 57
Clemson 70, California 63
Sunday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 74, No. 13 Duke 69
Virginia Tech 83, Virginia 82
Georgia Tech 79, Miami 49
N.C. State 93, Pittsburgh 43
Stanford 85, Clemson 50
Syracuse 90, Boston College 65
Notre Dame 65, No. 12 Louisville 62
Florida State 77, Wake Forest 74, OT
California 78, SMU 34
End of regular season
ACC tournament
Gas South Arena
Duluth, Ga.
March 4–8
| 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 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
