By R.L. Bynum
With some of the players UNC expected to create good guard depth watching from the sidelines, Coach Courtney Banghart has had to adjust.
Redshirt sophomore Kayla McPherson is out for the season with a knee injury. Lower-body injuries have kept sophomore Paulina Paris out for the last eight games and freshman Reniya Kelly sidelined for the last two.
That creates challenges for the Tar Heels (17–9, 9–5 ACC) on a week when they face consecutive top-10 teams for the first time in nine seasons — hosting No. 6 N.C. State (23–3, 11–3) at 8 p.m. Thursday and visiting No. 8 Virginia Tech (22–4, 13–2) at 2 p.m. Sunday (both games on ACC Network), hoping to avenge narrow losses.
It’s unclear when Paris and Reniya Kelly will return, but it seems likely that one or both will miss both games.
That means less time off the ball for senior guard Deja Kelly, who has played all but 13 minutes in the last 10 games, including never coming out of six. Kelly, who is third in the ACC in minutes per league game (36.7), says it’s no big deal, and she never even thinks about it until she sees her total minutes on the box score.
“That’s just a mentality thing, a mental thing,” Kelly said. “I want to be out there to help the team as best I can. So, not really an adjustment there. But knowing I’ve had to play a lot of different roles, ball in my hands, out of my hands, off the ball.”
Graduate guard Lexi Donarski, who is second in the ACC in average minutes per league game (37.7), was probably the fourth point guard option coming into the season, but she took that role some in Sunday’s 75–62 win at Wake Forest.
“Those who can dribble, need to dribble right now with what we’ve got,” Banghart said on her radio show Monday. “She’s very capable of doing it, and it allows Deja to play off the ball a little bit. It’s a lot to have Deja run this team for 40 minutes, so they’ve kind of shared the wealth there.”
Banghart has gone to a big lineup the last two games — including Thursday’s 58–50 win over Pittsburgh — with senior center Anya Poole taking Reniya Kelly’s spot in the lineup.
That has shifted senior Alyssa Ustby from her normal four spot to playing at the three unless sophomore Indya Nivar is in the game.
“That’s one adjustment — you now have a guard-crasher,” Banghart said “You can be a little bit bigger in that spot. That’s certainly helpful. It just gives you a little bit more versatility on the defensive end as well. [Ustby is] a Swiss Army knife. I can play her everywhere.”
Ustby still leads the team in rebounding but hitting the boards is tougher from the three spot.
“She was mad because she would have had a triple-double if she got three more rebounds against Pitt,” Banghart said. “She said, ‘When I’m on the perimeter, I don’t get as many rebounds.’ I said, ‘Go run and get them.’ She did that pretty well against Wake.”
Ustby scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against the Deacons for her 14th double-double this season and 36th of her career. She also beat the shot-clock buzzer early with her first 3-pointer of the season.
“Just continuing to stay the course, coming to the gym ready to go, taking feedback from coaches and teammates, and just trying to be a better player for my teammates, and then the rest will come,” Ustby said. “I’m just very trusting that shooting well and that kind of stuff will come to me if I point inward and I focus on the things that our team needs and then everything else. Just that’s just basketball. It’ll naturally come back around when you invest the right way into it.”
Banghart and Ustby have talked about how her shots will come from different places playing at the three spot.
“She’ll do a little bit more of the angle of one dribble or two dribbles, how deep that gets, how to play a little bit less in a crowd, kind of getting into a crowd,” Banghart said. “It’s all stuff she can do. But it’s just tweaking so that she’s prepared at game time to understand what it’s going to look like.”
Ustby’s 3-pointer was a good sign considering that teams have sagged off her on the perimeter in recent weeks, daring her to take jumpers that she has rarely attempted.
“I think Alyssa can do a lot of things,” Banghart said. “Her ability to catch and shoot is a part of our game that she self-limits. A kid that plays that hard has the green light. A kid that plays that hard can do what she wants. I just can help her understand where she can be most effective, where her efficiencies are highest and whatnot.”
Carolina could have easily won their first meetings with State and Virginia Tech with a few plays going differently. Unlike in both the 63–59 road loss Feb. 1 to the Pack and the 70–61 overtime setback against the Hokies in Chapel Hill on Feb. 4, though, Reniya Kelly might not play in the rematches.
Tough defense by the Tar Heels held State to its fourth-lowest point total of the season.
“I thought we had great fight; we really did,” Banghart said. “We have a few things that we’re going to have to shift around defensively. That was a really good defensive effort.”
Regardless of which guards are in uniform, the Tar Heels will have to replicate that defensive effort if they are going to avenge the earlier loss.
NOTES — The last time UNC played consecutive games against top 10 teams was in 2015 when they beat No. 7 Florida State 71–63 on Feb. 12 and lost 75–66 to No. 9 Louisville on Feb. 15. … The Wolfpack has won three in a row and eight of the last nine, but needed overtime at home Sunday to knock off Georgia Tech 86–85, the most points they have given up all season. … N.C. State’s Madison Hayes is the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week after averaging 15.5 points, eight rebounds and two assists last week … UNC and State have split the two regular-season matchups in four of the last five seasons, with the Wolfpack sweeping both 2021–22 games. … This is the last season for the foreseeable future that the rivals will play two regular-season games. When Stanford, Cal and SMU are added to the ACC next season, UNC will play Duke twice and every other team in the league once. … The women’s version of ESPN “GameDay” will broadcast from 11 a.m. to noon Sunday from Virginia Tech ahead of the Hokies’ game against UNC. It will be the first time an ACC school has been host for the show.
UNC season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 8 Louisville | 9–0 | 19–3 | 8 |
| No. 21 Duke | 9–0 | 14–6 | 15 |
| N.C. State | 7–2 | 14–6 | 27 |
| North Carolina | 6–3 | 17–5 | 21 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–3 | 16–5 | 41 |
| Syracuse | 6–3 | 16–4 | 40 |
| Virginia | 6–3 | 14–6 | 38 |
| Clemson | 5–4 | 14–7 | 42 |
| Notre Dame | 5–4 | 13–7 | 28 |
| Stanford | 4–4 | 15–6 | 36 |
| Miami | 4–5 | 12–8 | 45 |
| Georgia Tech | 4–5 | 9–12 | 92 |
| California | 3–5 | 12–9 | 58 |
| Wake Forest | 2–6 | 12–8 | 121 |
| Florida State | 2–7 | 7–13 | 104 |
| SMU | 1–8 | 8–13 | 179 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–8 | 8–14 | 261 |
| Boston College | 0–9 | 4–18 | 254 |
* — Through Saturday games
Saturday’s results
No. 8 Louisville 85, Boston College 56
N.C. State 78, Virginia 76, OT
No. 21 Duke 95, Pittsburgh 41
Virginia Tech 85, Wake Forest 57
Sunday’s results
North Carolina 77, Syracuse 71, OT
Clemson 65, Notre Dame 58
Miami 75, SMU 66
Georgia Tech 80, Florida State 69
California 78, Stanford 71, OT
Thursday’s games
Virginia at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Boston College, 6 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Clemson, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 8 Louisville at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 21 Duke at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday, Feb. 1, games
Wake Forest at No. 21 Duke, noon, ACC Network
No 8 Louisville at California, 1 p.m.
Virginia at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Syracuse at Miami, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at Stanford, 4 p.m.
Florida State at Clemson, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Monday, Feb. 2, game
North Carolina at N.C. State, 6 p.m., ESPN2
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 2 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. 3 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. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 8 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 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 | 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 No. 21 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. No. 21 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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