By R.L. Bynum

Under normal conditions, the challenge of winning four games in as many days to capture the ACC women’s title is daunting.

The fact that UNC guards used as many crutches during North Carolina’s 63–59 senior day victory over Duke as there were healthy guards — four — illustrates the challenges that the Tar Heels face this week in Greensboro.

“The thought of having all of our guys healthy is so exciting, I choose not to think about it,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “We’re going to live on the what is, which is our current group.”

The No. 8-seed Tar Heels (19–11) face No. 9-seed Miami (18–11) in the second round of the ACC tournament at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum. If they win, they will face top-seed and No. 11-ranked Virginia Tech (23–6) in a 1:30 Friday quarterfinal matchup.

Three-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley suffered a non-contact knee injury in the Hokies’ loss to Virginia on Sunday and wasn’t at the Hokies’ Thursday morning practice in Greensboro so she’s likely out for their Friday opener.

“You don’t look at my guys and say, ‘Hey, this a daunting task,’ ” Banghart said. “These guys are pumped. They’re pumped for the opportunity to compete.”

Should the Tar Heels get by the Hokies, they’d likely have to face a red-hot No. 4-seed and No. 14-ranked Notre Dame (23–6) team in the semifinals on Saturday and No. 2-seed and No. 10-ranked N.C. State (25–5) or No. 3-seed and No. 20-ranked Syracuse (23–6) in Sunday’s championship game.

“We don’t really look at four games in four days,” said Banghart, saying her focus is on beating Miami. “I don’t think they’re thinking much about a four-day daunting task. They’re looking at the opportunity to compete in a tournament, which they’re looking forward to.”

Redshirt sophomore Kayla McPherson is out for the season, and freshman Reniya Kelly has missed the last six games, both recovering from knee surgeries. Both needed crutches on Sunday, and neither will play this week.

Fellow guard Paulina Paris will miss her 13th consecutive game while recovering from a knee injury, and her status is unclear. Freshman guard Laila Hull (torn labrum) redshirted this season.

“There’s a little bit smaller margin of error because you’ve got fewer guys able to contribute because they’re in sweats,” Banghart said. “You’ve got a shorter bench; there’s a fatigue factor that plays in. You have some their guys that get out for three-minute stretches, and your guys are still going.”

Senior guard Deja Kelly, who played more off the ball when McPherson, Reniya Kelly and Paris were available, has almost exclusively played point guard for several games.

In the last 14 games, which includes two overtime contests, Deja Kelly has played all but 11 minutes. Graduate guard Lexi Donarski has played all but six minutes of the last eight games.

Sophomore Indya Nivar, one of the ACC’s top sixth players, has played an important role down the stretch. Freshman Sydney Barker, who began the season as a walk-on but is now on scholarship, played just over two minutes in ACC play before combining for 15 in the last two games.

“There are certain guys that are good in certain skill sets,” Banghart said. “Now, they’re a little bit out of position because we’ve had a lot of lead guards throughout our journey.”

The versatility of senior wing Alyssa Ustby has never been more important for the Tar Heels, since she can play in the backcourt as well as the four spot or the five spot.

“That’s just a journey on this particular team,” Banghart said. “Lots of different challenges but the guys who are healthier have given us quite a run.”

The Tar Heels won the only regular-season matchup with Miami 66–61 in Chapel Hill on Jan. 25. Former Duke guard Shayeann Day-Wilson had 18 points and five 3-pointers for Miami.

Reniya Kelly started that game and collected 10 points and two 3-pointers, but obviously won’t be available Thursday.

“You’ve got to know the personnel scout just incredibly well,” Miami coach Katie Maier said. “The mental capacity of Carolina’s team to make adjustments and to play multiple positions when needed has been very impressive.”

NOTES — Carolina leads the all-time series with Miami 16–13, with UNC winning the only two ACC tournament meetings (64–57 in the 2005 quarterfinals and 83–57 in the 2011 semifinals). … UNC, 64–36 all-time in ACC tournament play with a league-best nine titles, is the eighth seed for the first time since 2021 and the seventh time in program history. … The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame named Ustby on Wednesday as one of five finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award, which goes to the nation’s top small forward, along with LSU’s Aneesah Morrow, Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson and Texas’ Madison Booker. … Carolina is 16–2 in all games and 9–1 in ACC games when Ustby scores at least 11 points. … Deja Kelly leads the country in free throw attempts (7.3 per game) and is seventh in made free throws (5.2).

Battle 4 Atlantis

Imperial Arena | Nassau, Bahamas
Saturday’s first-round results
Baylor 101, Southern Miss 55
Indiana 72, Columbia 62
No. 16 North Carolina 63, Ball State 52
Villanova 65, Texas A&M 47
Sunday’s results
Semifinals
Indiana 73, Baylor 65
No. 16 North Carolina 53, Villanova 36
Consolation bracket
Columbia 85, Southern Miss 66
Ball State 75, Texas A&M 62
Sunday’s results
Championship: No. 16 North Carolina 69, Indiana 39
Third-place game: Baylor 73, Villanova 62
Fifth-place game: Columbia 69, Ball State 62
Seventh-place game: Texas A&M 79, Southern Miss 57

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