By R.L. Bynum

There figured to be offseason player movement for the Carolina women’s basketball team, and that started two days after the season ended, with sophomore guard Paulina Paris entering the transfer portal on Tuesday in a move that came as no surprise.

She made the announcement in an Instagram post.

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A post shared by Paulina Paris (@paulinaaparis)

“I would like to thank God for blessing me with the opportunity everyday to play the sport I love and for guiding me throughout my journey,” Paris said in the post. “I’d also like to thank my family as well as my teammates for their support day in and day out.

“After talking with my family, I have decided that I will be entering my name into the transfer portal,” Paris posted. “I will always cherish my memories made in Chapel Hill and can’t wait to begin this new chapter in my life.”

According to sources, Paris was cleared medically a few weeks ago but never was in uniform for a game. She didn’t practice with the team, although she warmed up with the Tar Heels some in Columbia, S.C., last weekend and practiced separately.

With at least two freshmen coming in, that leaves Carolina with three roster spots (see list below) if all of this season’s other underclassmen return, as well as graduate guard Lexi Donarski.

The four seniors — guard Deja Kelly, wing Alyssa Ustby and forwards Ali Zelaya and Anya Poole — could potentially return for a fifth season. Barring another departure, there wouldn’t be room for all four of them.

Last offseason, Kennedy Todd-Williams transferred to Ole Miss and Destiny Adams transferred to Rutgers. UNC brought in three transfers: Donarski from Iowa State, Maria Gakdeng from Boston College and Indya Nivar from Stanford.

Paris last played in the 81–68 home victory Jan. 14 over Virginia before suffering a lower-body injury, likely a knee injury. She averaged 5.9 points, 1.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 15 games this season, with a season-high 16 points against Western Carolina on Dec. 15.

On Jan. 6, the program announced that redshirt sophomore guard Kayla McPherson was out for the season after suffering a knee injury that required surgery. 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.

Paris began the season coming off the bench, with freshman guard Reniya Kelly starting. Kelly missed the last half of the season with a knee injury after also missing earlier games with a concussion.

Being without Paris, McPherson and Reniya Kelly in the backcourt created many challenges down the stretch for the Tar Heels.

Paris missed a pair of non-conference games — the 81–56 win Dec. 6 against UNC Greensboro and the 76–64 loss Dec. 10 in Uncasville, Conn., to UConn — with what the program called a lower-body injury after playing in the previous 36 games. The Virginia home win was her seventh consecutive start and eighth of the season.

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Potential UNC 2024–25 women’s 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
			Eligible for fifth season
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

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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

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics