By R.L. Bynum

North Carolina’s women will play for the first time in the Battle 4 Atlantis, an event that the men’s team has been involved in three times.

According to the Atlantis website, the Tar Heels, led by fifth-year forward Alyssa Ustby, are participating in the eight-team tournament, set for Nov. 23 through 25.

UNC, which is coming off a 20–13 season and an NCAA tournament appearance, will be joined by four others who made the tournament — Baylor (26–8 last season), Columbia (23–7), Indiana (26–6) and Texas A&M (19–13) — along with Ball State (28–6), Southern Mississippi (20–14) and Villanova (22–13).

It’s the second time in four seasons that Coach Courtney Banghart’s team has played in the Bahamas around Thanksgiving. In 2021, the Tar Heels played two games at the Goombay Splash in Bimini, Bahamas. Last season, the Heels played in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla.

Carolina hasn’t released its non-conference women’s schedule, but it is expected to be out next week. Other known games are a home matchup in the ACC/SEC Challenge against Kentucky on Dec. 5 and a game against Florida in the Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center on Dec. 18. UNC will also play a neutral-site game in North Carolina against UConn, likely at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Tar Heels’ men’s team hasn’t won the title in the event, held annually at the Imperial Arena on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. UNC has gone 6–3 in appearances in 2014, 2019 and last season, when it rebounded from an 83–81 semifinal loss to Vilanova with an 87–72 victory in the consolation game.

While the women are in the Bahamas, the men’s team will be in Hawaii. The Tar Heels play at Hawaii on Nov. 22 before heading to Maui to play the Maui Invitational from Nov. 25 until 27.

While the men’s version of the Battle 4 Atlantis began in 2011, the inaugural women’s event was in 2021.

Year	No.	Players	Pos.	Height
Freshman	5	Liza Astakhova (LEE-zah uh-STAH-koh-vuh)	W	6–2
Freshman	7	Nyla Brooks	W	6–1
		Brooks brings dazzling skills, confidence to UNC
Freshman	3	Taliyah Henderson	W	6–1
		Long wait, journey for 5-star freshman Henderson after second knee surgery nearly over
Freshman	26	Taissa Queiroz	G	6–1
		Queiroz came to USA from Brazil to chase her dreams
Sophomore	17	Elina Aarnisalo (EH-lee-nah AHR-nee-sah-loh)	G	5–10
		Aarnisalo brings flash, IQ and pro experience to backcourt
Sophomore	0	Lanie Grant	G	5–9
Sophomore	34	Blanca Thomas	C	6–5
Sophomore	1	Jordan Zubich	G	5–11
RS sophomore	21	Ciera Toomey	F	6–4
RS sophomore	4	Laila Hull	W	6–1
Junior	10	Reniya Kelly	PG	5–7
Junior	15	Sydney Barker	PG	5–6
Senior	2	Nyla Harris	F	6–2
		It was hard for Harris to say ‘no’ to UNC again
Senior	24	Indya Nivar	G	5–10

Class of 2025

Player	Rating	ESPN rank	Position	Height	Hometown
Nyla Brooks	Five star	No. 13	Wing	6–2	Alexandria, Va.
Taliyah Henderson	Five star	No. 27	Wing	6–1	Vail, Ariz.
Taissa Queiroz	Four star	No. 77	Guard	6–1	Santa Rosa, Calif.
Liza Astakhova	—	—	Wing	6–1	Moscow, Russia

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. 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	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. 18 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