By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — With Lexi Donarski gone, there’s little mystery about who will likely take on the toughest defensive assignments for North Carolina this season.
Senior guard Indya Nivar, the Tar Heels’ best returning defensive player, is ready to embrace that challenge, and as one of the team’s veterans, she’ll do it while leading a younger, retooled backcourt.
Now entering her fourth collegiate season and third at Carolina after transferring from Stanford, Nivar knows her voice matters more than ever.
“I feel like I always lead by example,” the Apex native said Monday at ACC Tipoff. “But this year it’s going to be more vocal — trying to pull my teammates along to set that standard for them to be excellent. I have to kind of feed them with hunger.”
That leadership will be tested every night, especially as Nivar steps into the role of primary on-ball defender against opposing stars.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” she said. “I take that battle on first, but sometimes it’s always team defense. It’s not just going to be me — my teammates help me as well. But that’s a role I take pride in.”
Her defense speaks for itself.
Nivar led Carolina last season with 68 steals, averaging 2.0 per game — the highest mark during the Courtney Banghart era and ninth-best in the ACC. Her anticipation and relentless energy on the perimeter were central to UNC’s success, particularly during the stretch run when she strung together five straight double-figure scoring games and helped push the Tar Heels back into the NCAA tournament.
That postseason experience still fuels her.
“Some of them weren’t there when we lost in the Sweet 16,” she said of the 10 newcomers. “I feel like they’re already feeling that hunger that me and [Reniya Kelly] have to go past that point this year.”
This year’s roster will feature a different look — faster, smaller, and built around spacing and pace.
“It’s very versatile,” Nivar said. “We’re definitely really fast in transition. Everybody’s going to be able to play different positions. I feel like people aren’t going to be able to guard us one way.”
She also sees a new kind of offensive freedom.
“The spacing is definitely different,” she explained. “We just had very dominant bigs last year that kind of took the paint because that’s where they were best. This year, we have more guards, more shooters — there’s just a lot of gaps and lanes, especially for me as a driver, to get into and create for others and for myself.”
Nivar spent the offseason fine-tuning her scoring tools, knowing her defensive reputation alone isn’t enough.
“I was very intense this offseason, working on my catch-and-shoot three and finishing around the rim so my touch can get a lot better,” she said. “Also, reading the defense coming off ball screens — reading where the help is and creating plays for my teammates.”
Beyond the box score, Nivar has become a standard-bearer for Carolina’s culture — a mix of accountability, development and connection.
“We just have a lot of love for each other and want to see each other succeed,” she said. “This is a place where you can develop to get better for the next level. Every year I’ve been getting better, whether it’s physically, skill set or mentally in my mindset about the game, and when that’s the environment, you want to stay in it.”
That environment includes the energy of Carmichael Arena, where Carolina hosted NCAA Tournament games last spring.
“That’s the expectation for us now — to host,” Nivar said. “To have that support behind us, it’s just bringing the legacy back. We always play better at home because the fans feed us whenever we get low.”
For Nivar, the expectations are simple — defend, lead, and win — and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
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(UNC is one below the 15-player limit)
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 11 | Kate Harpring | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | 52 | Noelle Bofia | F | 6–4 | |
| Sophomore | 3 | Gabby White — W | G | 5–10 | |
| Sophomore | 7 | Nyla Brooks | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 26 | Taissa Queiroz | G | 6–1 | |
| Junior | 34 | Blanca Thomas | C | 6–5 | |
| Junior | 1 | Jordan Zubich | G | 5–11 | |
| RS junior | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS junior | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 5 | Sophie Burrows — X | G | 6–2 | |
| Senior | 8 | Achol Akot — Y | F | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 10 | Reniya Kelly | G | 5–7 | |
| Senior | 15 | Sydney Barker | G | 5–6 | |
| Graduate | 13 | Chloe Clardy — Z | G | 5–9 |
W — Virginia transfer; X — Syracuse transfer; Y — Oklahoma State transfer; Z — Stanford transfer
Former players who entered transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elina Aarnisalo | Junior | G | 5–10 | UCLA |
| Lanie Grant | Junior | G | 5–9 | TCU |
| Taliyah Henderson | Sophomore | W | 6–1 | Clemson |
| Liza Astakhova | Sophomore | G | 6–2 | BYU |
Photo by Nell Redmond/theACC.com
