Tag: UNC Women’s Basketball

Twitter reacts to UNC’s ACC vs. SEC matchup

Twitter reacts to UNC men’s and women’s basketball ACC vs. SEC matchups.

The North Carolina men’s basketball team will play host to Tennessee in the first season of the ACC-SEC Challenge, while the women’s basketball program opens its doors for a game against South Carolina. Both matchups have already caused quite a reaction on Twitter.

The men’s team will welcome the Volunteers into Dean E. Smith Center on Nov. 29, 2023. A day later, the women’s basketball team will host the Gamecocks. Both are prime matches that will play a role in seeding come March Madness.

Both teams enter the upcoming season with a new-look roster after the damage done by the transfer portal. The men’s team will be without arguably their most impactful player of the last few seasons, Caleb Love, and the women’s program lost its second-best scoring option, Kennedy Todd-Williams.

Despite the losses, both teams’ additions make them a threat to cut down the nets at the end of the year. Picking up a win against two top SEC schools can boost confidence and seeding when it is time.

Unsurprisingly, fans had opinions about the game announcements, their excitement and what it means for the school in the future.

Let us look at how Twitter reacted to ACC-SEC matchups.

UNC women’s basketball offers scholarships to three top recruits

Courtney Banghart offers scholarships to three top 2026 recruits as she continues to build for the future.

The North Carolina women’s basketball program is heavy at work building for the future as they have offered three top ten recruits from the 2026 class.

Courtney Banghart and staff offered 15-year-olds McKenna Woliczko, Trinity Jones, and Jacy Abii. The highest recruit out of the three is Woliczko, who ranks 4th on the ESPN 2026 class list, followed by Jones, 6th, and Abii, 9th.

Woliczko, a part of the 2023 FIBA U16 women’s basketball team, is an ideal fit for UNC. The 6’2 forward has averaged 11.8 points and 9.7 rebounds in six games. Her best game came in the semifinals against Argentina, where she finished with her tournament high 24 points and tacked on 13 rebounds.

Jones has also made her mark on the 2023 FIBA U16 women’s basketball team, averaging 9.5 points and 6.7 rebounds. Her best performance came in the group round against Puerto Rico, where the 6’1 guard finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, going 8 for 9 in field goals.

Lastly, Abii has displayed good court vision and the ability to score during her time on the 2023 FIBA U16 women’s basketball team. The 6’1 guard averaged 8.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in the tournament. Abii’s best game in the group round against Colombia was 13 points and 7 rebounds.

All three would be a massive get for UNC’s women’s basketball program, continuing to build the culture through the strong recruiting from Banghart.

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Deja Kelly named to USA Basketball AmeriCup team

UNC Basketball guard Deja Kelly was named to the USA AmeriCup roster.

North Carolina women’s basketball standout Deja Kelly will represent the United States at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup. After two days of tryouts, Kelly was one of 12 players to make the team that will participate in the event from July 1-9 in Mexico.

Kelly was not able to try out earlier in May but was one of four added to the roster in a second round of tryouts this week.  She was officially named to the roster on Thursday night, earning the honors to represent her country and potentially adding another accolade to her career.

The guard is entering her senior year at North Carolina and is coming off another impressive campaign last season. Kelly averaged 16.5 points and 3.2 assists per game, earning first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and honorable mention All-America honors.

Joining Kelly on the roster is Janiah Barker (Texas A&M), Lauren Betts (UCLA), Chance Gray (Oregon), Abbey Hsu (Columbia), Rickea Jackson (Tennessee), Raven Johnson (South Carolina), Rayah Marshall (Southern California), Charisma Osborne (UCLA), Laila Phelia (Michigan), Angel Reese (LSU) and Jewel Spear (Tennessee).

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UNC commit Lanie Grant continues to shines in win over Argentina

UNC’s five-star commit Lanie Grant continues to shine for the U.S. U16 team, dropping 20 points in the 112-48 win over Argentina.

North Carolina women’s basketball commit Lanie Grant continues to shine for the USA Basketball U16 team, dropping 20 points in a 112-48 win over Argentina.

Grant and the U16 team have shown complete dominance on their path to the championship, winning 23 consecutive games as they hope to win their fourth straight gold medal. Grant has been extraordinary, with her scoring fully displayed in the blowout win over Argentina.

The 5-foot-9 five-star recruit from the 2025 class finished with 20 points, shooting six for nine from the field. This comes a game after where Grant delivered six assists in the 106-34 win over the Dominican Republic.

From James River high school out of Midlothian, Virginia, Grant is the ideal point guard for UNC and has shown her ability to pass and score throughout her journey with the US16 team. Courtney Banghart and staff must love what they see from the future Tar Heel.

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UNC women’s basketball set to play in Gulf Coast Showcase

The North Carolina women’s basketball program reportedly will face off against Iowa’s Caitlin Clark this season.

The North Carolina women’s basketball program will play some notable names this season, being one of the eight teams participating in the Gulf Coast Showcase.

It is reported that UNC will be one of the eight teams to play in this showcase, along with Kansas State and Iowa, with women’s basketball star sensation Caitlin Clark. The rest of the field has yet to be announced but wins over Kansas, and Iowa would significantly boost tournament placement come March Madness.

The Tar Heels’ schedule already featured some fantastic teams, especially considering how stacked the Atlantic Coastal Conference will be this year. Factor in the recent announcement of UNC playing UCONN in the Basketball Hall of Fame women’s showcase, and the Tar Heels will have a handful of tuneup games to prepare for a championship run.

On the early top 25 list, UNC cracks the top 10, and the rest of the games should determine if UNC is ready for the big stage.

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UNC women’s basketball cracks the top 10 in way too early top 25

The North Carolina women’s basketball program cracks the top 10 in way too early top 25.

Women’s college basketball saw significant movement this offseason with another very active transfer portal that saw rosters get shaken up a little bit as we head into the summer months. And while we still have months to go before a new season, it’s nice to see where analysts think teams stack up.

Despite the stacked competition, UNC found themselves cracking the top 10 in the way too early top 25 released by Mitchell Northam.

The Tar Heels rank ninth on the list, one of the two Atlantic Coastal Conference teams to crack the top 10, with Virginia Tech ranking fifth. Unsurprisingly, the defending champion LSU takes the throne, especially when you factor in the Tigers snagging the fiery Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith.

The biggest surprise on the list is South Carolina’s placement, which sits just one slot above UNC.

Regarding UNC’s ranking, the judgment was clear on why they ranked No. 9 and the expectations for this season. According to Northam, much of the ranking placement is due to the new additions.

Losing Kennedy Todd-Williams was a bummer for the Tar Heels, but Courtney Banghart regrouped quickly and made this UNC roster better for the future. The additions include Iowa State sharpshooter Lexi Donarksi (who is also a former Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year), young and athletic Stanford guard Indya Nivar and 6-foot-4 shot-blocker Maria Gakdeng from Boston College. Pairing those transfers with veterans Deja Kelly, Alyssa Ustby and Anya Poole – and No. 4 overall recruit Cierra Toomey – should make the Tar Heels contenders in the ACC.

The women’s basketball program team chemistry has grown every year under Courtney Banghart, and with the new talent coming in, it could be a massive year for the team.

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Ciera Toomey named Miss Pennsylvania Basketball

Incoming UNC five-star freshman Ciera Toomey named Miss Pennsylvania.

Incoming UNC five-star freshman [autotag]Ciera Toomey[/autotag] has been named Miss Pennsylvania Basketball for 2023.

The five-star recruit out of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, adds the title of Miss Pennsylvania to her long list of accolades, recently named the Player of the Year in Class 3A. In a story picked up by Yahoo News, Toomey explained why being named Miss Pennsylvania meant a lot to her.

“This is definitely at the top of the list because winning the player of the year in 3A, that’s only for one class. To get something like this where all girls in the state are nominated, it just means a lot.”

Toomey is one of the most exciting recruits in the nation, ranking 4th in the espnW 2023 HoopGurlz recruiting rankings. Toomey joins a thriving UNC program, who has built a new identity after Courtney Banghart.

Toomey will likely see the court a lot in her freshman campaign and is expected to be a key contributor for years to come.

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UNC women’s basketball lands top 10 recruit for 2024 class

Courtney Banghart and the UNC women’s basketball landed a big five-star recruit in the 2024 class.

Courtney Banghart and the North Carolina women’s basketball program received some great news on Monday afternoon in the form of a big 2024 recruit.

Five-star center Blanca Thomas ended her recruitment on Monday and picked the Tar Heels, giving Banghart a big commitment. The Charlotte Catholic star picked UNC over offers from Tennessee, South Carolina, Duke, Michigan, NC State, Stanford, Virginia Tech, and Notre Dame.

The 6-foot-5, Thomas is ranked as a five-star recruit and a top-10 prospect in the 2024 class.

 

In her junior season, Thomas averaged 16.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game. She was also named The Charlotte Observer defensive player of the year. 

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UNC women’s basketball gives Courtney Banghart extension

UNC women’s basketball head coach Courtney Banghart has earned a five-year extension wth the program.

North Carolina women’s basketball head coach Courtney Banghart will be in Chapel Hill a little longer as she continues to build the Tar Heels’ program back up.

After three-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2022, Banghart has earned a new contract extension via the school. The program announced a contract extension for the head coach, that will now last through the 2027-28 season. Per Inside Carolina, Banghart’s contract now shows a base salary of $350,000 for the 2023-24 season, and a $400,000 rate for the following four seasons.

The contract will also feature bonuses for NCAA Tournament appearances ($30,000), and for regular season and conference tournament championships ($50,000).

UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham released this statement on the new extension:

“When we conducted our coaching search four years ago, we were convinced that Coach Banghart was the right leader for our program — and I feel even more strongly about that now. She is passionate about teaching student-athletes how to win on and off the court, has embraced the Carolina community, and has worked tirelessly to propel our women’s basketball program to back to the nation’s top echelon. We are pleased that she’ll be our coach for years to come.”

In Banghart’s five-year coaching career at UNC she has won a total of 76 games, including 39 in the ACC and has reached the NCAA Tournament three times.

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UNC women’s basketball lands Iowa State guard Lexi Donarski

The UNC women’s basketball program has landed a commitment from Iowa State’s Lexi Donarsk out of the transfer portal.

Courtney Banghart and the North Carolina women’s basketball program has some spots to fill for the 2023-24 roster after the departure of a few players to the transfer portal.

And on Monday, they took a step forward and filled one of those spots.

Iowa State guard Lexi Donarski is joining the Tar Heels out of the transfer portal as 247Sports’ Brandon Clay reported. Donarski is the No. 4 ranked player in the transfer portal and is a big get for Banghart and her staff.

In three years at Iowa State, Donarski averaged 13.2 points per game for the Cyclones. That included averaging 12.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season.

Donarsk is the second player to commit to North Carolina out of the portal, joining Boston College’s Maria Gakdeng who committed in April as well.

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