Three UNC Women’s Basketball players earn ACC Preseason Honors

Deja Kelly, Alyssa Utsby and Lexi Donarski are going to be integral to the UNC women’s basketball team’s success this year.

There’s a lot of hype in Chapel Hill right now – it mainly has to do with the upcoming start of basketball season.

A lot of that basketball attention should be focused on the UNC women’s basketball program, who has not one or two – but three players with preseason honors.

Deja Kelly and Alyssa Utsby, both of Carolina’s team captains, were named Preseason All-ACC. Lexi Donarski, the Iowa State transfer, was named to the ACC Newcomer Watch List.

Kelly and Utsby, both seniors, will unfortunately be playing their final year in Chapel Hill. Kelly is the Tar Heels’ leading returning scorer (16.5 points per game), while Utsby returns 13.2 points per game (second-most) and a team-high 233 rebounds from last year (8.3 RPG).

Kelly and Utsby will almost surely give UNC that 1-2 punch that so many teams covet. Kelly’s going to be the primary ball-handler and scorer, whether she decides to spot up from deep or drive the lane, like so many players do nowadays. Utsby will likely be spotting up down low, looking to either clean up a rare Kelly miss or back opponents down for an easy two.

Donarski was ranked as one of the transfer portal’s top players. Not only is she bringing 13.2 points per game with her, but she is also the Big 12’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year. She’ll replace the production of Kennedy Todd-Williams, who transferred to Ole Miss in the offseason.

Fans will get to see the Tar Heels in action shortly, as they host Gardner-Webb in their season-opener on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. ET.