Ever since the UNC women’s basketball team played UConn before Christmas, winning has been easy to come by in Chapel Hill.
Before Thursday night’s loss at Florida State, another ranked ACC program, Carolina had won five straight. The Tar Heels took down Western Carolina, Oklahoma, Clemson, plus ranked Notre Dame and Syracuse on the road.
UNC is led by star senior duo Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby, but also reinforced by a trio of transfers in Maria Gakdeng, Lexi Donarski and Indya Nivar. Kelly, Ustby, Donarski and Gakdeng all average double-digits, while Nivar just reached the 10-point mark for the second-consecutive outing.
Kelly and Ustby are graduating this Spring, while Donarski’s eligibility runs out.
What Carolina loses in these three, it gains in a pair of studs next
5-star Bianca Thomas and 4-star Jordan Zubich, UNC’s two committed recruits in the Class of 2024 cycle, were recently announced as McDonalds All-American Game nominees.
Chapel Hill 🔜
Congrats to these two future Tar Heels! 🏀🍔#GoHeels | @blancathomas34 | @jordanzubich pic.twitter.com/FnPxlDPUQz
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) January 10, 2024
The McDonalds All-American Game, if you aren’t familiar with it, is arguably the greatest All-Star high school basketball contest.
Thomas, a star center for the Charlotte (NC) Catholic Cougars, is averaging a double-double in her senior season. Charlotte Catholic is atop the 4A Southwestern conference now with a 12-2 (5-0) record, winning its first ten games.
Zubich, a high-scoring guard for the Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers, is averaging 26.2 points per game over her past three varsity seasons. She’s sporting a career-best 26.6 PPG this season, with her team holding a 13-2 (2-0) record barely into conference play.
The future is bright in Chapel Hill for the UNC women’s basketball program.
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