2024–25 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team

2024–25 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball
2024–25 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 16
Record	3–1 (0–0 ACC)
Head coach	Courtney Banghart (6th season);
Assistant coaches	Joanne Aluka-White (6th season); Adrian Walters (5th season); Cory McNeill (1st season); Daniel Metzelfeld (2nd season);
Home arena	Carmichael Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 ACC women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
California	0	–	0	–	5	–	0	1.000
Georgia Tech	0	–	0	–	4	–	0	1.000
Miami (FL)	0	–	0	–	4	–	0	1.000
No. 6 Notre Dame	0	–	0	–	4	–	0	1.000
Boston College	0	–	0	–	5	–	1	.833
No. 14 Duke	0	–	0	–	5	–	1	.833
Florida State	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Pittsburgh	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Stanford	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Virginia	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Virginia Tech	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Clemson	0	–	0	–	3	–	1	.750
No. 16 North Carolina	0	–	0	–	3	–	1	.750
No. 25 Louisville	0	–	0	–	3	–	2	.600
No. 20 NC State	0	–	0	–	3	–	2	.600
Wake Forest	0	–	0	–	3	–	2	.600
SMU	0	–	0	–	2	–	3	.400
Syracuse	0	–	0	–	2	–	3	.400

† 2025 ACC tournament winner As of November 21, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll

The 2024–25 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team will represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Tar Heels will be led by head coach Courtney Banghart, in her sixth season in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels played their home games at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Previous season

The Tar Heels finished the season 20–13 overall and 11–7 in ACC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the eighth seed in the ACC tournament,lost to ninth seed Miami in the Second Round. They received an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, marking the fourth straight time the Tar Heels qualified for the tournament. As the eighth seed in the Albany 1 region, they defeated ninth seed Michigan State in the First Round before losing at first seed South Carolina in the Second Round to end their season.

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Alexandra Zelaya	0	F	6'4"	Senior	Goodyear, Arizona	Transferred to UNC Wilmington^[1]
Paulina Paris	2	G	5'9"	Sophomore	Congers, New York	Transferred to Arizona^[2]
Teonni Key	13	G/F	6'4"	Sophomore	Cary, North Carolina	Transferred to Kentucky^[3]
RyLee Grays	22	F	6'3"	Freshman	Pearland, Texas	Transferred to Virginia^[4]
Deja Kelly	25	G	5'8"	Senior	San Antonio, Texas	Transferred to Oregon^[5]
Anya Poole	31	F	6'2"	Senior	Raleigh, North Carolina	Transferred to Clemson^[6]

Additions

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Grace Townsend	2	G	5'5"	Graduate Student	Midlothian, Virginia	Richmond^[7]
Trayanna Crisp	14	G	5'8"	Junior	Goodyear, Arizona	Arizona State^[8]

Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Lanie Grant PG	Midlothian, Virginia	James River	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	N/A	Mar 31, 2024
Lanie Grant PG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 94
Blanca Thomas P	Charlotte, North Carolina	Charlotte Catholic	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	N/A	May 20, 2023
Blanca Thomas P	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95
Jordan Zubich G	Mountain Iron, Minnesota	Mountain Iron-Buhl	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	N/A	Feb 12, 2023
Jordan Zubich G	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Sources:^[9]^[10]

Roster

2024–25 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Lanie Grant	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Fr	James River	Midlothian, VA
G/F	1	Alyssa Ustby	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	GS	Lourdes	Rochester, MN
G	2	Grace Townsend	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	GS	James River Richmond	Midlothian, VA
G	3	Jordan Zubich	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Fr	Mountain Iron-Buhl	Mountain Iron, MN
F	4	Laila Hull	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	RS Fr	Zionsville Community	Zionsville, IN
F/C	5	Maria Gakdeng	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Sr	Boston College	Lanham, MD
G	10	Reniya Kelly	7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)	So	Hoover	Hoover, AL
G	11	Kayla McPherson	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	RS Jr	Madison County	Hull, GA
G	14	Trayanna Crisp	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Jr	Millennium Arizona State	Goodyear, AZ
G	15	Sydney Barker	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	So	Jordan	Durham, NC
G	20	Lexi Donarski	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	GS	Iowa State	La Crosse, WI
F	21	Ciera Toomey	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	RS Fr	Dunmore	Dunmore, PA
G	24	Indya Nivar	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Stanford	Apex, NC
C	34	Blanca Thomas	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	Fr	Charlotte Catholic	Charlotte, NC

Head coach

Courtney Banghart (Dartmouth)

Assistant coach(es)

Joanne Aluka-White (Middle Tennessee)
Adrian Walters (Saint Francis (PA))
Cory McNeill (Morgan State)
Daniel Metzelfeld (Trinity)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 27, 2024

Schedule

Source^[11]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
November 4, 2024* 11:00 a.m., ACCNX	No. 15	Charleston Southern	W 83–53	1–0	18 – Ustby	8 – Ustby	5 – Ustby	Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
November 7, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 15	UNC Wilmington	W 77–50	2–0	21 – Donarski	10 – Thomas	8 – Townsend	Carmichael Arena (2,445) Chapel Hill, NC
November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., FloHoops	No. 14	at North Carolina A&T	W 66–47	3–0	14 – Hull	9 – Ustby	6 – Townsend	Corbett Sports Center (3,593) Greensboro, NC
November 15, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 14	vs. No. 2 Connecticut	L 58–69	3–1	15 – Nivar	9 – Nivar	3 – Crisp	Greensboro Coliseum (10,467) Greensboro, NC
November 23, 2024* 6:30 p.m., FloHoops	No. 16	vs. Ball State Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals						Imperial Arena Paradise Island, Bahamas
November 24, 2024* TBA, FloHoops	No. 16	vs. Texas A&M/Villanova Battle 4 Atlantis						Imperial Arena Paradise Island, Bahamas
November 25, 2024* TBA, TBA		vs. TBA Battle 4 Atlantis						Imperial Arena Paradise Island, Bahamas
November 29, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		North Carolina Central						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
December 5, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN2		Kentucky ACC–SEC Challenge						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
December 8, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		Coppin State						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
December 11, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		UNC Greensboro						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
December 15, 2024 2:00 p.m., ACCN		Georgia Tech						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
December 18, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Florida Jumpman Invitational						Spectrum Center Charlotte, NC
December 21, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX		Norfolk State						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
December 29, 2024 4:00 p.m., ACCN		Miami (FL)						Watsco Center Coral Gables, FL
January 5, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN		Notre Dame						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
January 9, 2025 7:00 p.m.		Duke						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
January 12, 2025 2:00 p.m., ACCN		Boston College						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
January 16, 2025 8:00 p.m., ACCNX		at SMU						Moody Coliseum Dallas, TX
January 19, 2025 2:00 p.m., ACCN		at Pittsburgh						Petersen Events Center Pittsburg, PA
January 23, 2025 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Wake Forest						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
January 26, 2025 12:00 p.m., ACCN		Florida State						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
January 30, 2025 10:00 p.m., ACCNX		at California						Haas Pavilion Berkeley, CA
February 2, 2025 3:00 p.m., The CW		at Stanford						Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
February 9, 2025 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		at Clemson						Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC
February 13, 2025 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Virginia Tech						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
February 16, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN		NC State						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
February 20, 2025 6:00 p.m., ACCN		at Syracuse						JMA Wireless Dome Syracuse, NY
February 23, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN		at Louisville						KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY
February 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN		at Duke						Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
March 2, 2025 2:00 p.m., The CW		Virginia						Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Tournament
		vs.						Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final
AP	15	14	16
Coaches	16	15	15

References

^ "Women's Basketball Adds North Carolina Transfer". uncwsports.com. UNC Wilmington Athletics. April 24, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ Brown, PJ (July 22, 2024). "Arizona basketball transfer Paulina Paris picked UA to 'play like herself,' contribute to winning culture". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ Makauskas, Caroline (April 15, 2024). "Kentucky women's basketball adds former top-10 recruit battling back from injury". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ "Virginia Signs UNC Transfer RyLee Grays". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. May 1, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ Philippou, Alexa (May 6, 2024). "All-ACC guard Deja Kelly transferring to Oregon from UNC". ESPN. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ "Former Five-Star Recruit Transfers to Clemson". WHNS. April 29, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
^ Joachim, Zach (April 9, 2024). "James River products Townsend, Grant to team up at UNC". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ "Crisp Signs To Join UNC WBB". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. May 6, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ "2024 UNC Women's Basketball Recruiting Board". tarheeltimes.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ "2024 High School Girls' Basketball Recruits - North Carolina". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
^ "2024–25 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball schedule". goheels.com. North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[1] "Women's Basketball Adds North Carolina Transfer". uncwsports.com. UNC Wilmington Athletics. April 24, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[2] Brown, PJ (July 22, 2024). "Arizona basketball transfer Paulina Paris picked UA to 'play like herself,' contribute to winning culture". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[3] Makauskas, Caroline (April 15, 2024). "Kentucky women's basketball adds former top-10 recruit battling back from injury". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[4] "Virginia Signs UNC Transfer RyLee Grays". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. May 1, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[5] Philippou, Alexa (May 6, 2024). "All-ACC guard Deja Kelly transferring to Oregon from UNC". ESPN. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[6] "Former Five-Star Recruit Transfers to Clemson". WHNS. April 29, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.

[7] Joachim, Zach (April 9, 2024). "James River products Townsend, Grant to team up at UNC". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[8] "Crisp Signs To Join UNC WBB". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. May 6, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[9] "2024 UNC Women's Basketball Recruiting Board". tarheeltimes.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[10] "2024 High School Girls' Basketball Recruits - North Carolina". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

[11] "2024–25 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball schedule". goheels.com. North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved August 27, 2024.

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v t e North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball
Venues	Carmichael Auditorium (1974–2008, 2009–present) Dean Smith Center (2008–2009)
Rivalries	Duke NC State Wake Forest
Culture & lore	Rameses The Marching Tar Heels Jumpman Invitational Tobacco Road
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics