This year, I’m hoping that we can keep weekly tabs on the UNC women’s basketball team just like we do in the spring with the Diamond Heels. Their season started on Monday just as with the men’s team, but much earlier in the day, as their game against NC Central was part of the early segment of Monday’s gargantuan slate of opening games. With a new-look roster, the #11 Heels steamrolled the Eagles 90-42 to open their season on the right foot.
Courtney Banghart’s team did not begin the season completely healthy. Reniya Kelly, who had sat out a preseason exhibition against South Carolina (in which UNC was competitive but ultimately lost 91-82), started but played just five minutes, while Lanie Grant and Blanca Thomas sat out the whole game with injuries. Banghart said after the game that Grant tweaked her ankle in practice but should be available soon, but there isn’t any word yet on Thomas. Because of those injuries, the starting lineup we saw of Kelly, Elina Aarnisalo, Indya Nivar, Nyla Harris, and Ciera Toomey might not have been the lineup Banghart was envisioning to open the season, but all four non-Kelly starters acquitted themselves very well. Aarnisalo was maybe the revelation of the afternoon, with 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists to just one turnover as the team’s primary ballhandler. She scored at all three levels, including a nifty left-handed floater, and had total control over the offense in transition and in halfcourt. Nivar set the tone of the game early with two early steals and coast-to-coast layups, and finished with 13 points as well on 6/11 shooting to go with 4 rebounds and two more steals for a total of 4. She did turn the ball over 4 times, though, the biggest culprit in the team coughing it up 19 times.
Harris and Toomey both recorded double-doubles in the frontcourt. Harris scored 12 points on an efficient 4/7 line from the field and pulled down 10 rebounds, but I thought she missed a couple of opportunities to do more. Toomey, asked to provide more of a presence in the paint, was up to the challenge with 13 points on 5/6 shooting and just one three-point attempt, to go with her 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. She’s obviously going to face more potent competition in the post in the ACC, but even her willingness to stand tall and work under the basket is a good sign compared to her play last year. And her three-point attempt looked a lot cleaner than her form last year, with a lot of the extra motion from her legs and feet toned down.
The bench was just as impressive. The highly anticipated debut of Nyla Brooks did not disappoint, as she led the team with 15 points on 6/12 shooting, including 3/6 from long range. She added four rebounds and just took over the game at times. I’d have liked to see her be able to get to the basket a little more, but that will come if the jump shot and midrange stay this good. Fellow first-years Taliyah Henderson and Taissa Quieroz were quieter but still looked pretty good, especially on the boards. They had 4 and 6 rebounds respectively in just about 15 minutes each, and Henderson especially played a really nice floor game. Laila Hull and Jordan Zubich also played 15-ish minutes apiece but looked a little less comfortable on the floor, although Zubich did hit 2/5 from three-point distance. The Heels as a whole hit 8/20 from behind the arc, which was good to see. A 10/19 mark from the free-throw line, however… not so much.
As always, it’s hard to learn a whole lot in a game that’s this lopsided. The Heels dominated the interior, with 6 blocked shots, a 48-20 rebounding advantage, and a 54-18 paint points advantage. It was good to see a lot of the wing players helping out on the glass and getting to the rim with their length and size; with the post production this team needed to replace, that’s going to be a key part of how these Heels to maintain and improve on last year’s offense. The level of depth on display was also heartening, this is a team whose continuity is going to help it even as it’s one of the youngest teams in all of college basketball.
They’ll hope to build on that game’s success tonight when they host Elon, and then get a week off before traveling to Las Vegas to take on All-American center Lauren Betts and #4 UCLA.
