University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Boston College
Women's Basketball Begins ACC Tournament In Second Round Vs. Boston College
March 5, 2025 | Women's Basketball
No. 14/14 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS
25-6, 13-5 ACC
Head Coach: Courtney Banghart (Dartmouth, 2000)
Record at North Carolina: 121-62 (6th season)
Career Record: 375-165 (18th season)
BOSTON COLLEGE GOLDEN EAGLES
16-16, 6-12 ACC
Head Coach: Joanna Bernabei-McNamee (West Liberty, 1997)
Record at Boston College: 108-104 (7th season)
Career Record: 233-170 (13th season)
TIPPING OFF
• Carolina makes the short drive to Greensboro, for the 2025 Ally ACC Women's Basketball Tournament by starting its journey in the second round as the No. 5 overall seed.
• The Tar Heels will tip off action from the First Horizon Coliseum on Thursday, facing off against Boston College for the second time this season. Carolina previously defeated the Golden Eagles in Chapel Hill in mid-January, 80-67.
• Maria Gakdeng remains a problem, with the senior posting her fifth 20-point performance of the season with a career-high 25 points against Virginia. The outing marked the most points scored by a Tar Heel in a single-game this year.
CAROLINA AT THE ACC TOURNAMENT
All-time, Carolina is 64-38 in the ACC Tournament and paces all active schools in the league with a total of nine titles.
Under Courtney Banghart, Carolina is 1-5 in the ACC Tournament with their lone win coming in the second round against Clemson in 2023.
In second round games, Carolina is 4-4 overall. The Tar Heels are looking to advance to their first appearance in the quarterfinals since 2023 and third in the Banghart era.
SERIES HISTORY VS. BOSTON COLLEGE
In the series dating back to 2005, Carolina leads the all-time series 17-5 overall.
Carolina won the lone previous matchup this year, defeating the Golden Eagles in Chapel Hill, 80-67.
VS. BOSTON COLLEGE IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
Meeting twice previously in the ACC Tournament, Carolina has claimed both meetings against Boston College.
The two programs last met in 2018, with Carolina earning the narrow win in the first round, 69-64.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite a career-high day from Maria Gakdeng, a hot shooting Virginia team took over in the second half to knock off the Tar Heels, 78-75.
Recording her fifth 20-point performance of the season with a career-best 25 points, Gakdeng also totaled a career-high five assists against UVA.
Despite holding the lead for a majority of Sunday's contest in Carmichael Arena, UVA knocked down 11 threes and posted a 48-point second half to knock off UNC.
ALL-ACC TAR HEELS
Four Tar Heels came away with ACC accolades on Tuesday, with Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakeng, Reniya Kelly and Lanie Grant garnering honors.
For the fourth straight season, Alyssa Ustby picked up a spot on either the All-ACC First or Second Team, being named ot the All-ACC First Team for the second time in her career.
Along with a First Team nod, Ustby also was named to the All-Defensive Team after leading the ACC in conference action with 7.64 defensive rebounds per game.
Earning conference accolades for the second time in her career, Maria Gakdeng found herself on the All-ACC Second Team. A force, Gakdeng averaged 12.8 points per game in conference play while shooting 59.9% from the field.
Lighting it up in her second season in Chapel Hill, Reniya Kelly also earned All-ACC Second Team honors. The sophomore made a huge jump, averaging 10.1 points per game while facilitating the UNC offense. An agressive presence on the defensive end, Kelly snagged an average of 1.2 steals per game in ACC play.
One of the youngest players in Divison I basketball at 17, Lanie Grant has shown that she's one to watch with earning a spot on the All-Freshman team. Averaging 8.3 points per game in conference play, Grant tallied 10 games this season in double-figure scoring.
STACKING WINS
Earning its 25th win of the year on Sunday, the Tar Heels have tied the most overall wins in a season in the Courtney Banghart era.
Carolina now boasts eight 25-win regular seasons.
The victory over Louisville gave Carolina its most wins in a regular season since the 2012-13 Tar Heels notched 26.
A win on Thursday would give UNC 26 on the season, to tie the most since 2014-15.
COMEBACK KIDS
Facing a 12-point deficit in the second quarter and trailing by six at the half, Carolina clawed its way back to come from behind for its 13th ACC win this season at Louisville.
Coming back by 12 is the largest deficit any Tar Heel team has overcome since a 13 point comeback win against Vermont in November of 2023.
Down through three quarters, the Tar Heels earned their lone win this season when trailing after 30 minutes and their first to comeback and win after the third since at Notre Dame in January of 2024.
CONSULT YOUR CARDIOLOGIST
The Tar Heels continue to give their fans near heart attacks with multiple tight games this season.
Carolina is 3-1 in games decided by 5-9 points and 4-2 when decided by 1-4 points.
THE NEXT
Scoring a career-high 19 points in the win at Louisville, freshman Lanie Grant continues to rise with her then ninth game of the season in double-figure scoring.
Grant's 19 points were the most by a Tar Heel freshman since Reniya Kelly scored 20 against Virginia last season.
HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME
Lighting it up at the right time, Carolina shot a half season high of 68% in the second half at Louisville to assist in its comeback win over the Cardinals.
In the fourth quarter, Carolina shot 80% from the field off of 8-of-10 shooting for its season quarter high.
THAT'S OUR PG1
Recording back-to-back 20-point performances for the first time by a Tar Heel this season, Reniya Kelly is hitting her stride in her second season in Chapel Hill.
Tying her then career-high with 20 points against Virginia Tech and following that up with 23 points against NC State, Kelly was then named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week.
Kelly picked up conference accolades for the first time in her career, becoming the fourth player under Banghart to earn the distinction and the first since 2022.
ROAD WARRIORS
Moving to 9-0 in true road games with the victory at Louisville, the Tar Heels got off to their best start on the road since the 2005-06 season. Carolina has now won its first nine true road games for the second time in program history.
Sitting at 8-0 on the road in ACC marked Carolina's best start within the conference in program history.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Under Banghart, the Tar Heels are 20-28 overall against AP Top-25 teams.
This season the Tar Heels are 4-4 against ranked foes, previously taking on then No. 2 UConn, No. 14 Kentucky, No. 25 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 14 Duke, No. 19 California and No. 10 NC State.
LYSS KEEPS ON CLIMBING
Each game, Alyssa Ustby keeps inching closer and closer to numerous marks in the Carolina history books.
She currently ranks No. 16 in career points at Carolina with a total of 1,722. Ustby needs three points to eclipse the top-15 threshold.
In double-figures off the glass against Virginia Tech, Ustby crossed the 1,200 career rebound mark and passed Charlotte Smith (1992-95) to move into No. 2 at UNC with 1,210 rebounds
Ustby is 41 away from becoming the all-time rebounding queen at Carolina, on the brink of passing Bernadette McGlade (1977-80) who accumulated 1,251 boards as a Tar Heel.
10-WIN ACC SEASONS
By defeating Virginia Tech, Carolina reached the 10-win mark in ACC action for the fourth straight season. The Tar Heels have now registered 25 seasons with double-digit conference wins.
The win over Virginia Tech gave Carolina its longest streak in 10+ ACC win seasons since 2002-09 when Carolina met the mark for seven consecutive seasons.
BAY AREA BEASTS
Doing what no other ACC men's or women's basketball team had yet done with two wins in the Bay Area, the Tar Heels became the first team in the conference to win both games out West.
In the new iteration of the conference, teams have struggled in crossing time zones yet Carolina prevailed despite the circumstances.
NO I IN TEAM
Coming away with back-to-back wins in the Bay Area, the Tar Heels found themselves garnering acclaim from across the country.
The Tar Heels were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Team of the Week.
Carolina also became the first ACC team to reach 20-wins and became the fastest Tar Heel team to reach the mark since the 2012-13 season.
TAR HEEL TERRITORY
By securing the 13-point victory over the then No. 19 ranked Golden Bears, Carolina has now earned a ranked win on the road in each of the last four seasons.
The margin of victory marks the largest ranked road win in the Courtney Banghart era and ties for the largest in program history since 2019 at No. 7 NC State.
WE'VE GOT A NEW TAR HEEL!
Enrolling early at UNC to join the Tar Heels for the spring semester, Taissa Queiroz will join the fold and practice with the team for the remainder of the season.
A four-star prospect by ESPN, a native of Belo Horizonte, Brazil prepped in the Bay Area before signing with the Tar Heels.
The 6-1 guard was named the San Francisco Chronicle Co-North Bay Player of the Year and was ranked a Top-Five Player on the West Coast by Preps-Bay Area.
KEYS TO A DUB
When it comes to the Tar Heels earning a win, 19 of their 25 wins have had multiple correlations.
Carolina's defense must get it done, holding all victories but three under 60 points or less and provide a little breathing room with all wins but five by 10 points or more.
DEFENSE IN OUR DNA
Carolina's defense has been one of the strongest in the country this season, ranking in the top-25 in multiple statistical categories.
The Tar Heels currently rank second in the ACC and sit 21st nationally in holding its opponents to a 36.5% clip from the field.
In holding five of of its opponents this season under 40 points, UNC ranks 43rd in Division I basketball in scoring defense and once again leads the ACC by keeping its opponents to an average of 57.5 points per game.
BOUNCE BACK
Under Banghart, the Tar Heels are now 32-24 in their next game when coming off of a loss.
SHINING BRIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS
The Tar Heels proved that they can handle the spotlight in its win over No. 14 Kentucky and sure made a statement of it.
The 19-point win over the Wildcats was the largest win against any AP Top-25 opponent since 2020 and its largest win over a top-15 ranked opponent since 2011.
In Carmichael Arena, the Tar Heels are 12-7 against ranked opponents under Banghart.
RUNNING DEEP
The 2024-25 Tar Heel roster is full of talent, as Banghart can go deep in the roster in any game situation.
This season, UNC's bench has outscored 26 out of of its 31 opponents and averages 22.3 points per game from its reserves.
Seven Tar Heels currently average 5.0 points per game or higher.
BROUGHT THE FIREWORKS
The Tar Heels put on a memorable offensive performance against N.C. Central, recording a Banghart era high 119 points for the third most in program history.
Six Tar Heels scored in double-figures, with Alyssa Ustby leading the way with a season-high 24 points.
Carolina dished out a Banghart era best 28 assists, the most in a single-game in the past 20 seasons.
119 points tied Florida State in the most scored by an ACC team in a single-game this season.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
As two of Carolina's fifth-year players, the duo of Lexi Donarski and Alyssa Ustby feed off one another's successes on the court.
When the pair both score in double-figures, the Tar Heels are 16-5 overall.
LET IT FLY LEX!
As one of the nation's best active three-point shooters, as she averages 2.26 triples per game to rank 7th among players in the ACC.
Overall, Donarski sits at No. 6 among active career leaders with 340 threes made.
THE BEST OF THE BEST
A mixture of youth and experience can be found throughout the Tar Heel roster, yet some of the vets on the team have proven their skills on a national level.
The duo of Donarksi and Ustby make them one of the most experienced pairs in the country, ranking in the top-10 in multiple categories among active players in Division I Basketball.
As a sharpshooter, Donarski currently sits at No. 6 in made three's with a total of 340. With 157 career appearances, she also ranks No. 6 in active games played.
A walking double-double, Ustby's 1211 career rebounds have her fifth nationally. Her 47 double-doubles have her seventh nationally among active players.
MILESTONE TRACKER
LEXI DONARSKI
• 9 assists from 300 career.
• 10 made threes from 350 career.
• 1 steal away from single-season best.
ALYSSA USTBY
• 41 rebounds from No. 1 in program history.
• 4 points from cracking the top-15 in scoring at UNC.
• 10 assists from 400.
