Courtney Banghart has the pieces in place to take Carolina to the next level.
Banghart’s Tar Heels are headed back to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season after a 74-66 win against Maryland in Chapel Hill Sunday. It’s already quite the accomplishment for a program which some believed would be in rebuilding mode this season. Carolina lost three starters from last year’s Sweet 16 squad, including all-time leading rebounder Alyssa Ustby. When you add in the fact that Reniya Kelly has missed much of this season with an injury, that’s four starting slots Banghart had to fill.
She’s done that with a young, energetic group which can win in a variety of ways. Carolina is the leading three-point shooting team in the ACC, but against the Terps made only four shots from deep. Instead, Banghart implored guards Lanie Grant and Elina Aarnisalo to attack the basket against a Maryland defense which encourages 1-on-1 play. That they did, with the pair combining for 41 of UNC’s 74 points.
Grant and Aarnisalo are only sophomores, and Grant is a freshman by age, having reclassified to join UNC a year early out of high school. If Kelly heals properly in the offseason and freshman Nyla Brooks continues on her upward trajectory, Carolina could feature one of the most talented backcourts in the ACC next year. Oh, and don’t forget five-star recruit and National High School Player of the Year Kate Harpring, who’s fresh off winning a second consecutive state title in Georgia.
Banghart’s challenge will be filling out the frontcourt. Nyla Harris, who’s provided needed steadiness in the paint and has been playing some of her best basketball of late, is out of eligibility after this season. Ciera Toomey has improved in her redshirt sophomore season, but still isn’t as dominant as her five-star recruiting profile would have suggested. Expect Carolina to hit the transfer portal for a post presence or two in the offseason.
The border between the Tier 2 programs in women’s college basketball and the best of the best is notoriously difficult to breach. Many programs, UNC among them, have tried and failed to unseat the UConns and South Carolinas of the world. The dominance of those two, particularly the Gamecocks, have kept the Tar Heels from venturing past the Sweet 16 in more than a decade. And we’re coming up on two decades since UNC made the Final Four.
Banghart is surely aware of that hole on her CV, and her recent efforts on the recruiting trail seem to reflect that urgency. It’s been a long time since a prospect as heralded as Harpring joined the women’s basketball program. Carolina fans can only hope her arrival is the start of a new golden age for the team.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
