After cruising to a 48-point win in their season opener on Monday morning, the UNC women's basketball program is back on the court on Thursday night when they host Elon to continue non-conference action.
This will be the final home tune-up before the Tar Heels hit the road for the WBCA Challenge, a two-game series where they'll take on UCLA and Fairfield over a three-day span in Las Vegas, Nevada. North Carolina hopes to put together another strong performance before their highly anticipated top-25 bout against the Bruins on November 13.
2025-2026 Season
North Carolina Tar Heels
Overall record: 1-0
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 1-0
Away Record: 0-0
Neutral Site Record: 0-0
Elon Phoenix
Overall record: 1-0
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 1-0
Neutral Site Record: 0-0
Key Players
North Carolina
Reniya Kelly (Jr. Guard)- 9.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists*
Indya Nivar (Sr. Guard)- 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists
Nyla Harris (Sr. Forward)- 12.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks
*denotes 2024-2025 stats (Kelly was limited to 5 minutes in the season opener as she returns from injury)
Elon
Jayda Angel (So. Guard)- 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds
Tyana Walker (Jr. Guard)- 9.0 points, 11.0 rebounds
Quinzia Fulmore (Sr. Forward)- 6.0 points, 9.0 rebounds
Keys to Victory for North Carolina
Defense leads to Offense
The Tar Heels did a solid job cashing in on opportunities off turnovers and fast break opportunities. Against NC Central, the UNC women's basketball program recorded 24 points off turnovers and added 21 fast break points (while allowing 0, which is very impressive!), as the trend needs to simply continue for this group.
Especially now preparing for an Elon team that only had five assists in their season opener (and made just 24-75 shots, including 4-23 from beyond-the-arc), North Carolina needs to force the Phoenix into mistakes, making sure to continue capitalizing on them on the other end of the floor.
Something to Watch for
We didn't see much of Reniya Kelly on Monday morning, and also didn't see either Lanie Grant or Blanca Thomas take the court.
Banghart told the media following the game that she expects both Kelly and Grant to be "full-go" on Thursday night, but it appears that Thomas is still a bit of a way off from returning to action.
Not only will the status of Kelly and Grant be important leading up to tip-off, but how much they are able to play will also be something to watch. Based on how the game plays out, we might not see much of either, especially with a full week off before the UNC women's basketball program takes the court once again.
Projected Starters
No. 2- Nyla Harris
No. 10- Reniya Kelly
No. 17- Elina Aarnisalo
No. 21- Ciera Toomey
No. 24- Indya Nivar