The UNC women's basketball program is in the Bahamas to compete in the annual Battle 4 Atlantis event, sponsored by Bad Boy Mowers.
Courtney Banghart and the Tar Heels hope to be in the championship game on Monday, but they have to win two games before that in order to get there. Their first opponent is the Ball State Cardinals of the MAC conference.
Ball State has been one of the MAC's top offensive teams so far this season, averaging 80 points per-game. Four of the team's five starters are averaging double-digit scoring figures, including Ally Becki leading the way with 16.8 points per game.
The Cardinals also feature an elite shot blocker in Marie Kiefer, who is currently averaging 2.75 blocks per game.
This has the makings of being a very competitive game for the UNC women's basketball program as they open up their first Battle 4 Atlantis appearance since 2021.
2024-2025 Season
North Carolina Tar Heels
Overall Record: 3-1
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 1-0
Neutral Site Record: 0-1
Ball State Cardinals
Overall Record: 4-0
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 3-0
Away Record: 1-0
Neutral Site Record: 0-0
Key Players (with 2024-2025 stats)
North Carolina
Lexi Donarski (Gr. Guard)- 15.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Alyssa Ustby (Gr. Forward)- 10.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists
Reniya Kelly (So. Guard)- 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists
Ball State Cardinals
Ally Becki (Sr. Guard)- 16.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists
Lachelle Austin (Sr. Guard)- 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists
Elise Stuck (Sr. Forward)- 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists
History
This marks the first-ever meeting between the UNC women's basketball program and Ball State.
Keys to Victory for North Carolina
Courtney Banghart said it after the loss to No. 2-ranked UConn: the Tar Heels need more from their senior leaders.
Lexi Donarski and Alyssa Ustby combined for a total of eight points on 2-12 shooting in the loss to the Huskies, which is something that is very odd to see and hopefully doesn't happen again. While Donarski has been solid to start the year, Ustby has had some struggles, as the Tar Heels need both players to be back on top of their games.
The track record proves that they'll both get going, it's just a matter of when that will happen. What better place to get back in a groove then in the Bahamas, where three consecutive games could definitely help get the Tar Heels in a rhythm.
Something to Watch For
Indya Nivar made her season debut against UConn and was outstanding, scoring 15 points while recording 9 rebounds.
What does Nivar have in store for her second game of the season?
Additionally, the Tar Heels have utilized different starting lineups through the first four games of the season. Will Banghart stick with the lineup from their last game or will we see some updates to the starting unit once again?
Projected Starters
No. 1 Alyssa Ustby (Gr. 6'1)
No. 5 Maria Gakdeng (Sr. 6'3)
No. 10 Reniya Kelly (So. 5'7)
No. 20 Lexi Donarski (Gr. 6'0)
No. 24 Indya Nivar (Jr. 5'10)