2021–22 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team

2021–22 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball
2021–22 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball
Goombay Splash Champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 17
Record	25–7 (13–5 ACC)
Head coach	Courtney Banghart (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Joanne Aluka-White; Itoro Coleman; Adrian Walters;
Home arena	Carmichael Arena
	Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 ACC women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 3 NC State †	17	–	1	.944	32	–	4	.889
No. 4 Louisville	16	–	2	.889	29	–	5	.853
No. 17 North Carolina	13	–	5	.722	25	–	7	.781
No. 21 Notre Dame	13	–	5	.722	24	–	9	.727
No. 16 Virginia Tech	13	–	5	.722	23	–	10	.697
Georgia Tech	11	–	7	.611	21	–	11	.656
Boston College	10	–	8	.556	21	–	12	.636
Miami (FL)	10	–	8	.556	21	–	13	.618
Florida State	10	–	8	.556	17	–	14	.548
Duke	7	–	11	.389	17	–	13	.567
Wake Forest	4	–	14	.222	16	–	17	.485
Syracuse	4	–	14	.222	11	–	18	.379
Clemson	3	–	15	.167	10	–	21	.323
Pittsburgh	2	–	16	.111	11	–	19	.367
Virginia	2	–	16	.111	5	–	22	.185

† 2022 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2021–22 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Tar Heels were led by head coach Courtney Banghart, who was in her third season as head coach. She was assisted by Joanne Aluka-White, Adrian Walters, and former Clemson head coach Itoro Coleman. The Tar Heels played their home games at Carmichael Arena as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Tar Heels finished the season 25–7 overall and 13–5 in ACC play, to finish in a three way tie for third place. As the fourth seed in the ACC tournament, they lost to fifth seed Virginia Tech in the Quarterfinals. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were the fifth seed in the Greensboro Region. They defeated twelfth seed Stephen F. Austin in the First Round and fourth seed Arizona in the Second Round before falling to top seed South Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen to end their season.

Previous season

For the 2020–21 season, the Tar Heels finished 13–11 and 8–9 in the ACC, finishing eighth in regular season play. The Tar Heels were the eight seed in the ACC tournament, where they lost to Wake Forest in the Second Round. The Tar Heels earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament that was held in San Antonio, TX. As the ten seed in the HemisFair Region, they faced seventh seeded Alabama, losing 80–71 in the first round of the tournament.

Off-season

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Petra Holešínská	2	G	5'10"	Graduate Student	Vracov, Czech Republic	Turned pro, signed with Chicago Sky
Kennady Tucker	4	G	5'10"	Junior	Little Rock, AR	Transferred to Oklahoma
Stephanie Watts	5	G	5'11"	Graduate Student	Wesley Chapel, NC	Drafted by Los Angeles Sparks
Janelle Bailey	44	C	6'4"	Senior	Charlotte, NC	Graduated and signed with New York Liberty

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Carlie Littlefield	2	G	5'9"	Graduate Student	Waukee, IA	Princeton
Eva Hodgson	10	G	5'11"	Junior	Rindge, NH	William & Mary

Recruiting class

Source:^[1]

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Teonni Key G/F	Cary, NC	Cary	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A
Teonni Key G/F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97
Kayla McPherson G	Hull, GA	Madison County	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)	N/A
Kayla McPherson G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95
Morasha Wiggins G	Kalamazoo, MI	Kalamazoo	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	N/A
Morasha Wiggins G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95
Destiny Adams G/F	Whiting, NJ	Manchester Township	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	N/A
Destiny Adams G/F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Roster

2021–22 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Alexandria Zelaya	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	So	Millennium	Goodyear, AZ
G	1	Alyssa Ustby	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	So	Lourdes	Rochester, MN
G	2	Carlie Littlefield	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	GS	Waukee Princeton	Waukee, IA
G	3	Kennedy Todd-Williams	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	Jacksonville	Jacksonville, NC
G	10	Eva Hodgson	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	RS Jr	New Hampton School William & Mary	Rindge, NH
G	11	Ariel Young	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	RS Jr	Lincoln Michigan	Tallahassee, FL
G/F	13	Teonni Key	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Fr	Cary	Cary, NC
G	14	Kayla McPherson	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Fr	Madison County	Hull, GA
G/F	20	Destiny Adams	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	Manchester Township	Whiting, NJ
F	21	Malu Tshitenge	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Jr	St. John's College	Germantown, MD
F	24	Morasha Wiggins	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo, MI
G	25	Deja Kelly	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	So	Duncanville	San Antonio, TX
F	30	Jaelynn Murray	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	RS Sr	Dreher	Columbia, SC
F	31	Anya Poole	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	So	Southeast Raleigh	Raleigh, NC

Head coach

Courtney Banghart (Dartmouth)

Assistant coach(es)

Joanne Aluka-White (Middle Tennessee)
Adrian Walters (Saint Francis (PA))
Itoro Coleman (Clemson)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 21, 2021

Schedule and results

Source^[2]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
November 9, 2021* 4:30 p.m., ACCNX		NC A&T	W 92–47	1–0	Carmichael Arena (2,133) Chapel Hill, NC
November 14, 2021* 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Charlotte	W 89–33	2–0	Dale F. Halton Arena (2,621) Charlotte, NC
November 17, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX		Appalachian State	W 89–44	3–0	Carmichael Arena (1,608) Chapel Hill, NC
November 21, 2021* 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		at TCU Maggie Dixon Classic	W 79–46	4–0	Schollmaier Arena (2,483) Fort Worth, TX
November 26, 2021* 5:00 p.m., FloHoops		vs. VCU Goombay Splash	W 72–59	5–0	Gateway Christian Academy (0) Bimini, Bahamas
November 27, 2021* Noon, FloHoops		vs. Washington Goombay Splash	W 58–37	6–0	Gateway Christian Academy (100) Bimini, Bahamas
December 1, 2021* 9:00 p.m., BTN		at Minnesota Big Ten/ACC Challenge	W 82–76	7–0	Williams Arena (3,432) Minneapolis, MN
December 5, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		James Madison	W 93–47	8–0	Carmichael Arena (1,456) Chapel Hill, NC
December 12, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		UNC Asheville	W 107–46	9–0	Carmichael Arena (1,417) Chapel Hill, NC
December 15, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 25	Jacksonville	Canceled^[3]		Carmichael Arena Chapel Hill, NC
December 19, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 25	at Boston College	W 76–73	10–0 (1–0)	Conte Forum (1,327) Chestnut Hill, MA
December 21, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 25	Alabama State	W 83–47	11–0	Carmichael Arena (1,442) Chapel Hill, NC
December 30, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 24	Syracuse	W 79–43	12–0 (2–0)	Carmichael Arena (1,625) Chapel Hill, NC
January 2, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 24	Clemson	W 81–62	13–0 (3–0)	Carmichael Arena (1,443) Chapel Hill, NC
January 6, 2022 8:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 19	at No. 5 NC State Rivalry	L 45–72	13–1 (3–1)	Reynolds Coliseum (5,500) Raleigh, NC
January 9, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 19	Virginia Tech	W 71–46	14–1 (4–1)	Carmichael Arena (1,547) Chapel Hill, NC
January 16, 2022 1:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 21	at No. 20 Notre Dame	L 65–70	14–2 (4–2)	Purcell Pavilion (5,905) South Bend, IN
January 20, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 20	Virginia	W 61–52	15–2 (5–2)	Carmichael Arena (1,513) Chapel Hill, NC
January 23, 2022 12:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 20	at No. 18 Georgia Tech	L 38–55	15–3 (5–3)	McCamish Pavilion (2,357) Atlanta, GA
January 27, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		at No. 21 Duke Rivalry	W 78–62	16–3 (6–3)	Cameron Indoor Stadium (4,954) Durham, NC
January 30, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN		No. 3 NC State Rivalry	L 58–66	16–4 (6–4)	Carmichael Arena (4,136) Chapel Hill, NC
February 3, 2022 8:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 24	at Wake Forest	W 78–59	17–4 (7–4)	LJVM Coliseum (1,916) Winston-Salem, NC
February 6, 2022 12:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 24	Miami (Fl)	W 85–38	18–4 (8–4)	Carmichael Arena (2,759) Chapel Hill, NC
February 10, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 23	Pittsburgh	W 64–54	19–4 (9–4)	Carmichael Arena (1,479) Chapel Hill, NC
February 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 23	at Virginia Tech	L 61–66	19–5 (9–5)	Cassell Coliseum (1,964) Blacksburg, VA
February 17, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 24	No. 3 Louisville	W 66–65	20–5 (10–5)	Carmichael Arena (2,115) Chapel Hill, NC
February 20, 2022 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 24	at Florida State	W 64–49	21–5 (11–5)	Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (3,322) Tallahassee, FL
February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 18	at Virginia	W 68–57	22–5 (12–5)	John Paul Jones Arena (1,879) Charlottesville, VA
February 27, 2022 4:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 18	Duke Rivalry	W 74–46	23–5 (13–5)	Carmichael Arena (5,230) Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Tournament
March 4, 2022 11:00 a.m., ACCRSN	(4) No. 16	vs. (5) No. 21 Virginia Tech Quarterfinals	L 80–87 ^OT	23–6	Greensboro Coliseum (5,682) Greensboro, NC
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 19, 2022* 7:30 p.m., ESPNEWS	(5 G) No. 17	vs. (12 G) Stephen F. Austin First Round	W 79–66	24–6	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
March 21, 2022* 10:00 p.m., ESPN2	(5 G) No. 17	at (4 G) No. 19 Arizona Second Round	W 63–45	25–6	McKale Center (8,333) Tucson, AZ
March 25, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN	(5 G) No. 17	vs. (1 G) No. 1 South Carolina Sweet Sixteen	L 61–69	25–7	Greensboro Coliseum (8,811) Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. G=Greensboro. All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

Regular Season Polls
Poll	Pre- Season	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Final
AP				RV	RV	25	25	24	19	21	20	RV	24	23	24	18	16	18	17
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	24	20	20	18	15	18	20	22	23	22	23	18	17	18	18	16

**Legend**
		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(RV)		Received Votes

References

^ "North Carolina Tar Heels 2021 Recruiting Class". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
^ "2021–22 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball schedule". North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
^ "Women's Basketball Game Against Jacksonville Cancelled". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.

[1] "North Carolina Tar Heels 2021 Recruiting Class". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2021.

[2] "2021–22 North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball schedule". North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved October 21, 2021.

[3] "Women's Basketball Game Against Jacksonville Cancelled". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball
Venues	Carmichael Auditorium (1974–2008, 2009–present) Dean Smith Center (2008–2009)
Rivalries	Duke NC State Wake Forest
Culture & lore	Rameses The Marching Tar Heels Jumpman Invitational Tobacco Road
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics