Carmichael Comments: Off-Season Edition

Can you feel that? It's the sense of normalcy.

Yes, the time is coming – and coming soon – for fans to return to Carmichael Arena and for Carolina Women's Basketball to play a full schedule beginning in early November through March. That sense of normalcy is even more tangible with the release of Carolina's non-conference schedule for the 2021-22 season.

The 11-game slate will both challenge the Tar Heels and allow them to grow and develop prior to the ACC gauntlet, all while providing fans with intriguing and exciting matchups. Last year's Tar Heels were a very young team, with five freshmen and two transfers, yet were only able to play five non-conference games – all at home – last year thanks to pandemic-related scheduling limitations. Coach Banghart frequently pointed to the lack of a true non-conference season as a major hurdle Carolina had to overcome in 2020-21. Needless to say, she and her team are excited to double the number of non-conference foes this season.

With three Power Five opponents – one each from the Big XII, Pac-12, and Big Ten conferences – Carolina will be able to face competition from the sport's highest level. But the challenges don't stop there. Among the eight mid-majors that round out the non-league slate, six posted a winning record in conference play last season. Two of those (North Carolina A&T and VCU) won their conferences and reached the NCAA Tournament in 2021. Two others, James Madison and Alabama State, finished second in their respective leagues a year ago and lost heartbreakers in their conference tournaments. Another, Charlotte, is projected by ESPNW to win Conference USA in 2022.

We mentioned North Carolina A&T and Charlotte, who will join Appalachian State and UNC Asheville as in-state foes on the Carolina schedule. Counting the five ACC games against Duke (twice), NC State (twice), and Wake Forest, the Tar Heels will play a total of nine games – nearly 30 percent of the schedule – against teams from the state of North Carolina. Plus, the 11 non-conference games are fairly evenly split between Carmichael Arena (six) and road or neutral venues (five), mirroring the divide in ACC play.

Let's learn more about each of the teams that will help the Tar Heels build an NCAA Tournament resume and prepare for ACC play …

Nov. 9: North Carolina A&T (Chapel Hill)

Series Record: UNC, 2-0
Last Meeting: 11/21/00: UNC 101, NC A&T 33 (Carmichael Arena)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 14-3, 9-1 MEAC (MEAC Tournament Champions, 59-57 over Howard, no. 16 seed in NCAA Mercado Region, fell 79-58 to no. 1 seed NC State)
Summary: For the first time since 2000, the North Carolina A&T Aggies will make the 50-mile trip east from Greensboro to see the Tar Heels. The game will mark not only A&T's season opener, but their women's basketball debut in the Big South Conference, as the Aggies left their 50-year home of the MEAC to become the Big South's 12th member on July 1, 2021. A&T left the MEAC on the highest possible note, with the program's third conference crown and NCAA Tournament appearance this March. Head coach Tarrell Robinson enters his 10th year at the helm of the Aggies, and has his program poised to compete for a title in their maiden voyage in the Big South as well. Keep an eye out for G Chanin Scott, who began her collegiate career at Georgia Tech prior to transferring to A&T. Scott led the Aggies in scoring (14.3 PPG) and rebounding (8.6 RPG) a season ago, and is taking advantage of the NCAA waiver to return for a fifth season of eligibility this year. Another double-digit scorer, G Sean Kelly Darks (10.5 PPG) started each game last year and is back for a sophomore campaign. Six newcomers will only bolster the Aggie roster even further in 2021-22, a group that includes transfers G Faith Blackstone (Syracuse) and C Jazmin Harris (Charlotte), who the Tar Heels saw last year.

Nov. 14: Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.)

Series Record: UNC, 3-0
Last Meeting: 12/6/20: UNC 81, Charlotte 75 (Carmichael Arena)
Coach Banghart Record: 2-0 (one win each at Princeton and UNC)
Last Meeting: 12/6/20: UNC 81, Charlotte 75 (Carmichael Arena)
2020-21: 10-12, 9-5 Conference USA (Fell 90-89 in 2OT to Old Dominion in C-USA Quarterfinals, qualified for WNIT, falling 66-65 to Florida and 81-75 to UMass)
Summary: The only repeat opponent on the Tar Heels' 2021 non-conference schedule from the abbreviated 2020 slate, Charlotte qualified for the WNIT for the fifth time under 10th-year head coach Cara Consuegra last year. Charlotte's 10-12 overall record a year ago was slightly deceptive, as nine of the 12 defeats occurred in either the season's first four games or final six contests. That's a 9-3 record over the bulk of Conference USA action. Due to the pandemic, the WNIT format in 2021 allowed the 49ers to play two games in the event, a one-point loss to Florida and a six-point loss against UMass. Now, expectations are sky-high for the 49ers, as ESPNW projects Charlotte as the Conference USA favorites for 2021-22. A key reason why is the return of G Octavia Jett-Wilson, whose 21.0 PPG last year led the 49ers and ranked third in Conference USA. Jett-Wilson is taking advantage of the NCAA waiver for a fifth season of eligibility. Another key scorer, G Jada McMillan, started 20 games and averaged 16.0 PPG, is back for her senior season. Coach Consuegra dipped into the transfer portal to add veteran talent in G Mikayla Boykin (Duke), and a pair of former Kentucky Wildcats in G Kameron Roach and F Keke McKinney. The combination of Carolina's first road game of the year, a veteran and talented Charlotte squad, and an in-state matchup makes this game one to circle on your calendar.

Nov. 17: Appalachian State (Chapel Hill)

Series Record: UNC, 19-4
Last Meeting: 12/3/17: UNC 56, Appalachian State 43 (Carmichael Arena)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 15-12, 10-8 Sun Belt (Fell 66-63 to Troy in Sun Belt Semifinals)
Summary: The third straight in-state opponent to begin the season, Appalachian State is among the more common foes in Carolina history – the series dates all the way back to the 1974-75 season, the Tar Heels' first as a varsity program. Carolina has won 17 straight in this series, but the Nov. 17 matchup is just the fifth meeting since 1989. App State comes in from Boone under the direction of Angel Elderkin, the eighth-year head coach of the Mountaineers. Elderkin led App State to their second winning season in three years in 2020-21, but will face the challenge of replacing the team's top two scorers into this year - G Pre Stanley (15.7 PPG) and F Lainey Gosnell (12.1 PPG) accounted for 43% of the team's scoring, but have each graduated. G Michaela Porter (8.7 PPG) started all 27 games last season for the Mountaineers, and is the top returning scorer into her fifth season of eligibility. She also ranked second on the team in rebounding last season (6.7 per game), only trailing Gosnell's 7.6 per game in that category. G Nevaeh Brown, who had a pair of eight-point games in her freshman campaign at Wake Forest, joins App State via the transfer portal.

Nov. 21: TCU (Fort Worth, Texas)

Series Record: UNC, 1-0
Last Meeting: 11/26/05: UNC 77, TCU 54 (Riviera Maya, Mexico)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 10-15, 4-14 Big XII (Fell 92-55 to Baylor in Big XII Quarterfinals)
Summary: Few teams were left more heartbroken than TCU when the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic canceled the 2020 NCAA Tournament. After two straight trips to the WNIT Final Four, the Horned Frogs finally broke through in 2019-20, posting a 22-7 record and 13-5 mark in the Big 12, only to see their postseason dreams dashed. That TCU team was a veteran group, with five of the top six scorers as seniors. Last season, though, head coach Raegan Pebley's team slipped to its lowest Big 12 win total in her seven-year tenure. One name stands out above others on the Horned Frogs' roster, that of G Lauren Heard. Heard was the leading scorer on the 2019-20 team (18.4 PPG), and followed that up with a 21.2 PPG scoring average in 2020-21, second-best in the Big 12. Much to the delight of Horned Frogs faithful, Heard exercised her extra year of eligibility for the upcoming season. Additionally, G Paige Bradley projects to be an impact freshman for TCU this season. She is currently ranked no. 72 on the ESPNW HoopGurlz Top 100 recruiting rankings, and has received a 91 grade from ESPNW.

Goombay Splash (Bimini, Bahamas), Nov. 26-27

VCU
Series Record: UNC, 2-0
Last Meeting: 11/14/18: UNC 59, VCU 47 (Carmichael Arena)
Coach Banghart Record: 1-0 (One win at Princeton)
Last Meeting: 3/20/14: Princeton 94, VCU 76 (Princeton, N.J., WNIT First Round)
2020-21: 16-11, 10-5 Atlantic 10 (A10 Tournament Champions, 81-69 over Massachusetts, no. 13 seed in NCAA Mercado Region, fell 63-32 to no. 4 seed Indiana)
Summary: The second 2021 NCAA Tournament participant on Carolina's schedule, the Rams broke through and won the Atlantic 10 this past March. Head coach Beth O'Boyle, in her eighth season in 2021-22, engineered the nation's best turnaround in 2018-19, a 17-win improvement and 13-3 A-10 mark that resulted in a WNIT Second Round appearance. A year later, her Rams again won 13 A-10 games, but fell in the conference championship game. Last season, though, VCU's 10-5 A-10 record had the Rams seeded fifth in the conference tournament. With four wins in four days, VCU was cutting nets and bound for San Antonio. Continuing a theme that we've seen with other Carolina opponents, the Rams' leading scorer, G Taya Robinson (14.3 PPG), has announced she will return for a fifth season to try and lead VCU back to the NCAA Tournament. Behind Robinson, G Sarah Te-Biasu scored 10.8 PPG while starting 26 games in her freshman season, and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.

Washington

Series Record: Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: 12/17/17: UNC 90, UW 78 (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 7-14, 3-13 Pac-12 (Fell 58-46 to UCLA in Pac-12 Quarterfinals)
Summary: It's been an offseason of change in Seattle. Jody Wynn is out after four seasons as head coach, compiling a 38-74 mark and 11-58 record in Pac-12 play. In is Tina Langley, who excelled in seven seasons at the helm at Rice. Langley went 126-61 at the academically-focused Conference USA school, including the 2021 WNIT Championship, a trip to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, and the 2017 WBI Championship. One of Langley's early successes at UW was convincing 2020-21 leading scorer F Haley Van Dyke (12.0 PPG) to return to Washington after putting her name in the transfer portal. Speaking of transfers, G Trinity Oliver started 28 games for Elite Eight participant Baylor in 2020-21, and will suit up for the Huskies this season. Additionally, Langley has lured the top two scorers from her final Rice team to follow their coach to the Pacific Northwest. 6'9 C Nancy Mulkey (15.7 PPG) and F Lauren Schwartz (13.1 PPG) each started 27 games for the Owls last season, and will wear purple and gold this year. We'll see how quickly Langley can build Washington back to where the Huskies were in the Kelsey Plum era in the middle of the last decade.

Dec. 1: Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Series Record: UNC, 4-1
Last Meeting: 11/29/17: UNC 88, Minnesota 83 (Carmichael Arena)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 8-13, 7-11 Big Ten (Fell 72-61 to Nebraska in Big Ten Second Round)
Summary: Anticipation is high for the 2020-21 season of Golden Gophers women's basketball. Why? Because everyone is back. That's right, all but reserve forward Justice Ross, who played three games and transferred last year, is coming back for Minnesota. Former Gopher star and WNBA veteran Lindsay Whalen embarks on her fourth season as the head coach at her alma mater with a familiar roster, albeit one ravaged by injuries last season. Minnesota's top three scorers – G Jasmine Powell (14.5 PPG), G Sara Scalia (14.5 PPG), and F Kadi Sissoko (12.6 PPG) – were all out in the Gophers' Big Ten Tournament loss to Nebraska. Only one player appeared in all 21 games last season, C Klarke Sconiers. Joining the aforementioned trio as a double-figure scorer that returns is G Gadviva Hubbard, who chipped in 11.1 PPG last season, and joins F Laura Bagwell Katalinich (5.9 PPG) as Gophers to take advantage of the bonus fifth year of eligibility. Among the newcomers to the Minnesota roster are PG Katie Borowicz (no. 98 player in ESPNW HoopGurlz Class of 2021 rankings, 91 grade) and G Deja Winters, who scored 14.1 PPG at North Carolina A&T on the Aggies' NCAA Tournament team last year. Whalen, who helped lead Minnesota to three straight NCAA Tournaments and the 2004 Final Four as a player, is trying to take the program to the event for the first time as a head coach. If it doesn't happen in 2021-22, lack of experience won't be the reason.

Dec. 5: James Madison (Chapel Hill)

Series Record: UNC, 2-1
Last Meeting: 1/2/14: UNC 74, JMU 71 (Carmichael Arena)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 14-10, 9-6 CAA (Fell 79-76 in OT to Drexel in CAA Semifinals)
Summary: One of the most consistent mid-major programs in the region, if not the nation, James Madison is a quality test in Carmichael Arena to send Carolina into the exam break. The Dukes qualified for the NCAA Tournament six times between 2007 and 2016, all under Head Coach Kenny Brooks – who we now know as the bench boss in Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech Hokies. When Brooks left in 2016, assistant Sean O'Regan was promoted to the lead chair. The 2003 JMU alum has been highly successful as a head coach, posting a 117-40 (73-14 CAA) record in his five seasons. However, he has been unable to do one thing Brooks was quite good at: reach the field of 64. JMU was knocked off in the conference tournament in each of O'Regan's first three years, though the Dukes reached at least the third round of the WNIT in each campaign. Then in 2020, JMU earned a share of the CAA regular season title, only to see the season end on the day their conference tournament was to begin due to the pandemic. This past season, JMU's 9-6 conference mark was the most conference losses suffered under O'Regan, and the Dukes were defeated in overtime in the conference semifinal. Several key pieces return for JMU in 2021-22 to help the Dukes try and return to the NCAA field. G Kiki Jefferson was a first-team all-CAA pick last year, and led the team in scoring with 16.2 PPG. CAA Rookie of the Year G Peyton McDaniel is the Dukes' other double-figure scorer returning, as she averaged 12.2 PPG in her first go-round in Harrisonburg.

Dec. 12: UNC Asheville (Chapel Hill)

Series Record: UNC, 5-0
Last Meeting: 11/25/12: UNC 101, UNC Asheville 42 (Carmichael Arena)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 10-15, 9-10 Big South (Fell 83-69 to Longwood in Big South Quarterfinals)
Summary: Carolina will play its final in-state non-conference opponent in the first game back after the exam break when UNC Asheville comes to town for the first time since 2012. The Bulldogs hovered around the .500 mark for the entirety of the abbreviated 2020-21 season, but ultimately dropped their final five games in the first season under Head Coach Honey Brown. Brown, an eight-year UNC Asheville assistant under former Head Coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, will have the opportunity for growth in year two with four starters returning. The quartet is highlighted by G Nadiria Evans, who led the Bulldogs with 17.2 PPG last year and was named first team all-Big South. Evans is exercising the NCAA waiver for a fifth season of eligibility, extending a career that has seen her play in all 120 possible games while part of the UNC Asheville program. F Kai Carter is another key returning piece, a second team all-Big South pick who averaged 13.4 PPG last year.

Dec. 15: Jacksonville University (Chapel Hill)

Series Record: UNC, 1-0
Last Meeting: 12/20/16: UNC 87, JU 57 (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 4-17, 1-13 ASUN (Fell 87-62 to Florida Gulf Coast in ASUN Quarterfinals)
Summary: For the large majority people, the winter of 2020-21 was a time to forget with the nation battling the ongoing pandemic. That fact is especially true for the Jacksonville Dolphins. JU won just one game against a team that was a Division I member in 2019-20 – the Atlantic Sun Conference First Round game against Kennesaw State. Their other three wins were against a pair of non-Division I squads, and DI newcomer Bellarmine. Now, fourth year head coach Darrell Haney is trying to turn the page. Seven players have left via the transfer portal, so the new year brings a chance for JU to try and return to its winning ways. After all, prior to last season, the Dolphins enjoyed four winning campaigns in a five-year span. The highlight of the stretch was a 2016 ASUN championship and berth in the NCAA Tournament, which was followed up by back-to-back WNIT appearances in 2017 and 2018, all when Haney was an assistant to current Ole Miss Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McQuin. Haney is projected to bring back G DeShari Graham, the team's second-leading scorer last season at 12.0 PPG. Also back is G Alexis Pierce, who scored 9.4 PPG in 19 starts. The mission for Jacksonville in 2021-22 is to prove that last year was an anomaly in the trend of recent success.

Dec. 21: Alabama State (Chapel Hill)

Series Record: UNC, 1-0
Last Meeting: 11/11/16: UNC 84, ASU 54 (Carmichael Arena)
Coach Banghart Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
2020-21: 16-4, 14-3 SWAC (Fell 67-66 to Jackson State in SWAC Championship Game)
Summary: Part of the fun of March is watching the heated competition for the automatic NCAA Tournament bids from smaller conferences. One of those leagues, the SWAC, is virtually guaranteed to be a one-bid league, so when Alabama State, with just three losses all season, met four-loss Jackson State for the league title, the season was on the line for ASU's Hornets. Though ASU led 66-65 after a three-pointer with 30 seconds to play, a pair of late free throws for Jackson State sealed the one-point win and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth. Alabama State's season was over, and by the thinnest of margins, the Hornets were denied a fourth NCAA trip in program history. Now, veteran head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson embarks on her 24th season as the Hornets' leader with a trio of seniors that averaged double-figure scoring numbers last season as juniors. G Anaya Emmanuel led the Hornets with 16.4 PPG, and was a first-team all-SWAC selection. F Shmya Ward was close behind at 16.1 PPG (and a team-best 9.8 RPG), also earning a spot on the first team in the all-SWAC voting. Lastly, G Jayla Crawford's 14.1 PPG and blistering 43.8% shooting clip from behind the arc landed her on the all-SWAC second team. ASU will be a contender in the SWAC once again, and will certainly be fired up to come to Chapel Hill for Carolina's non-conference finale.

WBB practice
University of North Carolina Women's Basketball
practice
Carmichael Arena
Chapel Hill, NC
Thursday, June 10, 2021

Off-season workouts are preparing the Tar Heels for a challenging 2021-22 slate.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

August 31, 2021 | Women's Basketball

2021 Non-Conference Schedule

By: Matt Krause (@MattKrausePxP)

WBB: Courtney Banghart Media Availability - Oct. 23, 2025

Thursday, October 23

Carolina Insider - Football vs. Virginia Preview (Full Segment) - October 23, 2025

Carolina Insider - Men's Basketball Notes + BYU Preview (Full Segment) - October 23, 2025

Carolina Insider - Olympic Sports Update (Full Segment) - October 23, 2025

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Carmichael Comments: Off-Season Edition

Related Videos