Reviewing Courtney Banghart’s Backcourt Group Through Five Outings

How has UNC's backcourt performed through five games?

North Carolina head coacgh Courtney Banghart with players Reniya Kelly and Indya Nivar at the ACC Tipoff on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. | Nell Redmond/theACC.com

Elina Aarnisalo, Sydney Barker, Nyla Brooks, Lanie Grant, Taliyah Henderson, Laila Hull, Reniya Kelly, Indya Nivar, Taissa Queiroz, and Jordan Zubich: North Carolina's backcourt group, a guard-heavy roster that fills up head coach Courtney Banghart's roster in her seventh year with the program. Banghart preached a lot during the offseason about the guard's presence, and it is evident.

North Carolina, after five games, has started Aarnisalo, Kelly, and Nivar — plus Nyla Harris and Ciera Toomey in the frontcourt. The Tar Heels have made an emphasis on using their guards to get downhill and penetrate opposing defenses. Nivar leads the team in points per game; the senior leader has made her impact known thus far. Here are the stat lines for all of the guards for UNC:

Senior guard Indya Nivar and junior guard Reniya Kelly | Nell Redmond/theACC.com

• Aarnisalo - nine points, four rebounds, two assists
• Barker - 0.5 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists
• Brooks - 10 points, three rebounds, one assist
• Grant - eight points, 0.8 rebounds, two assists

• Henderson - four points, two rebounds and one assist
• Hull - five points, one assist and one assist
• Kelly - two points, one rebound and two assists
• Nivar - 12 points, five rebounds and two assists

• Queiroz - three points and three rebounds
• Zubich - four points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists

The numbers vary from one player to the next, but to no surprise, given that only so many minutes can be dispersed up and down the roster. However, it does not take away from the contributions the guards have made so far to begin the new campaign. If UNC wants to make it far — beyond March — then the play of its guard will need to be there to go the distance.

The bigs are not as prominent on this roster in comparison to last year's, as Alyssa Utsby, Lexi Donarski, and Maria Gakdeng were important to how the offense was run by Banghart and the staff — more inside play. Now, the majority of the team's offense comes from the guards — shooting threes, attacking the rim, and ball-movement. Although the free-throw shooting by UNC has been... bad.

Collectively, North Carolina is shooting 65 percent from the charity stripe — much lower than Banghart probably wants. And considering that this team holds plenty of guards, it is a big concern until things turn around for the better. And what else? Turnovers. This roster has a turnover issue that needs to be resolved, or it wants to lose games. But who plays a sport to lose?

Head coach Courtney Banghart at the 2025 ACC Tipoff | Nell Redmond/theACC.com

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