UCLA Preview and Game Thread

3397char

All-Conference
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Jun 30, 2025
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Team Comparison
STATISTICUNCUCLA
FG%35%52%
FGs24-6932-61
3FG%27%30%
3FGs9-336-20
FT%60%73%
FTs3-58-11
TOs914
PtsOffTO1111
TotReb3046
DefReb1833
Off Reb1213
2ndChPts911
BenchPts1716
PtsPaint2246
FstBkPt811
Blocks44
Steals54
Assts1424
Times Tied:5
Time Tied:7:06
Lead Chg:16
LeadTime8:2324:32
 

DSKiBB8

Redshirt
Jul 31, 2025
6
24
2
Taliyah Henderson needs more of a green light and def needs more of Nyla Harris minutes. She gave way more energy in this game. Blanca needs to get in game shape BAD. We have to work on manufacturing looks for our better 3 point shooters. The game got out of hand in the 3rd but there was still a lot to like from this game. This is far from what we'll look like come March. We needed this game to see where we stack up. We WILL be better
 

Anon1759718859

Redshirt
Oct 5, 2025
1
1
3
I have a question that I honestly don’t know the answer to but my feeling is the answer isn’t affirming.

How many times in the Banghart era have we beaten a higher ranked non-conference team?

Whenever we play a legit top 10 team it always feels like we can hang for 2+ quarters then get dismissed.

Don’t see how we can contend like that.
 
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3397char

All-Conference
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Jun 30, 2025
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North Carolina Full Box Score
#PlayerPTSFG3FGFTORDRREBAPFTOBLSTMIN+/-
2*HARRIS, NYLA63-100-40-02241000120-4
10*KELLY, RENIYA21-60-30-01124010122-8
17*AARNISALO, ELIN136-161-70-00333031136-19
21*TOOMEY, CIERA114-83-60-02462101034-12
24*NIVAR, INDYA114-132-51-21124411133-16
0GRANT, LANIE82-62-42-20000010027-16
3HENDERSON, TALI42-40-10-11120201012-4
7BROOKS, NYLA21-40-20-0000021018-4
34THOMAS, BLANCA31-21-10-0101000009-7
TMTEAM---461002
TOTALS6024-699-333-5121830149945
GAME PCT34.827.360.0
THIS HALF2610-334-142-2571297322
HALF PCT30.328.6100
THIS QTR145-182-72-244846100
QTR PCT27.628.6100

UNC Offense
Last FG00:34 LAYUP #3 HENDERSON,T (60-76)
Last Lead39-38 @ 3rd-07:53
Largest Lead6 @ 2nd-05:49 (28-22)
Largest Run10-0

UNC Top Performers
PLAYERPTSREBFGASTEFF
21 TOOMEY, CIERA1164-8216
17 AARNISALO, ELINA1336-1638
24 NIVAR, INDYA1124-1348
2 HARRIS, NYLA643-1015

UNC Foul Trouble
PlayerPFs
24 NIVAR, INDYA4

UNC Substitution Log
SubPlayerTimeScore
OUT24 NIVAR,I00:5358-74
IN7 BROOKS,N00:5358-74
OUT2 HARRIS,N07:3950-65
IN3 HENDERSON,07:3950-65
OUT7 BROOKS,N10:00-
OUT34 THOMAS,B10:00-

UNC Specialty Stats
Bench Points17
Points In Paint22
Points off Turns11
OppTurnovers14
2nd Chance Points9
OffRebounds12
Fastbreak Points8
Layups11-23
Dunks0-0
Times Tied3
Times Taken Lead8
Possessions69
Scores26
Pts Per Possession.870
Scoring %37.7
Turnover %13.0
Time Leading8:23
Time Trailing24:32
Time Tied7:06
 

CCHeel1

Junior
Jul 3, 2025
198
304
63
UNC has not attempted a post feed once in this game. Curious if this is just us playing against the NDPOY or if we are switching offenses that drastically this year according to personnel?
We don't get great position down low. That hurts us trying to get the ball to them. Neither Toomey nor Thomas are great finishers either. Just not Toomey's game. Thomas needs to develop some post moves. JMO
 

CCHeel1

Junior
Jul 3, 2025
198
304
63
Believe they were already on a 6-0 run when that lineup went in the game.
But will agree it did not help rebounding
Yeah, the flood had already started. I wonder where our 5 star freshman was when we needed some scoring. I'm not sure CB trusts her on defense. She felt better about Henderson's athleticism then. IMO.
 

uman1

Freshman
Aug 8, 2005
75
99
18
Taliyah Henderson needs more of a green light and def needs more of Nyla Harris minutes. She gave way more energy in this game. Blanca needs to get in game shape BAD. We have to work on manufacturing looks for our better 3 point shooters. The game got out of hand in the 3rd but there was still a lot to like from this game. This is far from what we'll look like come March. We needed this game to see where we stack up. We WILL be better
I liked Henderson's defensive intensity and physical play. We will definitely need a lot of Harris though. Toomey continues to look like a much-improved player. Thomas first game of the season. Hopefully there has been some improvement. UCLA's top 6-7 players are all seniors and it showed tonight.
They don't even look at Harris outside the paint

We don't get great position down low. That hurts us trying to get the ball to them. Neither Toomey nor Thomas are great finishers either. Just not Toomey's game. Thomas needs to develop some post moves. JMO
Agree, Plus Harris is undersized and has never been a big scorer (8.6 last year at L'ville). UCLA probably not the best team for Thomas to go against in her first game of the season.
 

TAHeel

Junior
Aug 4, 2025
316
372
63
I have a question that I honestly don’t know the answer to but my feeling is the answer isn’t affirming.

How many times in the Banghart era have we beaten a higher ranked non-conference team?

Whenever we play a legit top 10 team it always feels like we can hang for 2+ quarters then get dismissed.

Don’t see how we can contend like that.
TBF, traditionally in WBB there is less parity. Those "legit" top 10 teams don't lose a ton of ball games.

In 2025 the 1 and 2 seeds were 233-33 before the tournament, the losses were to the Barttorvik #s 1, 2 (x5), 3, 4 (x4), 5 (x3), 6 (x2), 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21 (UNC x2), 23, 29, 31, 33, 73

Also Duke/NC State owned every loss 21+ but 1. Removing games played within the top 2 seeds makes the record 215-15 (93%).

In 2024 the 1 and 2 seeds were 219-35 before the tournament, the losses were to Bartorvik #s 1, 4, 5 (x2), 6, 8 (x5), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 (x2), 18 (x2), 19 (x3), 25 (x2), 26, 29, 31, 37 (UNC), 45, 46, 47 (x2), 49, 90. Removing games played within the top 2 seeds makes the record 208-24 (90%).

So over the last 2 years, the top 8 teams in the seedings have dropped 31 games total (less than 2 per team) against teams with a worse Barttorvik ranking than we have after tonight's game (and we actually won 3 of those 31!).

To put it simply, the top teams are just that much better.
 
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TAHeel

Junior
Aug 4, 2025
316
372
63
For comparison's sake, in the men's game:

2025 1 and 2 seeds were 228-41 before the tournament, the losses were to Barttorvik's #s 2, 3 (x3), 4 (x6), 5 (x2), 6 (x3), 7, 12, 15, 17 (x4), 18, 20 (x2), 21 (x2), 23, 25 (x2), 26, 28, 29, 31, 34 (x2), 43, 50, 53, 56, 60, 63.

Removing games played within the top 2 seeds makes the record 213-26 (89%).

2024 1 and 2 seeds were 218-50 before the tournament, the losses were to Barttorvik's #s 1 (x4), 2, 3 (x3), 5 (x2), 9, 10 (x2), 17, 20, 21 (x3), 24, 25 (x2), 26, 27 (x2), 31, 33 (x2), 34 (x2), 37, 38 (x2), 39 (x2), 41, 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 69, 70, 71, 102, 121, 151

Removing games played within the top 2 seeds makes the record 207-39 (84%).

Basically, in the last 2 years, the top 2 seeds in the women's game lost literally 2 games against opponents ranked worse than 50th in the computer rankings. The men have lost 17.

In the last 2 years the women have lost 14 games to teams outside the top 25 in the computer rankings. The men have lost 41.

It's also why the women's tournament has so many less upsets than the men's does.
 

camelheelfan

Freshman
Aug 1, 2025
67
93
18
I have a question that I honestly don’t know the answer to but my feeling is the answer isn’t affirming.

How many times in the Banghart era have we beaten a higher ranked non-conference team?

Whenever we play a legit top 10 team it always feels like we can hang for 2+ quarters then get dismissed.

Don’t see how we can contend like that.
I told a friend last season I feel like Courtney Banghart is the James Franklin of WCBB.
 
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mpaer

Senior
Jul 1, 2025
494
567
93
In womens basketball its even "worse" than the top 10 teams don't lose much...there are 3-4 teams that don't lose almost at all except to each other If your believe the polls -and perhaps your eyes-UCLA is one of those this year.. I mean UConn may go undefeated again-not an unusual occurrence
 

mpaer

Senior
Jul 1, 2025
494
567
93
Each year the WNBA signs like 10-12 players out of college That is it
It is still not a "carreer" opportunity for all except a small handful of folks-and yea a big chunk of those go to a few select schools
I love our Women's program-but the goal should be making the elite eight-no more. Now Ms Harping is rated as the number 1 propect by some. Maybe we take the next step one day
 

tarboy

Senior
Jul 7, 2025
231
413
63
We have a very young team. It showed vs UCLA.

For us to have played with UCLA last night we would have had to make our open shots.

Problem is I think a lot of those shots were wide open for a reason.

UCLA wanted Nyla Harris and Indya Nivar to shoot those 3's.

We need to rethink who gets our open looks or they need to make more of them.
 

Carolina151

Senior
Jul 30, 2024
292
801
93
Yeah, the flood had already started. I wonder where our 5 star freshman was when we needed some scoring. I'm not sure CB trusts her on defense. She felt better about Henderson's athleticism then. IMO.
Just the one thing I have notice- a ton of athletic ability and great basketball player. But has to get a little stronger with the ball. She's going to be a good one and I expect her to be really good when we hit ACC play in January.

Also, guys, we are 3 games into the year with like 10 newcomers. They're going to gel, develop, and be really good. That is a really good team. We are long, but that is probably the one team we face this year with that kind of meaningful and talented length- 5'10, 5'11, 6' 6', 6', 6'3 6'4, '6'4, 6'7. There's going to be some teams with length- but not skilled length They went 34-3 last year, a FF team, and returned really, really good production while adding an AA who was out last year and another AA transfer. They are going to give UCONN a run for their money as the best team in the country as they gel too. Oh, and they currently have the best 2 wins in the country over 2 Top 11 teams.

For us, are we Top 10 good right now? Idk. Hard to say. When you saw Blanca for the 1st time, Reniya first time with meaningful min and still on a restriction, gelling 5 of your top 10 players either FR or x-fers. I do think we are in the 8-20 range right now and think we have the pieces to have a special March.
 

CCHeel1

Junior
Jul 3, 2025
198
304
63
UCLA definitely looked like a mid-March team last night. They were smooth and balanced. We do need more time together with all the new parts and nagging injuries.
 
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Jriv23

Senior
Jul 31, 2025
636
429
63
UCLA is a final four team. They are a veteran team. I thought we played good last night. Our team is young with a lot of new faces. I am glad that CB is challenging her team early. UCLA did show us some weaknesses that CB and Staff will have to fix moving forward. I agree that the freshman need to play more. I was surprised that NB did play as much as I thought she would. She did have a nice steal and she did go coast to coast. TH played very well IMO. She is quick and she puts a lot of pressure on the ball. EA, IN, and CT played great. We will get better. The team is still learning and they are still trying to develop chemistry with one another. They will get there as they continue to play. We will have to bounce back tomorrow. Go Heels!
 
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tarboy

Senior
Jul 7, 2025
231
413
63
I agree Jriv, we did well. Second half they made shots we didn't. We missed Reniya at 100%.
We will learn from this and get better.
 

23UNC

Freshman
Jul 23, 2025
41
85
18
151, summed it up well. It will take half the season for this team to gel and figure out their roles.

The stretch where they ran away from us is when we had Nivar at the four. Tiessa would have been in the game if healthy. We would have lost, but probably a much closer game. They are probably the 2nd best team in the country.

Unfortunately the same thing is hurting us as in years past. Player injuries and the inability to consistently make shots.
 

SeaPinesHeel

Senior
Aug 23, 2025
259
407
63
Just the one thing I have notice- a ton of athletic ability and great basketball player. But has to get a little stronger with the ball. She's going to be a good one and I expect her to be really good when we hit ACC play in January.

Also, guys, we are 3 games into the year with like 10 newcomers. They're going to gel, develop, and be really good. That is a really good team. We are long, but that is probably the one team we face this year with that kind of meaningful and talented length- 5'10, 5'11, 6' 6', 6', 6'3 6'4, '6'4, 6'7. There's going to be some teams with length- but not skilled length They went 34-3 last year, a FF team, and returned really, really good production while adding an AA who was out last year and another AA transfer. They are going to give UCONN a run for their money as the best team in the country as they gel too. Oh, and they currently have the best 2 wins in the country over 2 Top 11 teams.

For us, are we Top 10 good right now? Idk. Hard to say. When you saw Blanca for the 1st time, Reniya first time with meaningful min and still on a restriction, gelling 5 of your top 10 players either FR or x-fers. I do think we are in the 8-20 range right now and think we have the pieces to have a special March.
I dont know, the Peckers down the road have beaten Maryland, Tenessee, and honestly should have beaten USC. It's not taking them half a season to get it together. What do they have that we dont have.....hmmm...
 

Carolina151

Senior
Jul 30, 2024
292
801
93
I dont know, the Peckers down the road have beaten Maryland, Tenessee, and honestly should have beaten USC. It's not taking them half a season to get it together. What do they have that we dont have.....hmmm...
You’re considering an exhibition game where Maryland was without 2 starters, Tennessee (who trailed UT-Martin at half and Belmont last night during the 4th quarter) and a loss to USC without JuJu to be better than UCLA two Top 11 wins over us and OU?
 

Jriv23

Senior
Jul 31, 2025
636
429
63
Good points Carolina151. If JuJu would have played, the game against NC State would not have been close. We saw what JuJu did to UCLA last year. Also, CB is starting to get better recruits to come into the program now without being hurt, etc. We are just 3 games in and a few posters are already abandoning the ship. We just have to be patient. Go Heels!
 
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uman1

Freshman
Aug 8, 2005
75
99
18
We have a very young team. It showed vs UCLA.

For us to have played with UCLA last night we would have had to make our open shots.

Problem is I think a lot of those shots were wide open for a reason.

UCLA wanted Nyla Harris and Indya Nivar to shoot those 3's.

We need to rethink who gets our open looks or they need to make more of them.
Doesn't help when EA and RK go 1-10 from three. LG was 2-4 but her makes were well after the game was decided iirc. I thought their rebounding and poor jump shooting of our guards were the main difference in us not being able to stay up with them. Also, Betts owned the paint,
 
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tarboy

Senior
Jul 7, 2025
231
413
63
Basically a learning experience.

Nyla Harris and Nivar did not shoot it very well either from outside.

Shooters have to play.

Players have to get their feet set and move the ball in rhythm, out shots seemed to lacked confidence.

We have the pieces to be good. Wish everyone was well and in shape.
 
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uman1

Freshman
Aug 8, 2005
75
99
18
I dont know, the Peckers down the road have beaten Maryland, Tenessee, and honestly should have beaten USC. It's not taking them half a season to get it together. What do they have that we dont have.....hmmm...
I've been impressed with how competitive State has been against some of the national powers over the past few seasons. They have earned a lot of respect in that regard.