UNC WBB Looks To Reniya Kelly To Help Propel Tar Heels

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ask Reniya Kelly what allowed her to level up her game last season, and her answer won’t be special training or any kind of basketball-specific adjustment.

“I really got intentional with my relationship with God, and it kind of changed my whole perspective quite honestly,” Kelly said in Charlotte at ACC Tipoff last week. “I wasn’t really focused on the highs and lows of the game. I knew I had a firm foundation, a solid foundation. I didn’t worry about the outside noise or how this is gonna work, how it’s gonna be. God was going to figure it out, and He did. And I had no pressure. I played pressure-free, like I was just hooping.”

Kelly said she took more time to read the Bible as well as continuing to go to church. For Kelly, that commitment to her faith served as a grounding presence that carried over into the season and throughout it, as she made notable strides from year one to year two.

Kelly made the All-ACC Second Team and finished second in the ACC’s Most Improved Player voting as a sophomore. She is North Carolina’s leading scorer amongst the returning players, and entering her junior year, the now-veteran guard looks to build off last year’s growth.

“Reniya, in her freshman year, was really talented,” Courtney Banghart said. “We started her, but she was really reserved. And I always say this: the team plays to the personality of its leaders, and I needed her to show more of that. And this past year, not only did she shoot it ridiculous, but she also was a great leader for this program. And so I need that to continue.”

Kelly averaged 9.6 points per game as a sophomore and started in all 33 of her appearances. She scored 15 or more points eight times last season. She was sidelined for three games with an injury before the ACC Tournament, but before she went down, she was averaging 15.5 points in her previous eight games. 

Kelly shot 41% from the floor, 41.2% from three and 86.4% from the free throw line as a sophomore. She averaged 2.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals to complete her stat line.

UNC leaned on Kelly’s game-by-game production at the guard spot, but the Tar Heels also looked for her down the stretch in the fourth quarters of games. Against Stanford, she had a clutch shooting sequence that helped make the difference late. She started with a pull-up jumper midrange to put the team ahead by two, then on the next play, she set herself up for a pull-up 3-pointer after slipping on the play before recovering her dribble on the ground.

The following week, she knocked down a go-ahead midrange shot against Clemson to go up two with 40.2 seconds to go, effectively making a game-winner as neither team scored after that point.

Kelly made her return from injury in the ACC Tournament against Florida State, and she went right back to her game-winning ways. In a tied game with just over one minute remaining, Kelly drove to the rim and made a layup to go ahead by one. On UNC’s very next possession, she got to her spot at the top of the key, raised up and knocked down the jumper to go ahead by four with 20.4 seconds left. After the game, her teammates mobbed her in celebration..

“She was somebody that we can always rely on,” Indya Nivar said. “Even in those tough moments. I feel like we had so many games back-to-back where she came in and clutched. We wouldn’t have a worry in the world because we knew that as a team, and we knew Reniya was going to pull through for us as well.”

Kelly said keeping her knees healthy is a point of emphasis for her going into this season, as she missed four games last season due to injury and 13 games her freshman year. Banghart added that the team “shut down” Kelly after the NCAA Tournament as a precaution, and that they aren’t “messing around with her.” The Tar Heels open the season on Nov. 3 against North Carolina Central.

Kelly will be part of a guard unit that also includes sophomore Lanie Grant and sophomore transfer Elina Aarnisalo. Kelly said the return of Grant and inclusion of Aarnisalo will help her game offensively this season.

“It’s definitely going to expand my game more, because I can be a scorer instead of a facilitating PG,” Kelly said. “I’m just so excited that I have Elina and Lanie who can play the one this year. It’s gonna be great. I’m excited to expand my game and be more of a shooter, a combo guard. I feel like last year, I was mainly a PG and I love the PG spot, that’s my love, but I’m excited to be a combo guard as well this year.”

North Carolina lost seniors Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakdeng, Lexi Donarski and Grace Townsend at the end of last season. Kayla McPherson medically retired from basketball and is on staff as a student assistant. Now, Kelly is one of UNC’s most experienced players, as she is one of four players on the team who have played two seasons of college basketball.

With Kelly’s increased experience and the progress she showed last year, Banghart is looking for Kelly to help guide the team as one of its main leaders starting this fall.

“The better you are, the more you’re judged by how good your team is,” Banghart said. “And so how good can she get a team with six new pieces that graduated over 60% of their offensive and defensive productivity? How good can you get your team? I’m gonna be right here with you, but that’s going to be your legacy. I know she’s excited about that, and she’s taking it full on.”