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

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:
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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: ||||||

## Schedule and results

Source
| 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 | Canceled | 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

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