Women’s hoops roll call: Reniya Kelly and Riley Nelson shine; tough loss for NC State

Andrew Graber can tell you how many times a North Carolina women’s basketball player cuts off her right leg in practice, how high she jumps, how fast she decelerates and whether her workload is drifting in and out of the program’s carefully defined “sweet spot.”

The team’s director of sports performance divulged some of that insight in a Monday appearance on Courtney Banghart’s radio show, helping slot in as the head coach was off on a recruiting trip during the MLK holiday.

But what Graber can’t quantify — and what matters just as much — is confidence.

“The most important metrics are the ones you can’t track, which is human emotion,” Graber said Monday, “and reaffirming that we’re working with 18-year-old kids.”

After a rocky start to ACC play — which saw North Carolina drop out of the AP Top 25 poll after being ranked for 30 straight weeks — the numbers from the Tar Heels’ last two games look encouraging enough.

North Carolina’s two-game swing against Sunshine State opponents provided a needed reset. First, with a second-half surge for a 73-62 win over Miami on Thursday. Then, a wire-to-wire dismantling of Florida State on Sunday — a 82-55 final giving UNC its largest margin of victory in that series’ history.

“I thought defensively — really, really did a good job,” Banghart said in her Sunday postgame press conference. “I give our seniors and our captains a lot of credit for how we approached the game defensively. We were great on the ball. We were high in the gaps. I really wanted to take away initial penetration and I thought we did a really good job of that.”

A big part of UNC’s two-game win streak — and its path forward — is Reniya Kelly rediscovering her rhythm.

.After spending much of the early season rehabbing a lower-body injury, the junior guard scored a career-high 24 points to lift North Carolina past Miami on Thursday. Kelly opened 4-for-4 from the field in the first quarter and finished 9-of-14 shooting — including 4-of-5 from 3-point land.

Kelly said, in a postgame press conference on Sunday, the biggest shift has been mental.

“I’ve been in the gym a lot, but I think mentally I had to make the shift to know that I am a good player,” Kelly said. “I can make shots… it’s just been mental for me. Just believing in my shot, believing in the work that I’ve put in. It has been a shift for me and it’s been paying off.”

The performance came after weeks of modest box-score production that masked the ceiling of the preseason All-ACC player. Entering the game against Miami, Kelly averaged just 4.4 points in ACC play.

With Kelly seemingly over the hump — and the Tar Heels’ improved free throw percentage over the last two games — North Carolina, though still unranked, has started to look steadier.

“We’re not perfect,” Kelly said Sunday. “We’re still progressing and getting better each game.”

Duke back in the poll

The Blue Devils, meanwhile, are already back in the AP Top 25 this week — slotting in at No. 21 — and riding a 10-game win streak.

Duke women’s basketball rolled to a 93-46 victory over Georgia Tech on Sunday behind a career-high 23 points from redshirt sophomore Riley Nelson.

Nelson, who was sidelined last season with an ACL injury, has shown flashes so far this year, but Sunday was just the second time since her return she’d scored 20 or more in a game. Nelson even acknowledged after the Georgia Tech win that she had been “having some off games leading up to this.”

Nelson’s scoring was balanced with contributions from senior Ashlon Jackson, who notched 16 points (including four triples) and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Sophomore Toby Fournier added 16 points and 11 boards. Junior Delaney Thomas and redshirt freshman Arianna Roberson rounded out the double-digit scorers.

“Solid all-around performance for us,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said after Sunday’s win over Georgia Tech. “We shot the ball well from three. We had great balance and five players in double figures… we’re not a great rebounding team yet. I’m hopeful we will be that at some point this year.”

Nelson’s emergence can add a new dimension to Duke’s already well-balanced offense. A catch-and-shoot threat who can also create for herself off the dribble, she will force defenses to account for her versatility, opening up opportunities for her teammates.

“I put a big emphasis on me coming back to the gym, just to be able to get extra shots up as well, just working on my 3-point range and just being more consistent,” Nelson said on Sunday following the game. “So, yes, I think that today was showing what has been worked on.”

Duke’s defense, which held Georgia Tech to 27.5% shooting and a season-low 46 points for the Yellow Jackets. The Blue Devils (13-6, 8-0 ACC) forced 15 turnovers despite the absence of five-star freshman Emilee Skinner and returning All-ACC defensive team member Jadyn Donovan.

With a bye week ahead, Nelson and Duke will have time to rest and prepare for a trip to Pittsburgh on Jan. 25.

N.C. State falls in OT to Louisville

N.C. State led for more than 39 minutes Sunday afternoon and appeared poised to pick up a much-needed ranked win, but No. 8 Louisville closed on a late surge and outlasted the Wolfpack 88-80 in overtime at Reynolds Coliseum.

The Wolfpack (13-6, 6-2 ACC) held a five-point lead with 44 seconds remaining in regulation before Louisville (18-3, 8-0) rattled off five straight points to force overtime. The Cardinals then outscored N.C. State 14-6 in OT to remain unbeaten in conference play.

Khamil Pierre scored a game-high 26 points — her sixth game this season with at least 20 points — to go with six rebounds for NC State, while Zam Jones added 20 points and a team-best six assists. Zoe Brooks added 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line.

N.C. State assisted on 17 of its 27 made baskets and connected on eight 3-pointers, but struggled to finish around the rim and at the free throw line. The Wolfpack went 11-for-18 on layups and 18-of-24 from the charity stripe.

Louisville also dominated points in the paint, 48-26. Sophomore forward Tilda Trygger struggled to get going on Sunday, finishing 1-of-3 from the floor.

“Tilda has had three straight double-doubles [earlier this season] and she’s doing a really good job of scoring,” assistant coach Ashley Williams said Sunday. “Hats off to Louisville. I think they understood that, and so they tried to do things to take her away. I think their pressure at times prevented us from getting the ball where we wanted to get it. Some of it’s them and how they guarded stuff, the other part, too, is we ask her to go down to the post and demand the ball.”

That said, Trygger added six boards and a career-high three blocks. Qadence Samuels grabbed a season-high eight rebounds for N.C. State, helping the Wolfpack match Louisville for most of the afternoon on the glass.

N.C. State will look to rebound next Sunday when it travels to Virginia for a noon tipoff on ACC Network.

This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Women’s hoops roll call: Reniya Kelly and Riley Nelson shine; tough loss for NC State."