Analysis: UNC women's basketball frontcourt looking to fill in footsteps of Janelle Bailey

As they look ahead to the new season, the North Carolina women’s basketball team will look to utilize its frontcourt players to post up and provide dominant play on the court.

A new team captain stepping up

The Tar Heels do not have a true center listed on their roster this year after losing Janelle Bailey, who graduated in the spring after leading North Carolina in scoring and rebounding, when she racked up 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds.

Now, three forwards from last year’s team will look to fill her shoes.

One of North Carolina's frontcourt leaders is redshirt senior forward Jaelynn Murray. Murray will look to support and guide her team in her final year of eligibility. 

The forward returned to the court last season after redshirting the 2019-20 season due to a season-ending knee injury. In the following season, she appeared in five games with a total of 10 points. Six of these points came in an impressive performance in UNC’s 96-35 win against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 28.

Now a graduate student, Murray was named a team captain and will help lead the young team alongside fellow captains redshirt junior Eva Hodgson and graduate student Carlie Littlefield. In the past, Murray has excelled on the defensive glass, with 111 defensive rebounds in her first-year season alone. Murray will need to prove that she is still capable of this level of defense and offensive depth to aid her Tar Heel team in a captain role in the upcoming season. 

Who else to look out for

Murray isn’t the only significant returning player for North Carolina. Junior power forward Malu Tshitenge will also return to the UNC team to provide offensive leadership among the Tar Heel frontcourt. 

Over her two-year college career so far, Tshitenge has scored an average of 7.2 points per game. She is also known to crash the offensive glass, as she has accumulated 158 offensive rebounds in the last two seasons. As the niece of NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, her basketball lineage and feel for the game can also impact the team.

Sophomore Alexandra Zelaya will attempt to contribute to the Tar Heels by providing depth in her sophomore season. She came off the bench to appear in 13 games in her first-year season, playing a total of 83 minutes, where she was a productive option off the bench. 

Although she played sparingly, the former four-star recruit used that time to gain valuable experience that should allow her to be used in tight situations this year. With the support of older teammates Murray and Tshitenge, Zelaya will look to grow and serve an even more significant role on the UNC team in her second season.

The Tar Heels will kick off their season on Tuesday with a matchup against N.C. A&T in Carmichael Arena. Their performance in this game and in the upcoming season will be greatly influenced by the work of the three returning Tar Heel bigs under Murray, who will look to guide the way as one of the team's co-captains.

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