Graduate guard Lexi Donarski proves pivotal as No. 15 UNC women's basketball defeats UNCW

UNC-Wilmington's Kate Hollifield was stifled at half-court by a UNC full-court press. 

Graduate guard Lexi Donarski led the battle for possession, coming away with the ball — one of her three steals on the game. First-year center Blanca Thomas and sophomore guard Reinya Kelly dove on the hardwood.

Kelly came up with possession. She tossed the ball ahead to a sprinting Donarski.

With one player to beat and two hot on her tail, Donarski gracefully navigated around the Seahawk defender, creating an open lane and leaving the UNCW guard inhaling the dust of her Euro step. The Tar Heel bench was up celebrating the move before the official’s whistle blew for a UNCW timeout. 

In UNC’s second game of the season, the No. 15 Tar Heels may have played to the scoreboard after taking a large lead early, but Donarski helped to steady North Carolina. The guard pulled out her bag of tricks to lead North Carolina women’s basketball to a 77-50 victory over UNCW, despite offensive struggles as a team. 

Donarski, who led UNC with 74 made 3-pointers last season, worked in the offseason to create a more well-rounded game that goes beyond being a sharpshooter. 

“Last year I was just a little too content standing outside shooting threes,” Donarski said. “So [head coach Courtney Banghart’s] really challenged me, my teammates have challenged me just to do more and put the ball on the floor more, win the paint more for myself or my teammates and be more confident with the ball in my hand.”

The six-foot guard is still good at what she does best. Donarski made five of her 11 shots from downtown and led all players with 21 points. The 3-point shot was one of the only departments North Carolina did not lead in as a team, as the Tar Heels shot 33 percent from beyond the arc while UNCW cashed in on 38 percent of its 3-pointers. 

Despite a less-than-impressive showing from distance, the 3-point shot is still an area from which Banghart wants her players to have freedom.

“Obviously, they’re worth mathematically a lot more,” Banghart said. "33 percent from three is better than 40 percent from two."

It was vital for North Carolina that Donarski and Kelly – who went 3-for-5 from downtown — found the bottom of the net on many of their 3-point attempts. Especially when preseason All-ACC selection Alyssa Ustby was struggling offensively. 

The graduate forward, who led all scorers in UNC’s win over Charleston Southern on Monday with 18 points, shot just 2-13 on the evening against UNCW. She didn't score until there were three and a half minutes left in the third quarter. 

But the team doesn't just lean on Ustby. Donarski was ready to step up all game in key moments for the Tar Heels — and she did, on all areas of the court.

“Wherever I’m not guarded is the best spot,” Donarski said.

During the halftime shootaround, Donarski worked on transition 3-pointers with sophomore guard Sydney Barker.  

Barker pretended to dribble down the floor with her head up and find Donarski on the wing. They practiced some bullet passes and some loftier tosses at almost full game speed.

“Personally, I had missed a couple in the first half that I wanted to make that were that exact type of shot, so I stayed with her at halftime,” Donarski said. “She was passing me the ball to get some of those looks to hopefully make them in the second half.”

Those extra shots seemed to help, as Donarski converted on three of her seven 3-point attempts in the second half. 

North Carolina must find its rhythm from distance ahead of its games against North Carolina A&T on November 12 and No. 2 UConn on November 15. Donarski will be a large component in that chase, who again proved on Friday night she can make 3-pointers, and even leave defenders lost in their tracks with a shifty two-step.  

“When your fifth-year kid is still getting better, that’s a good thing,” Banghart said. “She’s more than just a shooter.”

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