UNC women's basketball stays put in latest USA TODAY Sports coach poll

Sitting an impressive 8-1 through the first nine games of its season, the UNC women's basketball team is showing early signs of an ACC contender.

North Carolina started its regular season with dominant wins over NC Central and Elon, followed by its first blemish, a 78-60 loss against UCLA in Las Vegas. The Tar Heels responded with consecutive wins over Fairfield, North Carolina A&T, UNC-Greensboro, South Dakota State, Kansas State and Columbia, with the latter three coming in a highly-successful Cancun Challenge.

As a result of its continued success, UNC found itself 10th in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. North Carolina is one spot behind Oklahoma, which dropped a slot and Iowa State, which rose one position.

The Tar Heels face another early-season test on Thursday, traveling to Austin for an ACC-SEC Challenge clash with Texas. After a Sunday return to Chapel Hill, UNC opens ACC play against Louisville on December 14.

What North Carolina lost in seniority this offseason, it gained in balance across its squad. The Tar Heels have five players averaging double-digit point totals right now: Indya Nivar (12.1), Ciera Toomey (11.8), Nyla Brooks (11), Elina Aarnisalo (10.8) and Nyla Harris (10).

Nivar stole early headlines for UNC, recently recording the program's second-ever triple-double – and deservingly earning ACC Player of the Week Honors because of doing so.

In March, the Tar Heels advanced to their second Sweet 16 appearance under head coach Courtney Banghart. Can North Carolina take things a step further in March 2026?

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC women's basketball still ranked No. 10