Women's Basketball Adds North Carolina Transfer

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW women's basketball Head Coach Nicole Woods continues to shape the 2024-25 roster with the addition of former North Carolina forward Alexandra Zelaya.

Zelaya is an experienced 6-4 post player with nearly 90 career games played for the Tar Heels over the previous four seasons.

"Ali is one of the best human beings you will ever meet. She is just as good as a basketball player," said Woods. "She will anchor the middle defensively as well as be a threat inside and out at 6-4. Today is a huge step for our program!"

The Goodyear, Ariz., native aided UNC's berth to four straight NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet 16 run as a sophomore in 2021-22. She has scored over 150 total points and pulled down 104 rebounds while averaging over nine minutes per game throughout her career,

Zelaya was one of five Tar Heels to reach double figures with a career-high 12 points in UNC's 80-70 victory vs. rival NC State, a 2024 Final Four squad, in late February. She also scored 10 points against No. 1 South Carolina in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

An ESPN four-star recruit out of Millennium High School, Zelaya anchored back-to-back Arizona 5A State Championship squads for the Tigers as a junior and senior. She was the 5A Conference Player of the Year, Region Player of the Year and an All-Arizona honoree as a senior.

An All-Conference First-Temer as a junior and senior, she was the 5A Region Offensive Player of the Year as well as All-Arizona.

Zelaya was among the top 100 players in her class and ranked within the top 25 of her position out of high school. She was named to the 2019 Adidas All-USA Team and was an Adidas All-American in 2017 and 2018 with her club team.

Her father played basketball at Oregon Tech and her sister Adriana played at Monmouth

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Women's Basketball Adds North Carolina Transfer