Carmichael Comments: Florida State Roundup

CARMICHAEL COMMENTS: Inside Carolina Women's Basketball — Edition 12
By: Matt Krause (@MattKrausePxP)

"We may have lost this battle, but this kind of loss helps you win the war."

On paper, the Carolina Women's Basketball team has started 0-2 in ACC play for a third consecutive season. However, the setbacks against Louisville and Florida State to open the league slate are far from the type of games we've seen the program struggle through in the last couple of seasons. Instead, we saw a pair of gritty team performances to battle on the road against undefeated and third-ranked Louisville and come up just short, 73-66, and a heartbreaker at home that ended with a 64-63 setback to a now 14-1 Florida State team.

And in a big way, Coach Crawley is right. The ongoing growth process of the Tar Heels has taken another step forward in the last week, and while you'd love a victory in the opening week of conference play, there are plenty of positives to take away.

"It's hard to come up short in the end," Crawley said after Sunday's game. "I thought we competed — at that's what Coach (Hatchell) told them to do."

Coach Hatchell's definition of "competing" meant an immediate improvement on something that plagued the Tar Heels on Thursday: defense and rebounding. Carolina was out-rebounded by Louisville 45-30, and allowed the Cardinals to shoot 45% from the floor. Come Sunday, Carolina won the battle of the boards 38-36, and limited Florida State to 40% shooting.

In the high-pressure situations of ACC play, even one rebound can be the difference between victory and defeat, and Carolina is agonizingly close to a record that reads much better than 9-7, 0-2.

"Just a few more things better," Crawley said. "These are the games that mess with me at night. Just one more basket. One more stop."

While certain elements of the game of basketball can be improved upon in practice, there are some experiences that, well, need to be felt in a real, live, game.

"We're getting some valuable experiences, especially late-game time/score situation stuff," Crawley explained. "So we're getting better with that."

Bailey's Impact

Janelle Bailey scored four quick points in Carolina's game at Louisville on Thursday, prompting the Cardinals to increase their focus on denying her opportunities to touch the ball. The plan worked, flummoxing Carolina for the remainder of the opening half. Once the Tar Heels got into the halftime locker room, Hatchell shuffled her offense slightly. Carolina utilized a more wide open approach that included a switch of Paris Kea and Shayla Bennett from the wing to point guard position, and vice versa.

Bailey was able to get to 16 points by the time Thursday's game concluded, and had to fight for 16 more on Sunday.

"(Florida State) worked really hard to keep the ball out of Bailey's hands," Crawley explained postgame Sunday. "Not necessarily doubling her, but heavy weak side defenders."

While it's easier said than done to run an offense through Bailey like the Tar Heels have done at times during non-conference play, Carolina can adjust and improve to increase offensive production even when Bailey isn't getting heavy touches.

"We'll put them in situations where they have to read the help-side defense," Crawley said. "I think reps of that will really help us. When we correct one person, we're talking to everybody."

Up Next

Carolina will have a week before taking the floor again, as the Tar Heels will face off with Syracuse on Sunday the 13th at 3 p.m. The trip to the Carrier Dome in Central New York can be heard on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL in the Triangle, or worldwide on GoHeels.com, the GoHeels app, or TuneIn (search "Tar Heel Sports Network").

In the meantime, I hope you'll join us for the first edition of Sylvia Hatchell Live on Wednesday! We'll spend 30 minutes with the Hall of Fame Head Coach of the Tar Heels from the Carolina Club on campus, starting at 8 p.m. The weekly show is open to the public, so come out and join us! If you can't make it to the Carolina Club, join us on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL or worldwide through the WCHL website and live stream.

-Matt