Carmichael Comments: GT/NCSU Roundup

CARMICHAEL COMMENTS — Inside Carolina Women's Basketball: Edition 16
By: Matt Krause (@MattKrausePxP)

NC STATE WIN RADIO HIGHLIGHTS

Back on Jan. 6, the Carolina Women's Basketball team dropped a nail-biter at Carmichael Arena to Florida State, 64-63. At the moment, the defeat dropped the Tar Heels to 0-2 in the ACC and left players and coaches thinking big-picture after the game.

Head Coach Sylvia Hatchell discussed respect, and how Carolina needed to earn it somehow, some way, because the team was better than the record showed.

Sophomore center Janelle Bailey echoed her coach, saying "the only way to get respect is to get wins."

Flash forward a month.

Carolina not only avoided a letdown following the massive upset of No. 1 Notre Dame, the Tar Heels added another top 10 win to their resume by ending rival NC State's undefeated season with a 64-51 road triumph in Raleigh on Sunday. For the first time since the 2014 Elite Eight season, Carolina has won four straight ACC games, and with five total ACC wins, has surpassed its conference win total for each of the last three seasons.

Those accomplishments prompted a follow-up to Bailey after Sunday's win, when she was asked if that respect had been earned and the nation knew about Carolina's potential.

"I think so," she said, quick to add that there might be more to come from the Tar Heels.

"I think our record doesn't show how good we are. When I said that I thought we just needed a little time. I knew this team would come together."

And come together they have. In addition to the NC State win, the Tar Heels knocked off a physical Georgia Tech team at Carmichael on Thursday night, 91-90.

"It's been a great week for us, and I'm so proud of these kids and just love them to death," Hatchell said, sharing the joy and confidence in her team that she has expressed often throughout the season.

Redshirt junior guard Stephanie Watts was asked to compare the consecutive Sunday triumphs over the Irish and Wolfpack, and did admit that taking down No. 1 does carry a bit more weight than even ending a rival's undefeated season.

However, Watts knows that Carolina would not be in this position without playing as a team. "Whether everyone else knows or not, we know that we have a great team," she said. "And it's coming together."

Coming together means contributions from everyone at various stages of the game. Here's a few of them…

Bennett's Fact-Finding Mission

Despite Carolina tying a program record by hitting 14 threes against Georgia Tech, the pesky Yellow Jackets kept buzzing around like their namesake around food at a summertime picnic. Why? Georgia Tech dominated the boards, winning 39-24. That included a 19-10 edge on the offensive glass. Those numbers, combined with the fact that NC State entered Sunday as the best rebounding team in the ACC and was out-boarding foes by an average of 11.8 per game, were cause for concern heading for Raleigh.

The intensity with which Carolina crashed the glass against Notre Dame returned, as the Tar Heels frustrated the Wolfpack and held them to single missed shots rather than extended possessions.

Still, with the game winding down, NC State held a 40-38 overall rebounding margin. Junior guard Shayla Bennett raced over to the Carolina bench to inquire about the rebounding situation for the Tar Heels. After all, Bennett knows that practice will be tougher if her team doesn't win the boards.

"Shayla ran over with four minutes on the clock and said 'how many rebounds?'," Carolina Assistant Coach Sylvia Crawley recalled. "I said, 'we're down two, 40-38. We need two more boards.' She ran back over and gave them the report."

NC State didn't get another rebound the rest of the way. Carolina won the battle of the boards 42-40, the first time the Tar Heels have won on the glass since the Wake Forest game on Jan. 17.

Bailey Steps Up

With recent scoring machine Paris Kea (28.3 PPG over the first three games of the win streak) cold to start the game at NC State, the Tar Heels found a way to score by feeding Janelle Bailey inside. Bailey chipped in 16 points and hauled in 13 rebounds on Sunday, and played a huge role defensively in stifling NC State after halftime. The Wolfpack made one (not a typo) two-point field goal in the second 20 minutes, and only hit three threes in the span. It was a 4-for-23 (17%) shooting half for the Pack against the stout Carolina defense.

"We want more," Bailey said. "That boils down to every half, every quarter, every minute. We picked up the intensity."

The game followed a clutch shot against Georgia Tech. Bailey was fouled with less than a second to go and the game tied 90-90, knowing she needed to hit one free throw to avoid overtime. After missing the first, Bailey promptly canned the second to run the win streak to three games.

"Just stay calm," she told herself. "Just like any other shot. I just try to be true to myself and trust my game, teammates and coaches."

Watts' Big Shot

With the way the Tar Heels were playing defense on Sunday, it seemed an eight-point lead with two minutes to go was safe. Still, Stephanie Watts used angles to her advantage to put the game on ice. With the shot timer dwindling, Paris Kea drove down the lane, causing the defense to collapse toward her. That left Watts open at the top of the three-point arc. She hoisted a shot at the buzzer, and banged it off the backboard and through to put Carolina up 11.

"It felt like it was on line, but the bank was open," Watts remarked. "When Paris drives she gets everyone else open."

It was a fitting end to a 20-point game for Watts in the road win.

Up Next

The Tar Heels will play for a fifth consecutive win on Thursday night at 7 p.m. when archrival Duke comes to Carmichael Arena. With a win, Carolina will have won five straight ACC games for the first time since Jan. 9-Jan. 23, 2014. The Blue Devils are fighting through injuries this season, and sit at 10-11, 2-7 ACC. Make no mistake: especially in a year where little else is on the table, Duke will bring their best effort into Carmichael. Hope you'll swing by to join us on the Tar Heel Sports Network from Learfield IMG College! Catch the call on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL in the Triangle, or worldwide via GoHeels.com, the GoHeels app, or TuneIn (search "Tar Heel Sports Network").

Next Sunday, the Tar Heels venture back out on the road and head to the Palmetto Upstate to tangle with the resurgent Clemson Tigers. Perhaps some of Dabo Swinney's magic has rubbed off on the women's basketball team, which has surged to 14-8, 5-4 ACC in the first season under new head coach Amanda Butler. That game from Littlejohn Coliseum is slated for a 2 p.m. tipoff, and can be heard on all of our THSN platforms.

We'll also have Sylvia Hatchell Live this week on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Carolina Club! Head over to the club, which is open to the public, for dinner and to hear from Coach Hatchell. If you can't join us in the O'Herron Grill, catch the show live on the GoHeels website & app, and on TuneIn. Additionally, the show will air at 8 p.m. on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM and Chapelboro.com.

That's all for now. Let's keep winning! Go Heels!
-Matt