University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: The Big Stage
March 23, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
WACO, Texas — When the North Carolina women's basketball team takes the floor Saturday at the Ferrell Center, it'll mark the first time any player on the roster has participated in an NCAA Tournament game.
But UNC doesn't completely lack postseason experience. And no player has more than junior guard Shayla Bennett.
A junior college transfer, Bennett spent two seasons at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Fla., before joining the Tar Heels in June. In that span, she helped lead the Commodores to two NJCAA Division I semifinal appearances. They captured the 2017 national title behind her game-high 21 points in the championship game.
So, although the NJCAA Tournament might not garner the same sort of attention as the NCAA Tournament, Bennett believes her involvement in the former will prepare her for the latter in her first season in a Carolina uniform.
"I know what it feels like to play on the big stage," she said. "A lot of people come in nervous. But I think I'm pretty well adjusted to about anything the game has to bring to me now."
For as much as basketball has given her, it's tested her just as much.
The first of those tests came when Bennett, from Piedmont, S.C., was in the eighth grade. Before that season, she transferred to Beck Academy and made the J.L. Mann High School varsity team. But her season was cut short when she tore the ACL, MCL and meniscus in her left knee.
She gradually recovered from that. In the fall of her freshman year, though, her appendix ruptured, sidelining her again.
Bennett then sat out her sophomore season after transferring to Christ Church Episcopal School. But once she returned to the court, that decision paid off. As a junior and senior, she led her team to back-to-back Class A state championships. She earned Class A State Player of the Year and Greenville News All-Upstate Player of the Year honors along the way.
"I just feel like it all came together for me," Bennett said. "I was really patient with myself, my body and how my life was going at that moment."
Another challenge awaited her, though.
Toward the end of her junior year, Bennett announced her commitment to UNC. She later signed a National Letter of Intent. But an issue with her SAT score – Division I uses a sliding scale to match SAT/ACT scores and core-course GPAs to determine eligibility, and Bennett's SAT score didn't match her GPA – led her to attend Gulf Coast.
That, along with everything else, could've dampened her spirits. Yet, she remained optimistic.
While she was sidelined during middle school and high school, Bennett said she gained a newfound appreciation for being able to play basketball. She also embraced the opportunity to play for Gulf Coast coach Mary Scovel, who has led the Commodores to five national titles.
Another benefit of playing at Gulf Coast was that Bennett, the 2018 WBCA Two-Year College Player of the Year, was forced into a leadership role early in her college career.
"Some (junior college) players look ahead of the season," she said. "They focus on the NCAA instead of one game at a time. I feel like that kind of taught me how to be mature and more responsible with the game of basketball and just to enjoy the process."
During her time at Gulf Coast, Bennett said the Tar Heel coaching staff contacted her "all the time." Sylvia Hatchell occasionally FaceTimed her. And when Bennett scored 39 points, including 28 in the first half, in the FCSAA Region VIII Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals, Sylvia Crawley was in attendance.
"They were in contact before, but they wanted to make sure I wasn't going anywhere after that game," Bennett said. "So it was exciting to know that I was coming to a place that cares so much."
Entering Saturday's game against California, Bennett has started 30 of Carolina's 32 games this season. She's averaged 34.7 minutes, tied with Taylor Koenen for the most on the team. She also leads UNC in assists (125) and is fourth in scoring average (11.2).
Bennett has especially been effective over the Tar Heels' last eight games, averaging 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists. She's shot 42.7 percent (41-for-96) from the field and 39 percent (16-for-41) on 3-pointers in that span.
"Lots of times I've told her, 'Shayla, we need you to take over a little bit more. Shoot the open shot. Take the ball to the basket,'" Hatchell said. "Because she's very good at doing those things. But she sort of at times let other people have the limelight. But we've needed her. And as I've challenged her to step up, she has done that."
Bennett has also steadily improved on defense.
A year ago, Bennett said Scovel would never have her defend the opposing team's best player. She even joked that she wasn't sure "what North Carolina (was) going to do" with Bennett on that end of the floor. But when UNC played Notre Dame both times this season, there was Bennett, typically guarding Arike Ogunbowale, the Fighting Irish's leading scorer and the 2018 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
"I feel like here I just have to get in a stance and guard somebody," Bennett said. "Everybody is a step quicker, their IQ is a little higher. Coach (Andrew) Calder really takes pride and has confidence in me."
Bennett said she still talks with Scovel every few weeks. They most recently spoke Tuesday, a day before the Tar Heels' flight to Waco and as the Commodores were preparing for their trip to the NJCAA semifinals in Lubbock, Texas.Â
After winning Friday, Gulf Coast will play for its sixth national title on Saturday. A few hours later, Bennett will make her NCAA Tournament debut.
"(Scovel) prepared me well for this moment, and she always told me, 'Stay true to yourself. Play your game,'" Bennett said. "To be here now is an honor and I can't thank Coach Hatchell and the coaching staff enough for sticking with me, even though I had to take a different route to get here."
WACO, Texas — When the North Carolina women's basketball team takes the floor Saturday at the Ferrell Center, it'll mark the first time any player on the roster has participated in an NCAA Tournament game.
But UNC doesn't completely lack postseason experience. And no player has more than junior guard Shayla Bennett.
A junior college transfer, Bennett spent two seasons at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Fla., before joining the Tar Heels in June. In that span, she helped lead the Commodores to two NJCAA Division I semifinal appearances. They captured the 2017 national title behind her game-high 21 points in the championship game.
So, although the NJCAA Tournament might not garner the same sort of attention as the NCAA Tournament, Bennett believes her involvement in the former will prepare her for the latter in her first season in a Carolina uniform.
"I know what it feels like to play on the big stage," she said. "A lot of people come in nervous. But I think I'm pretty well adjusted to about anything the game has to bring to me now."
For as much as basketball has given her, it's tested her just as much.
The first of those tests came when Bennett, from Piedmont, S.C., was in the eighth grade. Before that season, she transferred to Beck Academy and made the J.L. Mann High School varsity team. But her season was cut short when she tore the ACL, MCL and meniscus in her left knee.
She gradually recovered from that. In the fall of her freshman year, though, her appendix ruptured, sidelining her again.
Bennett then sat out her sophomore season after transferring to Christ Church Episcopal School. But once she returned to the court, that decision paid off. As a junior and senior, she led her team to back-to-back Class A state championships. She earned Class A State Player of the Year and Greenville News All-Upstate Player of the Year honors along the way.
"I just feel like it all came together for me," Bennett said. "I was really patient with myself, my body and how my life was going at that moment."
Another challenge awaited her, though.
Toward the end of her junior year, Bennett announced her commitment to UNC. She later signed a National Letter of Intent. But an issue with her SAT score – Division I uses a sliding scale to match SAT/ACT scores and core-course GPAs to determine eligibility, and Bennett's SAT score didn't match her GPA – led her to attend Gulf Coast.
That, along with everything else, could've dampened her spirits. Yet, she remained optimistic.
While she was sidelined during middle school and high school, Bennett said she gained a newfound appreciation for being able to play basketball. She also embraced the opportunity to play for Gulf Coast coach Mary Scovel, who has led the Commodores to five national titles.
Another benefit of playing at Gulf Coast was that Bennett, the 2018 WBCA Two-Year College Player of the Year, was forced into a leadership role early in her college career.
"Some (junior college) players look ahead of the season," she said. "They focus on the NCAA instead of one game at a time. I feel like that kind of taught me how to be mature and more responsible with the game of basketball and just to enjoy the process."
During her time at Gulf Coast, Bennett said the Tar Heel coaching staff contacted her "all the time." Sylvia Hatchell occasionally FaceTimed her. And when Bennett scored 39 points, including 28 in the first half, in the FCSAA Region VIII Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals, Sylvia Crawley was in attendance.
"They were in contact before, but they wanted to make sure I wasn't going anywhere after that game," Bennett said. "So it was exciting to know that I was coming to a place that cares so much."
Entering Saturday's game against California, Bennett has started 30 of Carolina's 32 games this season. She's averaged 34.7 minutes, tied with Taylor Koenen for the most on the team. She also leads UNC in assists (125) and is fourth in scoring average (11.2).
Bennett has especially been effective over the Tar Heels' last eight games, averaging 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists. She's shot 42.7 percent (41-for-96) from the field and 39 percent (16-for-41) on 3-pointers in that span.
"Lots of times I've told her, 'Shayla, we need you to take over a little bit more. Shoot the open shot. Take the ball to the basket,'" Hatchell said. "Because she's very good at doing those things. But she sort of at times let other people have the limelight. But we've needed her. And as I've challenged her to step up, she has done that."
Bennett has also steadily improved on defense.
A year ago, Bennett said Scovel would never have her defend the opposing team's best player. She even joked that she wasn't sure "what North Carolina (was) going to do" with Bennett on that end of the floor. But when UNC played Notre Dame both times this season, there was Bennett, typically guarding Arike Ogunbowale, the Fighting Irish's leading scorer and the 2018 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
"I feel like here I just have to get in a stance and guard somebody," Bennett said. "Everybody is a step quicker, their IQ is a little higher. Coach (Andrew) Calder really takes pride and has confidence in me."
Bennett said she still talks with Scovel every few weeks. They most recently spoke Tuesday, a day before the Tar Heels' flight to Waco and as the Commodores were preparing for their trip to the NJCAA semifinals in Lubbock, Texas.Â
After winning Friday, Gulf Coast will play for its sixth national title on Saturday. A few hours later, Bennett will make her NCAA Tournament debut.
"(Scovel) prepared me well for this moment, and she always told me, 'Stay true to yourself. Play your game,'" Bennett said. "To be here now is an honor and I can't thank Coach Hatchell and the coaching staff enough for sticking with me, even though I had to take a different route to get here."
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