Carmichael Comments: NCAA Roundup

CARMICHAEL COMMENTS: Inside Carolina Women's Basketball — Edition 22
By: Matt Krause (@MattKrausePxP)

"It's tough, because none of us expected to lose today."

A Carolina Women's Basketball player uttered those words to me in the team hotel in Waco, Texas, just a few minutes after the Tar Heels returned following a 92-72 setback to California in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels entered Saturday's showdown with the Golden Bears injected with confidence and ready to pick up a tournament win and move on to play host Baylor on Monday night. But then, Cal came out and shot 52%, 62% in the second half, and the Carolina season was suddenly over.

That's the most unique aspect of the NCAA Tournament: the finality of losing. Especially in a season where a young team's growth and development was stressed after every game — win or lose — the fact that there's not another game is, well, jarring.

But when the raw emotions disappear and the introspection begins, the Tar Heels have a lot to be proud of this season. After all, when we began this journey in September, Carolina had not been to an NCAA Tournament since 2015, and had gone 11-37 in ACC play in the time since. Yet head coach Sylvia Hatchell and her team were optimistic that the 2018-19 team would be a) better, and b) capable of returning to the tournament and taking a gigantic step forward in returning Carolina Women's Basketball to the level of national respect that the program has enjoyed in the past.

In that regard, mission accomplished.

"It's been a stepping stone for us, and our goal was to make the NCAA Tournament. I'll take the blame for probably giving them too hard of a schedule this year," Hatchell said.

But, with a strength of schedule that rated in the top 10 in the nation all season long, Carolina was well-prepared for the ACC and an NCAA Tournament berth. Experiencing gut-wrenching losses away from Carmichael Arena against the likes of Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio State, and Auburn helped to get the team mentally ready to earn tight ACC wins.

"They learned a lot and we played a lot of really good teams really close," Hatchell reflected.

Even with challenges thrown their way through a lack of depth, Carolina still kept its head above water to reach this point. Ultimately, that lack of depth came back to bite the Tar Heels on Saturday against Cal.

"When you get tired, that really makes a difference, it really does, and so I thought some of that really came into play, especially in the fourth quarter," Hatchell remarked.

For some players, the finality is greater than others. Leading scorer Paris Kea will never wear a Carolina uniform again. The next time she takes the floor, it will be in a yet-to-be-determined WNBA jersey. When Hatchell removed Kea from the game, the senior walked down the bench and greeted every teammate.

"The biggest thing was just walking off and giving everybody a hug. I think that's what got me emotional. I'm going to miss them," Kea said.

It's going to be next-to-impossible to replace Kea, especially from a leadership and personality standpoint. But Carolina will try. In the process, the Tar Heels will strive to add some depth to take that next step in 2019-20.

"Paris, losing her is big," Hatchell said. "But we've got five, six new kids for next year, and they can all play. We've got some kids that will really help us step it up and give us a lot more depth."

Even with brighter days on the horizon, the curtain has closed on this particular group of Tar Heels. This year's team achieved its goal and has righted the ship.

"They have a lot to be proud of, and I'm very proud of them," Hatchell said.

And she's right.

As for this column, what's next? Well, we aren't going away until October. There will be some periodic updates on offseason activities, perhaps an alumni update or two, and then we'll dial it all back up again in the fall. Selfishly, I'll take a line here to thank each and every Carolina fan for listening and reading throughout the season. This "rookie year" with the program for me was a realization of a professional dream. I hope I kept you informed and entertained and helped you learn more about the stories of this team. Feel free to keep in touch — tweet me @MattKrausePxP or shoot me an email at matt@mattkrausesports.com. Talk to you in the fall when the 2019-20 season tips off!

That's all for now! Go Heels!