University of North Carolina Athletics
Senior guard Taylor Koenen
Photo by: Dana Gentry
GoHeels Exclusive: New Standard
January 20, 2020 | Women's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
From its style of play to the way it prepares to certain aspects of the building it plays in, much has changed around the North Carolina women's basketball program since Courtney Banghart's hiring as head coach last April.
But perhaps the biggest difference between where the Tar Heels are now and where they were this time last year became clear Sunday afternoon.
On Jan. 3, 2019, UNC traveled to Louisville for its ACC opener. Carolina lost that day, 73-66. And although that wasn't the desired result, it was, in many ways, viewed by the coaches and players as encouraging, considering the 19-point deficit they had faced and their recent struggles.
On Sunday, in their first meeting with the Cardinals since then, the Tar Heels once again fell behind early, trailing by as much as 20. And again, they battled back, only to lose 74-67. This time, though, there was no talk of moral victories. Just frustration over an opportunity missed.
"What a bummer," said Banghart, moments after the game ended. "I just told them in the locker room I'm disappointed for them and with them. … I have a group of fighters. The next step for this group is to come out from the start and use their toughness as an advantage, not as a savior. Bummer, because I thought that was a game we could win."
Even when the first half suggested otherwise.
Entering Sunday, Carolina was averaging an ACC-low 11.4 turnovers per game. But en route to seizing a 45-25 lead shortly before halftime, fifth-ranked Louisville – the highest-ranked team UNC has faced thus far this season – forced the Tar Heels into 12 turnovers, leading to 16 points.
With its starting five accounting for nearly 80 percent of its minutes, much has been made about Carolina's lack of depth. Banghart, however, would be the first to tell you that isn't a concern of hers given how good and consistent Janelle Bailey, Shayla Bennett, Taylor Koenen, Madinah Muhammad and Malu Tshitenge have been. They're also getting better.
That said, UNC's lack of personnel hurt it against the Cardinals, not as much in the game as in its preparation for Louisville's defensive pressure.
"The last two days, we've been envisioning and imagining defense because we don't have any bodies," Banghart said. "We're going to have to continue to use our imagination on ways to get better without practicing, but that's kind of where we are right now. I think their pressure really did bother us in the first half because we had a tough time simulating it in practice."
Yet, the Tar Heels were able to adjust.
Carolina committed just two turnovers in the second half, reducing the Cardinals' scoring opportunities. That, combined with better defensive execution by UNC, contributed to Louisville shooting just 34.6 percent (9 of 26) after halftime. So did the season-best crowd of 4,027, which was so loud that it appeared to make it difficult for the Cardinals to hear their play calls.
Feeding off that same energy on the offensive end, the Tar Heels – who entered the fourth quarter down 62-45 – cut Louisville's lead to seven three times in the final five minutes. Then, with 1:22 left, Koenen drained a contested 3-pointer to pull within four.
"We were all thinking the same thing: We've got to cut the lead, we've got to cut the lead, we've got to keep fighting," said Koenen, who matched Muhammad with a team-best 17 points. "We knew the game wasn't over. We knew we could fight until the end. I wasn't thinking about anything besides let's try to win this game."
It looked as if UNC would have a chance to when Koenen made a steal on the next possession. But Muhammad missed a 3-pointer, and the Cardinals went on to seal the victory with three free throws in the final 22 seconds.
As much fight as the Tar Heels showed against Louisville, that's come to be expected of this group, which less than two weeks ago rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat No. 9 NC State. Banghart might not have expected that to be her team's M.O. two months ago. But neither she nor her players are going to be satisfied with simply clawing back.
That's the new standard.
"It's a group that certainly is playing through and playing hard," Banghart said. "You can win a lot of games with a tough team. That's kind of the word on the street with our league right now is, 'Boy, those Tar Heels aren't going to give up.' And I give them a lot of credit for that.
"But this team and program has too much pride to be excited about playing hard. We want to win games. And we will."
From its style of play to the way it prepares to certain aspects of the building it plays in, much has changed around the North Carolina women's basketball program since Courtney Banghart's hiring as head coach last April.
But perhaps the biggest difference between where the Tar Heels are now and where they were this time last year became clear Sunday afternoon.
On Jan. 3, 2019, UNC traveled to Louisville for its ACC opener. Carolina lost that day, 73-66. And although that wasn't the desired result, it was, in many ways, viewed by the coaches and players as encouraging, considering the 19-point deficit they had faced and their recent struggles.
On Sunday, in their first meeting with the Cardinals since then, the Tar Heels once again fell behind early, trailing by as much as 20. And again, they battled back, only to lose 74-67. This time, though, there was no talk of moral victories. Just frustration over an opportunity missed.
"What a bummer," said Banghart, moments after the game ended. "I just told them in the locker room I'm disappointed for them and with them. … I have a group of fighters. The next step for this group is to come out from the start and use their toughness as an advantage, not as a savior. Bummer, because I thought that was a game we could win."
Even when the first half suggested otherwise.
Entering Sunday, Carolina was averaging an ACC-low 11.4 turnovers per game. But en route to seizing a 45-25 lead shortly before halftime, fifth-ranked Louisville – the highest-ranked team UNC has faced thus far this season – forced the Tar Heels into 12 turnovers, leading to 16 points.
With its starting five accounting for nearly 80 percent of its minutes, much has been made about Carolina's lack of depth. Banghart, however, would be the first to tell you that isn't a concern of hers given how good and consistent Janelle Bailey, Shayla Bennett, Taylor Koenen, Madinah Muhammad and Malu Tshitenge have been. They're also getting better.
That said, UNC's lack of personnel hurt it against the Cardinals, not as much in the game as in its preparation for Louisville's defensive pressure.
"The last two days, we've been envisioning and imagining defense because we don't have any bodies," Banghart said. "We're going to have to continue to use our imagination on ways to get better without practicing, but that's kind of where we are right now. I think their pressure really did bother us in the first half because we had a tough time simulating it in practice."
Yet, the Tar Heels were able to adjust.
Carolina committed just two turnovers in the second half, reducing the Cardinals' scoring opportunities. That, combined with better defensive execution by UNC, contributed to Louisville shooting just 34.6 percent (9 of 26) after halftime. So did the season-best crowd of 4,027, which was so loud that it appeared to make it difficult for the Cardinals to hear their play calls.
Feeding off that same energy on the offensive end, the Tar Heels – who entered the fourth quarter down 62-45 – cut Louisville's lead to seven three times in the final five minutes. Then, with 1:22 left, Koenen drained a contested 3-pointer to pull within four.
"We were all thinking the same thing: We've got to cut the lead, we've got to cut the lead, we've got to keep fighting," said Koenen, who matched Muhammad with a team-best 17 points. "We knew the game wasn't over. We knew we could fight until the end. I wasn't thinking about anything besides let's try to win this game."
It looked as if UNC would have a chance to when Koenen made a steal on the next possession. But Muhammad missed a 3-pointer, and the Cardinals went on to seal the victory with three free throws in the final 22 seconds.
As much fight as the Tar Heels showed against Louisville, that's come to be expected of this group, which less than two weeks ago rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat No. 9 NC State. Banghart might not have expected that to be her team's M.O. two months ago. But neither she nor her players are going to be satisfied with simply clawing back.
That's the new standard.
"It's a group that certainly is playing through and playing hard," Banghart said. "You can win a lot of games with a tough team. That's kind of the word on the street with our league right now is, 'Boy, those Tar Heels aren't going to give up.' And I give them a lot of credit for that.
"But this team and program has too much pride to be excited about playing hard. We want to win games. And we will."
Players Mentioned
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