Carmichael Comments: Responding to Adversity

Carmichael Comments: Inside Carolina Women's Basketball
Vol. 2, Edition 10: Responding to Adversity
By: Matt Krause
@MattKrausePxP

When the Tar Heels suffered their first defeat of the season on Dec. 15 at Alabama, several points of emphasis stood out for Courtney Banghart and her staff. But one theme has been prevalent as Carolina begins its journey through the ever-challenging Atlantic Coast Conference: responding to adversity during a game.

On one hand, you can't fault this group of Tar Heels too much, because quite simply, the nine wins assembled in non-conference play came by an average of 29.8 points. Even when you add in the two losses, the Tar Heels still had a positive average margin of victory of 23.5 markers per game. Okay, so that winning breeds confidence. But can you take the next step and win a more seesaw affair? The Tar Heels had three chances to do so to begin league action, and were successful twice. With a home win over Pitt and a split of the road trip to Virginia and Virginia Tech, Carolina is now 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the ACC.

"That's the key to our success," Banghart said. "We're going to face adversity in this gauntlet, and how we respond is important."

An early six-point hole was quickly erased against Pitt, and for the most part, Carolina stuck with its game plan to take a 70-62 win. That victory? Just a sign of things to come.

Where things truly got hairy was in the Tar Heels' first contest of the new decade on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. In the first quarter alone, starting post Malu Tshitenge picked up two personal fouls. Her inside teammate, Janelle Bailey, was tagged with one, too. Virginia led after 10 minutes, 16-11. When you consider all that, it's borderline shocking that Carolina won 65-47 and the game was never in doubt.

In the second quarter alone, a switch to a zone defense flummoxed Virginia so much that the Cavaliers turned it over 10 times. Carolina took advantage by launching long-range shots, as the Tar Heels hit six threes in the stanza. When the dust settled, it was a period in which UNC outscored the 'Hoos 25-6.

"Malu getting two quick fouls was not in the game plan," Banghart said, stating the (seemingly) obvious. "Us having to fan out and defend a little smaller as well as go to our zone was not in the plan, but we stuck to it which is great."

A byproduct of the zone was a tough night for Virginia superstar Jocelyn Willoughby, who entered the contest as the ACC's leading scorer at over 19 points per game. Willoughby was held to just 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting and was hampered by foul trouble as well.

"It was a change of tempo," Banghart explained. "That's a good team and we knew that. You've got to give some different looks during the game to disrupt rhythm. I thought we communicated well in the zone, so we were able to lock in to the right people."

The on-court adversity popped up again on Sunday in Blacksburg, where Carolina trailed Virginia Tech by just four at the half, 36-32. A Hokies team that thrives on three-point shooting had connected from behind the arc just three times in the opening 20 minutes, and the Tar Heels were right there even though Tshitenge was in foul trouble again with three personals before the intermission. But the game would be defined by the ensuing six minutes, when the Hokies splashed in four threes and the lead ballooned to 54-36. Though Carolina got it as close as three at 59-56, Tech pulled away for a 76-70 win.

"It was a great battle," Banghart said. "We know ACC wins on the road are tough, but they went on that giant run, 18-4, in the start of the third. Obviously we didn't respond very well but then we stuck together and showed a lot of fight."

The run by the Hokies gave Carolina's still-gelling team an idea of how important all 40 minutes are in an ACC contest.

"They shot the ball really well and we had a few defensive breakdowns against a very good team shooting the three, and offensively that affected how we knew how to play in this environment," Banghart explained. "It was clearly a road environment that we have to be better in."

Still, it was a road trip were Carolina was able to taste victory away from Carmichael with the win at UVA.
"You've got to steal some on the road, you just have to," Banghart said. "It's not easy in this conference and we know that. Defense has to be your calling card and you've got to share it well on offense and get great shots. We'll take any win in the ACC, especially on the road."

So in the grand scheme of things, a 1-1 road trip is symbolic of where this team sits right now. If improvement comes from defeat, then the head coach will take it.

"We're still growing," Banghart said. "But it's a better team than it was last year, and for that, I'm proud of them."

Here's what else caught my eye this week…

Another Career High for Bennett

It was just over a week ago that Shayla Bennett carried the scoring load for Carolina in the Tar Heels' non-conference finale against Yale by matching her career high with 25 points. On a day where some of her teammates were struggling to find success shooting the ball, the Tar Heel floor general had to call her own number to keep Carolina in the game. On Sunday in Blacksburg, it happened again. This time, Bennett set a new career high with 26 points on 9-for-19 shooting (4-for-9 three-point shooting). The effort was a microcosm of the Tar Heels' team mentality in trying to overcome the deficit against the Hokies.

"Shayla's a fighter," Banghart said. "I told them that we're fighters if we show we're fighters."

Winning The Boards

One of Carolina's major weaknesses a season ago has become of the Tar Heels' strengths this season: winning the rebound battle. With a 43-35 advantage on Sunday in Blacksburg, Carolina controlled the boards for the fourth time in five games and sixth time in the last eight. The most recent success came against a Virginia Tech team that had won the glass in six of their last seven games and was within one rebound in the lone exception. It's not a coincidence that the Tar Heels are crashing the glass harder – it's a point of emphasis Banghart makes with her team.

"I asked them to take great pride in how many rebounds we got because we knew they were going to shoot a lot of threes," Banghart said. "You look at the rebounding numbers by our team and they answered that call."

Tshitenge's Efficiency

Though Malu Tshitenge was hampered by foul trouble at points in Carolina's contests on the road this week, she was still wildly efficient from the floor, going 14-for-20 (70%) in three games. That effort included a 6-for-7 day against the Hokies in which she converted three wide open layups in the first quarter. As the Hokie defense paid attention to Carolina drivers, Tshitenge was able to sneak in the back door to receive a pass. In all, she now has eight games this season of shooting 60% or better from the floor.

Up Next

Though each and every game in the ACC is difficult, the stretch that on paper seems most daunting begins this week. Carolina will face a quartet of opponents (NC State, Florida State, Miami, Louisville) in its next four games that all appeared in this week's AP Top 25, and all advanced to last season's NCAA Tournament. The good news? Three of those four games are at home in the friendly confines of Carmichael Arena.

First up is a Triangle rivalry against undefeated NC State. Wes Moore's Wolfpack was ranked No. 9 in the country this past week, and has run its record to 14-0 and 3-0 in ACC play with conference wins over Boston College, Virginia Tech, and Virginia. It's the second season in a row that Carolina will play an undefeated NC State team, as the Tar Heels famously snapped the Wolfpack's perfect season dreams by dropping them to 21-1 last Feb. 3 in Reynolds Coliseum with a 64-51 win. NC State returned the favor with a 74-69 triumph three weeks later to split the season series. This season's first showdown between the two historic rivals takes place Thursday night at 7 p.m., and once again will be held in Chapel Hill. Coverage on the Tar Heel Sports Network begins at 6:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the call on WCHL 97.9 FM in the Triangle, or worldwide via GoHeels.com, the GoHeels app, or the TuneIn app (search "North Carolina Tar Heels").

From there, the lone road game in the gauntlet takes place next Sunday in the capital of the Sunshine State. Carolina will visit Florida State, ranked No. 8 in this week's AP poll but likely to drop after suffering its first ACC loss on Thursday in overtime at Syracuse. FSU did bounce back on Sunday, beating Miami on the road 73-62, so the Noles are now 14-1 and 3-1 in ACC play heading into a Thursday night home game with Georgia Tech. Sunday's visit from Carolina is a chance for the Tar Heels to earn revenge for a narrow 64-63 FSU win in Carmichael one season ago. Tip is at 2 p.m., so coverage on the Tar Heel Sports Network begins at 1:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the call on WCHL 97.9 FM in the Triangle, or worldwide via GoHeels.com, the GoHeels app, or the TuneIn app (search "North Carolina Tar Heels").

In the meantime, we'll have a new edition of Courtney Banghart Live coming out this week. Catch the show on the Tar Heel Voices podcast feed on Tuesday morning, or on air on WCHL 97.9 FM at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night!

That's all for now! Go Heels!