Carmichael Comments: Flexibility and Growth

CARMICHAEL COMMENTS: Inside Carolina Women's Basketball
Vol. 3, Edition 5: Flexibility and Growth
The question was there: how do the Tar Heels bounce back from a loss when the next opponent is the No. 2 ranked team in America, the Louisville Cardinals?

Then, in the span of a few hours, the question shifted to: how do the Tar Heels utilize this off time to learn and grow?

Suddenly, a third question set the tone for the weekend: how will Carolina handle a schedule reshuffle that sent the team on a plane to Miami and a date with the Hurricanes on extremely short notice?

Thanks to positive COVID-19 tests at Louisville, the scheduled Sunday game at the KFC Yum! Center was scratched, and the focus then turned to the Dec. 17 game with Syracuse. But the fallout from the positive tests wasn't over, because out of an abundance of caution, Louisville's most recent opponent, Duke, was unable to play Miami on Sunday. Give credit to the ACC and the Tar Heels, because the team jumped right into an opportunity that was less than ideal.

On one day of prep, the Tar Heels were headed south to Coral Gables and ready to play the Canes.

"We knew it would be critical to stay nimble and flexible in a year like this, and just one game into the ACC season we're already adapting to changes," Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart said before the Miami game.

The challenge of playing a surprise game on one day of preparation is tough enough with any roster, but it's even more daunting for a group of five freshmen and a handful of transfers and returners still trying to gel into a cohesive unit.

When Coach Banghart talks about gaining experiences for her young team, this is exactly what she means. When the final horn went off, the Tar Heels ended up on the wrong side of a 67-63 final score to drop to 0-2 in the ACC, and while any loss is a disappointment, the flexibility and adaptability displayed by the Tar Heels will bode well for the future.

Here's what else caught my eye this week…

Ustby's Big Game
Alyssa Ustby enjoyed an extremely efficient afternoon against the Hurricanes on Monday, when her 7-for-10 shooting effort helped her to a career-high 17 points. The Rochester, Minn., native is used to such efficiency, as she has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in all but one game this season. Her efforts have been quick to earn praise from Banghart.

"I think Alyssa has been our best player," Banghart said. "She's been our toughest player, she plays through contact really well. She runs the floor like a gazelle, she's incredibly coachable and she's uber-competitive as well. She deserves everything she gets."

Keep Earning Those Foul Shots
We discussed in this column last week about the importance of free throw shooting in Carolina's non-conference finale win against Charlotte, when the Tar Heels went 25-for-37 at the line in a six-point win. In the ACC opener against Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons were the team that was able to defend without fouling, as Carolina was 6-for-9 at the line to Wake Forest's 13-for-16. Knowing her team's capabilities thanks to the performance against the 49ers, Banghart identified more opportunities at the foul line as an area of growth going into the impromptu showdown with Miami. In the "attempts" department, the Tar Heels delivered, earning 22 free throws.

"Huge improvement from the Wake game," Banghart remarked postgame.

Now, the next step is cashing in on those opportunities, as the Heels were just 10-for-22 at the line.

Defensive Lockdown vs. Deacs
When Carolina led 25-19 at halftime against Wake Forest, it marked the third time this season the Tar Heels had held an opponent under 20 points in the opening half. Needless to say, the achievement seemed much more impressive when the opponent was an ACC team like the Demon Deacons, known for two veteran offensive weapons in forward Ivana Raca and point guard Gina Conti. Raca entered the game averaging 20.3 PPG and scored 27 in the ACC Tournament against Carolina last season, and the dynamic Conti entered averaging 17.8 points per contest prior to the game, yet at halftime the pair had scored a total of seven – all by Conti.

"Defensively, we were great," Banghart said. "I thought we really bought into our game plan and defended it to a T in the first half. Raca didn't score and Conti had very few, so we did a good job on those two and that's what we wanted to do – make the other guys beat us."

Raca finished the night with 14 points and Conti with 16, both under their respective averages, but enough to propel the Demon Deacons to victory. You'd have to imagine that repeating – if not improving upon – Thursday's defensive effort will be critical when the two teams meet again on Sunday.

Up Next
The journey doesn't get any easier from here. Carolina will tangle with its first ranked foe of the season on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. when No. 18 Syracuse comes to Carmichael Arena. The Orange and their notorious pressure and zone defense are 4-0 on the season, 1-0 in the ACC with a road win at Miami last Thursday. Syracuse's leading scorer is 6-7 freshman center Kamilla Cardoso. Yes, 6-7. At 14.3 points per game, Cardoso is one of three Orange players averaging in double figures – guard Tiana Mangakahia is back following a successful battle with stage 2 breast cancer and is chipping in 13.0 PPG, and veteran guard Kiara Lewis averages 11.3 PPG. The Orange have controlled this series of late, winning five straight and seven of the last eight matchups. Syracuse posted a 74-56 win in Carmichael Arena on Feb. 13 of this year when the teams last met. With so many new faces on the Tar Heel roster, what better time to flip the narrative on this series, right?

Our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage of Thursday's game begins with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show at 7:30 p.m. Catch the call streaming worldwide for free on the TuneIn app (search "North Carolina Tar Heels Women's Basketball"), GoHeels.com (click "listen" on the women's basketball schedule), and the GoHeels app. Additionally, fans in the Triangle can tune in on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.

Then on Sunday, it's a chance at revenge. Quickly. For the second time in 11 days, the Tar Heels will see Wake Forest. Carolina will take the floor Sunday aiming to stop its three-game slide against the Deacs – a trio of relatively close games all decided by 10 or fewer points. Though Sunday's 1:00 p.m. tipoff is just the fourth ACC game of the season, it's a massive game for Carolina to show tangible in-season growth.

Our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage of Sunday's game begins with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show at 12:30 p.m. Catch the call streaming worldwide for free on the TuneIn app (search "North Carolina Tar Heels Women's Basketball"), GoHeels.com (click "listen" on the women's basketball schedule), and the GoHeels app. Additionally, fans in the Triangle can tune in on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.

In the meantime, check out this week's edition of the Courtney Banghart Show on the Tar Heel Voices podcast channel. Fans can listen by clicking here, or by searching "Tar Heel Voices" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and wherever else you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the channel to automatically receive each episode! Additionally, the show will air on WCHL on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m.

That's all for now! Go Heels!