Carmichael Comments: Putting It Together

CARMICHAEL COMMENTS: Inside Carolina Women's Basketball
Vol. 3, Edition 9: Putting It Together

If only the fans were there.

Yes, there's a lot we miss about the "old normal" lives we lived before the devastating COVID-19 Pandemic began in March 2020, but for those of us whose lives revolve around sports, right near the top of the list is full crowds in arenas and stadiums.

So please forgive me and anyone else in the Carolina women's basketball program for thinking what could have been on Sunday. The Tar Heels and Notre Dame Fighting Irish contested a seesaw affair on a Sunday afternoon at Carmichael Arena amidst the backdrop of Carolina aiming to continue its growth in year two under Courtney Banghart and Notre Dame in a mini-rebuild of its own, but returning to the site of a shocking loss two seasons ago. In an alternate reality, one of the season's larger crowds would have filled the Carolina blue seats and provided a curtain of noise as two tradition-rich programs did battle below.

But there was no figurative sixth player for Carolina on Sunday, as with all things this season, the building was occupied only by essential personnel and a few family members. So the Heels and Irish duked it out in a vacuum of sorts. And darn if Carolina didn't weather the storm. Notre Dame rallied, but the hungry Tar Heels got the job done in a game that Carolina absolutely needed to win to preserve hopes of the NCAA Tournament come March.

Carolina 78, Notre Dame 73.

"I'm just so happy for these kids," Banghart said postgame. "They've had a lot of disruption, and a young team's got a lot to learn. They just keep fighting, and I told you they've been getting better and they were able to put it together today."

In a year where the phrase "young team" is thrown around a lot – and rightfully so with a roster consisting of five freshmen and a pair of sophomores, one of whom is in her first year playing with the Tar Heels – it was Carolina's experienced basketball veterans who were the glue. The trio of Stephanie Watts (25), Petra Holešínská (24), and Janelle Bailey (12) scored 61 of the team's 78 points, the most a group of seniors or graduate students has scored in a game for Carolina under Banghart. For the younger players, seeing their experienced teammates seal the deal in a win could almost be viewed as an equally critical step in development to making plays themselves.

"Huge performances from our older guys," the second-year Carolina head coach said. "I know they really wanted that, and our younger guys urged them along."

It's possible that the trio could play in front of fans again – this season does not count toward any player's eligibility, regardless of circumstance – but assuming this season is the end of the road for their collegiate careers, the final go-round has required creating their own energy. That's a concept Carolina has struggled with in some games this season, but seemed to be on the mend after Tuesday's game at Syracuse. Having to rely on self-made energy and toughness to win on Sunday makes the experience even more valuable for those seniors and the Tar Heels as a whole.

"This is an environment where had it been a home game with fans, it would have been a great game to watch and we would have really felt our crowd," Banghart said. "To have no crowd and still come up with that toughness shows a lot."

Here's what else caught my eye this week…

Watts' Day in Context
In this column last week, I echoed the sentiments of Tar Heel fans everywhere when I hoped that Stephanie Watts' 15-point performance at Syracuse would serve as a spark for the graduate student and propel her back to a more consistent level of scoring. Even that hope couldn't have predicted the "vintage Stephanie" effort that we saw on Sunday. The Wesley Chapel, N.C., native scored 25 points, hauled in 12 rebounds, and handed out nine assists in the win.
"Steph's getting back in her rhythm," Banghart explained. "She missed a year and a half or so, so she's getting back in her rhythm and practicing really well."
I guess that practice is paying off.

Her 25 points marked her highest scoring output at Carolina since Dec. 5, 2018, and a 35-point performance in a home non-conference win against UNCW. To find Watts' last 25-point game in ACC play, we go back over four years to Jan. 19, 2017 and a 25-point effort against Wake Forest at home. Let's say we're looking for her last game of *more* than 25 points in ACC play? All the way back to Feb. 21, 2016 and 30 points against NC State.

The double-double with 12 rebounds matched a season high in boards with the High Point win on Nov. 29, also the last time Watts posted a double-double. All 12 rebounds were on the defensive end, helping end Notre Dame possessions and limiting the potent Irish offense.

Then there's assists. Sunday marked Watts' 101^st career college basketball game, and the nine helpers were a career high. Despite the Carolina program's rich history, the Tar Heels have never seen a player record a triple-double in a game, yet Watts became the second player this season to record a double-double and post nine assists in a game (Kennedy Todd-Williams against South Carolina State on Dec. 3). Agonizingly close to history, yet it doesn't seem to matter all that much after a huge team win.

Three-Point Defense
A heavy dosage of the hype surrounding Notre Dame into Sunday's game dealt with the fact that the Fighting Irish ranked first in the ACC in three-point efficiency at 38.7 percent. That wasn't exactly good news for a Tar Heel team that has quite frankly struggled at guarding the arc throughout the season – just look at Miami's 19 combined threes across two games, or the Virginia Tech 11-three performance.

On Sunday, Carolina went out and did just that, limiting Notre Dame to seven total threes, the fewest allowed by the Tar Heels since two against Wake Forest on Dec. 10. The Irish finished the game 7-for-22 from deep (31.8 percent), nearly 7 percent fewer than their season average. Given where that aspect of the matchup looked on paper into Sunday's game, it's a major win for Carolina.

"(Notre Dame) is so deadly from three," Banghart said postgame. "We tried to be aggressive at the point of the screen, and I thought we did a good job of that. Our kids' activity was on point today."

As of this publication, NC State has overtaken Notre Dame for the ACC lead in three-point efficiency, but Louisville and Virginia Tech also occupy spots in the top four in the conference. With five total games against the Wolfpack, Cardinals, and Hokies remaining for Carolina, a step forward in three-point defense could be the difference needed to earn critical ACC wins. That defensive intensity and competitiveness is where such a step needs to begin.

"We have to have an identity and competitiveness because we're so inexperienced," Banghart reflected. "We've opted to be aggressive, and they're listening to us."

Ball Movement
This year's Tar Heel team is in the somewhat unenviable position of lacking a true point guard. Sure, Deja Kelly is known as a "combo guard" and can handle the ball. Stephanie Watts and Petra Holešínská have the ability to bring the ball up the floor, too. But without a bona fide No. 1, Coach Banghart and her staff have to get creative to design an offense that balances ball movement with getting the best looks for shots from some of the Tar Heels' best shooters. Passing and ball movement was on full display on Sunday, as Carolina assisted on 22 of its 29 field goals, and seven different players registered an assist. The 22 assists on 29 made field goals turns out an "assist rate" of 75.6 percent - the highest in a game for Carolina under Coach Banghart and highest in any game in nearly two calendar years (Feb. 7, 2019 vs. Duke saw a 77.3 assist rate, with 17 assists on 22 made baskets).

The unselfishness was on full display during a play in the second quarter when Watts was curling down the lane, appearing to be ready to drive through two defenders, but instead dished the ball off to a wide open Malu Tshitenge, who had snuck through on the baseline to establish position below the bucket. The quick play left the Notre Dame defense flummoxed, and was a microcosm of the offensive afternoon as a whole for Carolina.

Final Score Fun Fact
One of the most memorable games in recent history for the Carolina women's basketball program was the 2019 upset of then-no. 1 Notre Dame by a 78-73 final score at Carmichael Arena. So imagine my surprise when, in the waning seconds of this past Sunday's game, I realized the final score of the 2021 matchup between the same two teams would end with the exact same score.

Carolina 78, Notre Dame 73.

Off to the record books we go. And sure enough, never before in Carolina program history has an ACC matchup yielded the same final score in consecutive games at the same venue. In fact, only one other time have we even seen a final score repeated in a span of four matchups, as was the case with these 78-73 games. That other occurrence wasn't as friendly to the Tar Heels, as it was a pair of 64-57 losses to Georgia Tech in the 2009-10 season in Atlanta and a year later in Chapel Hill.

Up Next
The road doesn't get any easier for the Tar Heels from here.

The key word in that sentence? "Road."

For just the second time this season, Carolina will play consecutive games away from Carmichael Arena this week. The journey north and west begins with a trip to No. 1 Louisville on Thursday night. The Cardinals, occupying the top spot in the Associated Press rankings for the first time in their program history, sit at 14-0 overall and 7-0 in the ACC following a comeback win on Sunday at Wake Forest. It's worth noting that Louisville does play a home game on Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Miami, so their game on Thursday against Carolina will be their second of the midweek window. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 7-3, including seven straight wins and a perfect mark against the Tar Heels since joining the ACC for the 2014-15 campaign.

Tip on Thursday from the banks of the Ohio River is set for 8:00 p.m. Our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage of the 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, the Tar Heels will meet Virginia Tech for the second time in 17 days, this time at the Hokies' home at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. Virginia Tech connected on 11 three-point attempts on Jan. 14 to earn a 66-54 win over Carolina at Carmichael, so now the Heels will be looking to return the favor on Tech's home floor, a building where Carolina posted its last win in this series back in 2019. With tip set for 4:00 p.m., our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage of the game begins with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show at 3:30 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 after Wednesday morning 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! Plus, fans in the Triangle can listen on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM on Wednesday evening at 8:00 p.m.

That's all for now! Go Heels!

-Matt