Lucas: Mid-Major Attitude Drives Tar Heels

By Adam Lucas

Late last week, Courtney Banghart was reflecting on how she built her third Carolina team.

"The sophomore class was huge," she says. "The star power of Deja (Kelly) set the tone. And then the rest of the class, their goodness and the way they committed to the journey and trusted me was huge. Add that to someone like Jaelynn (Murray), a senior who no one realizes the size of her heart. I've never been around a kid who plays less who means more.

"Then we were able to add in Eva (Hodgson) and Carlie (Littlefield), and the thing they've brought is a mid-major attitude with high-major game. They're the perfect competitive, consistent, team oriented people."

Carolina is one of the essential brands in college basketball. So to hear the Tar Heels described as possessing mid-major attitude is a little unusual. But that's exactly what Littlefield, who has started all 31 games, and Hodgson, who has come off the bench in every contest, have brought to the team. Hodgson arrived in Chapel Hill from William & Mary, and Littlefield is a graduate transfer from Princeton.

Their games have translated smoothly—both are among the top five on the roster in minutes played for the Sweet 16 bound Tar Heels, who face South Carolina tonight—as Hodgson leads the team in three-point shooting percentage and Littlefield is the squad's leader in assist/turnover ratio.

Off the court, however, they've been through some adjustments.

"When I first got here in the summer, they gave me some gear and told me this was to get through the summer," Hodgson says. "That was more gear than I had in a year at William & Mary. My sophomore year, my shoes busted in the conference tournament. Here, I have five or six pairs of shoes that I haven't even touched yet."

"Every time we get shoes here, our teammates are like, 'Oh, cool,'" Littlefield says. "Eva and I are like, 'New shoes again?' We are not used to getting this spoiled that often. We get fed meals after practice here, and I used to have to sprint to the dining hall at Princeton after practice. You're spoiled at this level, and the level of competition means that every game is a battle."

Both Hodgson and Littlefield have been essential to the Tar Heels competing at that level. Carolina has quietly turned into a very capable defensive squad; the 45 points surrendered to homestanding Arizona on Monday night were the fewest allowed by the Heels in an NCAA Tournament game since 2007.

And they did it, of course, in front of a hostile Wildcats crowd that has made the McKale Center one of the toughest places to play in women's basketball.

"There's a certain work ethic you have to have when you're coming from a mid-major," Hodgson says. "There's a hunger to prove people wrong, and you know you have to get after it every single day. I think our team has taken on that type of personality. Teams have underestimated us all year, so we've played with a chip on our shoulder all year."

That outlook has been a perfect fit for this year's squad, which went through much of the season unranked or lowly ranked despite a gaudy overall record. Even in late January, sitting at 16-3, the Tar Heels were unranked, content to simply pile up the victories until beginning to earn more national attention in February.

There is no star system in Chapel Hill, even with Deja Kelly turning into one of the most noticeable players in the women's game and Alyssa Ustby a double-double machine. Prima donnas simply wouldn't fit in at Carmichael.

"It's someone different every game," Hodgson says. "It's someone different stepping up every time. Toddy (Kennedy Todd-Williams) had a fantastic game against Arizona. DK was great in our first Tournament game. Winning is fun, and we really enjoy being around each other. The way we celebrate each other is really special."

Players Mentioned

Deja Kelly

Kennedy Todd-Williams

Alyssa Ustby

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