Carmichael Comments: The End

If you're a reader of this column, you probably know by now how much growth the Carolina women's basketball team has made in the past three seasons under Courtney Banghart. Or perhaps you're new to the bandwagon as the 2021-22 season went along, and expanded your Tar Heel fandom during March. That's okay too. Who can blame a Carolina fan that wants to watch Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby play?

Though the season has come to a close for Banghart and her team thanks to a 69-61 loss to South Carolina in the NCAA Sweet 16, the secret that Carolina is back on the national landscape is out.

Sure, the Tar Heels were an NCAA Tournament team in 2020-21, earning Banghart's first trip to the Big Dance in her time in Chapel Hill, but with a young core into this season, there were still question marks for many outsiders. After all, the sport was filled with veterans this year. Just look up and down ACC rosters, and you see fifth-year seniors returning for their "COVID year" and making major contributions. Carolina? The Tar Heels started four sophomores.

As the season went along, more and more buzz surrounded the proud program that calls Carmichael Arena home. The attention started locally, with gradually increasing crowds and a massive uptick in student attendance. It's tough to pinpoint when the rest of the women's basketball world took notice – maybe it was when Carolina opened 13-0 for the team's best start since 2010-2011. Maybe it was when the Tar Heels stomped rival Duke by 16 points on the Blue Devils' home floor in late January. Maybe it was when No. 3 Louisville came to Carmichael on Feb. 17 and walked out with a 66-65 defeat. Or maybe it was the 18-point beatdown of defending national runners-up Arizona to advance to the Sweet 16.

Whenever the moment that AP voters, prognosticators, and pundits took notice, they were joining a vision that Banghart had dating back to preseason practices. To the third-year bench boss, the fact that the Tar Heels took No. 1 national seed South Carolina to the wire in Greensboro was no surprise, even if the national storylines leading up to the game had the Gamecocks cruising to another Final Four.

"I asked these guys to give me their head and their heart all season long, so not only did they earn this moment, but they showed who they are," Banghart reflected after the game.

Carolina led after the first quarter, trailed by just eight at halftime, and played South Carolina evenly through the second 20 minutes. The game was as close as four points with two minutes to play, close enough to raise eyebrows of fans nationwide. "This is the team I see every day, all year, so I'm glad everyone got to see that," Banghart said.

Losing is never fun, and for a Carolina program that has qualified for the Elite Eight seven previous times in history, the fact that the Tar Heels were unable to add to that tally was the immediate takeaway in the aftermath of the loss to South Carolina. Still, when you take a step back and realize that the Tar Heels made it to this point while starting four sophomores and dealing with injuries to two key freshmen in Teonni Key and Kayla McPherson, the possibilities for the future get the juices flowing for Carolina fans.

"This is a big stage," Banghart said. "I told them that you get here because of how you handle your business along the way. I said 'it's really hard to make a Sweet 16, even when you're awesome.' But being here makes you more hungry and gives you more experience."

But ever the competitor, truly embracing that mindset was difficult for Banghart moments after the defeat. With time and reflection will come a feeling and realization of what this year's team accomplished.

"The big picture is always important," Banghart said, visibly emotional. "I think it will be easier for me in a couple days."

Even after a 17th 25-win season in program history, and a first Sweet 16 trip in seven years, the focus and mindset remains the same.

"I've been saying that I think we're better than people thought all year long, and we'll just keep trying to prove it."

Kelly Carries Tar Heels in March Again
As Carolina and South Carolina battled back and forth, the Tar Heels relied on the scoring ability of Deja Kelly. Carolina's All-ACC guard posted her second 20-point game in three tries in the 2022 NCAA Tournament by scoring 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 night at the free throw line. The effort came two games after a 28-point game against Stephen F. Austin in the NCAA Tournament opener. For Banghart, seeing Kelly perform on the sport's grandest stage was a testament to her ability to meet the moment and eschew the nerves that accompany March Madness.

"She's just fearless," Banghart said. "We talk as a program and individually with them that you don't get anywhere by crossing your fingers and hoping. There's an element of fearlessness that success requires."

The "coachability" of the sophomore has led to her steady improvement and breakout national moment.

"We watch film a lot together," Banghart said. "And she lets me speak the truth to her. Deja was big all tournament. Deja Kelly's a really good basketball player."

Zelaya Enjoys Career Game on Big Stage
Even in defeat in the Sweet 16, another Tar Heel enjoyed a career game: Sophomore forward Alexandra Zelaya, fresh off a trip to her home state of Arizona for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, scored 10 points against the Gamecocks for her first double-figure scoring game of her career. The 10 points were three more than her previous high of seven, most recently achieved on Feb. 4, 2021 against Florida State. She hit a career-best four field goals, and also canned a pair of free throws en route to 10 points, which were her first points since Feb. 10 against Pitt. While the game was the first major offensive contribution from Zelaya in a while, her improvement on the defensive end of the floor has caught the eye of Carolina's coaches, so much so that she played 19 critical minutes against Stephen F. Austin in the Tar Heels' NCAA Tournament first round win.

Up Next
Well, there are no more games on the schedule. No more Holding Court shows, either. While we won't eat, sleep, and breathe Carolina women's basketball together on a day-in and day-out basis over the offseason, there will still be some content from yours truly. Keep an eye out for the occasional Carmichael Comments to provide updates on offseason practices and headlines such as schedule releases.

And sooner rather than later, it will be November again. A much-anticipated season will begin with new heights to be reached. We'll be back in Carmichael together. Back on site for Holding Court, too. I – and I assume you, too – can't wait.

That's all for now. Go Heels!

- Matt