Carmichael Comments: In The Zone

On paper, the task seemed difficult.

A Carolina team striving to snap a four-game losing streak was charged with shutting down one of the nation's most prolific offenses, the high-scoring and talented Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Ranked No. 4 in the AP poll, Notre Dame arrived in Chapel Hill averaging over 84 points per game and shooting the ball at an incredibly efficient 49.8 percent, fifth best in the entire country.

Again, difficult.

But leave it to Courtney Banghart and staff to figure out a plan. Banghart, who taught high school biology during her stint as a prep coach just after college graduation, may or may not have leaned on that experience to concoct a zone defense she dubbed an "amoeba."
Consulting the dictionary, we learn that an amoeba is "a single-celled animal that catches food and moves about by extending fingerlike projections of protoplasm." Translated, that's an organism with no defined shape. It moves and adapts to survive. And move and adapt Carolina did. The zone wasn't a 2-3, or a 3-2, or even a 1-2-2. Instead, the matchup zone morphed to flummox the high-powered Irish all afternoon long in front of a raucous Carmichael Arena crowd.

Notre Dame would finish the game a mere 28.1 percent from the floor, not just the first time the Irish were held below 30 percent in their 12-2 start, but the first time the visitors shot below 40 percent in a contest. From three-point land, the defensive stats were even more impressive, as the box score showed just two makes on 22 three-point attempts, a 9-percent success rate. The effort kept Notre Dame stuck in neutral all game long on offense and allowed the Tar Heels to find their footing offensively after a slow start and walk away with a 60-50 win, their second over a top five opponent this year.

"I thought our (players) were so good at being an amoeba defensively," Banghart remarked postgame. "We switched up defenses a little bit, but they (Notre Dame) didn't have much of an answer for our zone looks."

According to Banghart, playing such a zone increased Carolina's defensive cohesiveness and limited some of Notre Dame's preferred offensive schemes. A moving zone helps to take away opportunities on the back side, which the Irish can attack with the pinpoint passing skills of point guard Olivia Miles, who was held to five assists. Miles came into the game averaging 7.5 helpers per contest. The countless hours of film study and creative minds working together helped to come up with the specifics of the game plan, which is only half the battle.

"We do the best we can at scouting to give our guys a chance to win," Banghart said. "(The players) executed tonight on the game floor."

A common adage in basketball is that playing a zone can leave three-point range open and allow an opponent's shooters cleaner looks than perhaps they'd get facing a player-to-player defense. Even with Dara Mabrey – she of six threes against the Tar Heels last season in South Bend – on the Notre Dame roster, Banghart had trust that the amoeba zone wouldn't let Notre Dame blitz the Tar Heels from deep. But again, it required execution from her players.

"We were really active," Banghart said. "We didn't let (Notre Dame) set their feet. If we can make them move six inches when they don't want to, their percentages will go down."

Mabrey finished her day just 1-for-11 from three, rarely taking a clean, open look with her feet set. Not only was that defensive effort a change from last season, it marked an improvement from the losing streak, when the Tar Heels allowed opponents to shoot at a nearly 38-percent success rate from three and hit at least eight long shots in each defeat.

"In the last few games, we were more like cones," Banghart said, referencing the stationary pieces of plastic used in practice drills. "(Today) we were much more mobile and active. (Notre Dame) had to adjust accordingly and so their shots came at a little bit different rhythm and tempo than they're used to."

Leave the cones for practice. As we saw so many times in the Sweet 16 run of 2021-22, the Carolina defense led the way to a critical victory. And on Sunday, the single-celled amoeba was powerful enough to swallow a shamrock.

Here's what else caught my eye this week…

It's Paris, Again
In this column last week, we spotlighted Paulina Paris' impressive fourth quarter at Virginia Tech to keep the Tar Heels within striking distance of the No. 9 Hokies. The freshman, who had scored two points in a five-game stretch against Power Five opponents, exploded for 15 points and nine in the fourth quarter alone. After scoring six points on a pair of threes (in the midst of an 11-0 Carolina run) against Miami, Paris delivered again against Notre Dame with a career-best 16 points. That gives her 37 over her last three games, of which 23 have come in second halves.

"She's someone you really trust," Banghart said. "The way she handles her process, every day she's committed to her process and getting better."

For any freshman, the challenge of finding comfort in the bigger challenge of college basketball can be a lot to handle. Paris has acclimated herself quite well, which in turn leads to a dearth of sloppy mistakes.

"She's got a comfort and confidence on the offensive end, she doesn't turn it over very much," Banghart explained.

And about that disparity in scoring between the first half and second half in the last few games?

"I played her more in the second half, so maybe that's my fault," Banghart joked.

Kelly Crosses Milestone
With Deja Kelly's 13th point against Miami, the junior from San Antonio became the 39th Tar Heel to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Kelly reached the mark in 69 career games and became the first Carolina player to score 1,000 points entirely under the direction of Courtney Banghart.
"She's such a fighter," Banghart said. "I'm so glad she's a Tar Heel. I remember when she committed, I knew it. I knew how good she would be here, and the way she's handled her business, she deserves it."

Eva Hodgson reached 1,000 points combined for her career at both William & Mary and Carolina last December, so the Tar Heels now have a pair of 1,000-point scorers on their roster.

Alyssa Ustby is the next-closest Carolina player to the mark, sitting at 855 career points after the Notre Dame game.

History Against the Irish
Notre Dame joined the ACC for the 2013-14 women's basketball season and immediately became a power in the historic and deep conference. The Irish claimed five ACC championships between 2014 and 2019 and played in the ACC Tournament's championship game in all six of those seasons. Any win over the Irish for an ACC opponent became a cause for celebration, whether home or away. Carolina earned its first win over Notre Dame in the ACC era in January 2019, a 78-73 decision when the Irish were No. 1 in the nation. Two years later in 2021, when Notre Dame returned to Carmichael Arena, Carolina repeated the victorious feat, complete with a 78-73 final score. Add in Sunday's triumph, and the Tar Heels now have three straight home wins over the Irish. Only two other ACC teams have won three straight home tilts against Notre Dame – Boston College in each of the last three seasons, and Louisville in the last four matchups at the Yum! Center.

Up Next
This week brings two more ACC showdowns to the Carolina schedule, both against traditional rivals. First up, the Tar Heels head to Charlottesville for a Thursday night clash with Virginia. The Cavaliers, who won five games all of last season, made a coaching change in the offseason and hired Amaka Agugua-Hamilton away from Missouri State, where she took the Bears to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet 16. "Coach Mox" has been a great success in Charlottesville, starting the season 12-0 and currently sitting 13-3 and 2-3 in ACC play. Her Cavaliers are unbeaten at home this year at 9-0, so Carolina has an opportunity for another quality ACC win. Tip on Thursday from John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. We'll be on the air at 6:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the broadcast locally on 97.9 FM/1360 AM in the Triangle, or worldwide for free via our THSN streaming platforms: GoHeels.com, the GoHeels app, and the Varsity Network app from Learfield.

Then on Sunday, it's the first of the two meetings this year with NC State. The No. 11 Wolfpack knocked off Virginia last Sunday after a pair of home losses to Duke and Boston College when both teams were unranked. Despite the departure of four starters from last year's Elite Eight team, Wes Moore's team is again a threat in the ACC thanks to a handful of transfer portal additions. Carolina has a win over NC State in three of the last four seasons, including two at Carmichael Arena under Banghart. Sunday's game is set for 3:30 p.m. in Chapel Hill, and while we recommend making plans to get to Carmichael to watch all the action with your own eyes, the broadcast begins on the THSN at 3:00 with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the broadcast locally on 97.9 FM/1360 AM in the Triangle, or worldwide for free via our THSN streaming platforms: GoHeels.com, the GoHeels app, and the Varsity Network app from Learfield.

In the meantime, check out the latest edition of Holding Court with Courtney Banghart, which is available on the Tar Heel Voices Podcast Channel. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It will also air on Wednesday night at 8:00 on WCHL in Chapel Hill.

That's all for now. Go Heels!

-Matt