Carmichael Comments: Resilient

Carolina women's basketball Head Coach Courtney Banghart has identified a key trait of her 2023-24 Tar Heels, owners of nine wins and a 1-0 ACC record.

"This group is really resilient," she said.

Her Tar Heels have shown resilience from a big picture standpoint, handling changing lineups (which we've discussed together in this column) and injuries, and doing so against a challenging schedule.

"I can't remember a year where I've had this much adversity as early and as often in the season," she said before Sunday's ACC opener against Clemson tipped off.

"But they've stayed totally together and forward-thinking," she added, pointing to their team camaraderie and like for each other as the glue enabling such cohesion through adversity.

Phrases and concepts like "staying together" and "forward-thinking" have more usage than just the big picture, though. On Sunday, the Tar Heels raced out to a 14-point lead near the end of the first quarter. It seemed as if Carolina was cruising toward taking control of the game. But Clemson punched right back, eventually taking their own lead at 23-22 in the game's second quarter and touching off a seesaw end to the first half, with the Tar Heels unable to pull away.
Here's where that resilience plays such a role.

Carolina entered the locker room and did not panic. Clemson had made its run, the game wouldn't be one that would be decided early, and a classic ACC game was well underway. Adjustments were made – improving ball screen coverage on defense, and utilizing more of the high post on offense, to name a few – and the second half was soon underway. The lead grew to 11 late in the third quarter, only to see Clemson get within three on multiple occasions in the middle of the fourth. The last run, though, belonged to Carolina, which outscored the Tigers down the stretch and poured in 19 points (on a lot of free throws) in the final 4:46.

Game over, 82-76 win.

"We got 47 second-half points – that's a lot," Banghart said when asked about her thoughts on the game.

It is a lot, Coach!

Carolina hadn't scored 47 in a half in an ACC game since February 2022 at Virginia. That's an effort that can be attributed to conditioning, defense leading to offense, and consistent scoring at all three levels.

Great teams have the ability to withstand major punches, and Carolina did just that against a spunky Tigers team. It's been the story of the season and will need to continue to be.

Here's what else caught my eye this week…

Donarski, Kelly Make Some History
Lexi Donarski was one of several Tar Heels who made critical contributions in the 82-76 win over Clemson, scoring a season-best 23 points and hitting six three-pointers. Those six triples matched … herself, against UNCG last month, for the most by a Tar Heel in a home game in the Banghart era. Donarski's 15 three-pointers attempted were the most by any Tar Heel, anywhere in Banghart's five seasons at the helm. Because of the balance of the offense on Sunday, it sure didn't feel like Donarski was the only offensive option, so seeing her 15 attempts was double-take inducing in some ways. By the way, 15 threes attempted is two off of the school record of 17 by Italee Lucas in 2010 against Virginia.

Donarski's consistent shooting was critical in making the Tar Heel offense dynamic enough to counter Clemson's lengthy and active zone defense, as was the ability to run offense through the high post. Of course, getting the ball inside requires a facilitator, and that's where Deja Kelly comes in. Kelly matched her career high with eight assists in the win, while scoring 15 points to boot. There will be many more games where Kelly's scoring will lead the Tar Heels to a victory, sure, but seeing her both score and facilitate for others with the hot hand bodes very well for the offense moving forward.

New Year's Resolutions
The turn of the calendar is a time for resolution-making for many, and it just so happened that the literal changing of the year matched the transition for the Tar Heels from non-conference play into ACC action. When I asked Coach Banghart about what her New Year's resolution for this specific Tar Heel team would be, she pointed straight at that line of demarcation between the non-conference and ACC portion of the schedule.

"Using the strength of the non-conference schedule to have that give you a sense of swag," she said, when asked what she wants to see from her team.

Carolina has now completed a 12-game run that saw five games played away from home, four against teams who spent time in the AP Top 25 at one juncture or another in the season's first two months, and countless meaningful challenges along the way.

"We've really been tested," Banghart said. "You schedule that way to prepare for (ACC play), hoping they can gain confidence from it and really move forward with an assuredness."

Mission accomplished against Clemson, for sure.

No Students, No Problem
At most Carolina home games in Carmichael Arena, the seating section behind the north goal is filled with energetic and enthusiastic UNC students. But Sunday's ACC opener with Clemson was played in the heart of the holiday break, leading to an expected, yet still somewhat comical sight of two Carolina students standing and cheering in the front row while the rest of the section was filled with the general public and families.

And while the natural energy level might not be as high for those not yet old enough for the student section or those whose days there have passed, you wouldn't have guessed it by watching the crowd of 3,820. Break or no break, the homecourt advantage for the Tar Heels remains. I asked Coach Banghart about the crowd after the game Sunday, and before I could even finish my question, she eagerly praised the fan support.

"I was a little worried because the students weren't here," she said. "But I give the crowd a lot of credit for helping us through that, and it was really awesome to see."

Up Next
Carolina will play a pair of ranked opponents this week, beginning with a visit from red-hot No. 25 Syracuse on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. in Carmichael. The Orange will come to town winners of eight in a row, the most recent of which came on Sunday against then-No. 13 Notre Dame, 86-81. All-ACC guard Dyaisha Fair is having another banner season, averaging 19.7 points per game to make Syracuse go offensively. Carolina, however, has beaten Syracuse in each of the last two Orange trips to Chapel Hill, including when SU was No. 18 in the AP Poll in December 2020. Our broadcast coverage of Thursday's game starts at 5:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. As always, hear the broadcast worldwide for free on the Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app. The game will air locally in the Triangle on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL, the flagship station of Carolina women's basketball. WCHL's coverage will commence at 6:00 – the pregame show is streaming-only.

Then on Sunday, Carolina will travel to Indiana to face the aforementioned Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Tar Heels will be looking to buck a trend of six straight homecourt wins in the regular season in this series – the Irish have won at home in even years in 2018, 2020, and 2022, while the Tar Heels have won at home in the odd years in 2019, 2021, and 2023. Notre Dame is ranked No. 16 this week even after the loss to Syracuse, and has been carried this season by the ACC's leading scorer – freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo, who averages 24.5 points per game. We'll tip it at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday from Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, with Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show coverage rolling at 4:30 p.m. As always, hear the broadcast worldwide for free on the Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app. The game will air locally in the Triangle on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL, the flagship station of Carolina women's basketball.

Additionally, Holding Court with Courtney Banghart returns next Tuesday, Jan. 9, to start a nine-week run of shows at the Sheraton Chapel Hill on Tuesdays at noon. As a reminder, the show is open to the public, and we hope to see you there! If you can't make it, catch the show on the Tar Heel Voices Podcast Channel or on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.

That's all for now – Go Heels!

-Matt