Carmichael Comments: Legacy of Resilience

It's one of the easiest questions to prepare for over the course of the season on our Tar Heel Sports Network postgame shows. It's perhaps the hardest to ask.

The fourth and final question I ask Courtney Banghart in the Continental Tire Coaches Corner following the final game of the season – which for the last four seasons has been upon Carolina's elimination from the NCAA Tournament – is to summarize the legacy of that year's specific team.

"I think just resilience," she answered on Sunday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.

The final data point for the season will always be No. 1 national seed South Carolina's 88-41 win on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament Second Round, but the story for years to come will be more than just that one-sided score.

What began as a roster of 15 players was whittled to 10 healthy bodies by the postseason. Highly-touted recruits Ciera Toomey and Laila Hull elected to redshirt the season to recover from injury. As the year progressed, the Tar Heels' three point guards – Kayla McPherson, Paulina Paris, and Reniya Kelly – combined for just 43 appearances out of a possible 99, with all three suffering injuries that proved to be season-ending. Yet even with limited options at key positions, Carolina kept fighting.

The 10-player Tar Heels will forever have the claim to a home win over No. 6 NC State, maintaining a run of home dominance over the Wolfpack that has seen Carolina claim four wins in five seasons on their home floor against their rivals to the East. The undermanned group also can claim a win at home against archrival Duke – the third straight homecourt win over the Blue Devils, who are now off to the Sweet 16. The resilience reemerged in Columbia on Friday in a 59-56 win over Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament's First Round, ensuring that the Tar Heels would be just one of 14 teams to appear in each of the last three NCAA Second Rounds.

Banghart was well aware that resilience would be required – and then some – against South Carolina on Sunday.

"We knew coming in with no scholarship guards off the bench and South Carolina undefeated it was going to be a real challenge, and these guys just continued to lean in and showed resilience," she said.

Obviously, the game did not conclude the way any of us hoped, but it shouldn't blemish the resilience shown by the team in preparation for such a challenge. In a way, that's the theme of the season.

"I wish they didn't have so much adversity to go through," Banghart said. "But that was their walk and they walked it with pride."

So now, it's on to next year.

Up Next

Well, we're out of games now. Thank you to all the loyal Carolina fans who listened all season long to our game broadcasts and Holding Court shows – we appreciate your listenership and interaction all season long. You are the reason why we do what we do on the Tar Heel Sports Network.

Personally, I also appreciate your readership of this column all season long. It's a labor of love to shine a brighter spotlight on the stories and themes of the Carolina Women's Basketball program in addition to the broadcast work. We'll have a few special issues through the offseason and push onward into 2024-25. Like we do every offseason, conversations and discussions will occur on how to make coverage even better in the future.

For now – until November – thanks for reading and Go Heels!

-Matt