Carmichael Comments: Another Road Win

Carmichael Comments: Another Road Win
Vol. 7, No. 12
By: Matt Krause (@MattKrausePxP)

The Carolina Women's Basketball team played just one game last week, enjoying an open date in the schedule following the team's return from the West Coast. On Sunday, when the Tar Heels returned to the ACC docket, they picked up right where they left off: with a road win. Carolina's 53-51 victory at Clemson improved the Tar Heels to 7-0 overall in true road games, and 6-0 in ACC road games. Both marks have occurred just five times in program history – counting 2025.

Since there was only one game this week, we'll keep this column a bit shorter with three key notes and nuggets from the Clemson win.

Carolina won a one-possession game for the second straight game, the first time the program has achieved such a feat since Feb. 22 (66-65 at Miami) and Feb. 26 (72-70 vs. Virginia), 2015.

It's only fitting that Carolina has earned these two wins (Sunday at Clemson and 69-67 at Stanford on Feb. 2) via a defensive stop. Sure, buzzer beaters are fun for the offensive team, but given how much defense is in the DNA of the 2024-25 Tar Heels, the consecutive game-sealing stops are a microcosm of how Carolina (21-4) has achieved so much success.
After Reniya Kelly's go-ahead bucket (more on that below), Carolina forced a stop by limiting the Tigers to a long three-point attempt. Even after the Tar Heels turned the ball over after, Clemson was forced into calling a timeout during a trap, and a Carolina deflection from Lexi Donarski took even more time off the clock. Eventually, the last-gasp baseline out-of-bounds (BLOB, in basketball lingo) entry pass was tipped, and the Heels had a win.

"Lexi (Donarski) on the ball is a great thing," Carolina Head Coach Courtney Banghart explained. "She knows when to challenge the passer, she knows when to help on the perimeter, she knows when to help to the rim."
A week prior at Stanford, it was Alyssa Ustby, who like Donarski is in her fifth year of college basketball, who was the key contributor on the game-winning stop. That duo, and senior Maria Gakdeng, were once again in the game on Sunday at Clemson for the pivotal sequence.

"That's when you lean on your experience, and we've got a lot of experience," Banghart said.

Carolina's 17-rebound advantage (42-25) was the Tar Heels' largest since +22 against North Carolina Central on Nov. 29 and largest in ACC play since +19 against Miami on Feb. 6, 2022.

Two factors enabled the Tar Heels to establish such an enormous advantage in rebounding on Sunday in South Carolina.

First: Clemson started just one player standing over six feet tall, and had just one other available off the bench.

Second: Maria Gakdeng drew 11 fouls against defending Tigers frontcourt players, forcing an already small Clemson team to manage minutes.

You won't hear the Tar Heels complain. Carolina's rebounding efforts included the 55th double-digit rebounding game of Alyssa Ustby's career with 13 boards, nine from Gakdeng (including seven on the offensive end), and a career-best eight from Reniya Kelly.

"I would chalk that up to high opportunities," Banghart said, slightly in jest, on her radio show Holding Court this week.

But at the end of the day, 16 offensive rebounds led to 11 second chance points, oh-so-critical in a two-point game.

Reniya Kelly scored in double figures for a fourth straight game for the first time as a Tar Heel. Among her 59 points in the last four games, 17 have come in the fourth quarter, with three tying or go-ahead buckets in the final minutes. Kelly's 17 points were the second most in a game for her this season behind only 18 against Kentucky.

The game was tied at 51. Less than a minute remained. Carolina was in a two-point guard lineup, with both Grace Townsend and Reniya Kelly in the game. The ball was in the hands of Townsend, who had been red hot in the fourth quarter with all eight of her points coming on strong drives to the bucket during the quarter.

Townsend bounced the ball to Kelly, who looked over to her right at Banghart. The instructions were relayed. And with the shot clock down to single digits, Kelly went to work. A screen from Maria Gakdeng cleared some space, allowing Kelly to reach the "ACC logo" area at the top of the lane. She pulled up, and rolled in a go-ahead, eventual-game winning bucket.

The scene felt familiar: after all, Kelly hit the game tying shot against Florida State two weeks prior. Eight of her 16 points at Cal came in the fourth quarter. And after Stanford had tied the game at 62, it was Kelly who scored two straight baskets to, again, eventually win the game.

The growth of Kelly's confidence and subsequent trust from her teammates and coaches is on display under the bright lights of the game court.

"She trusts the work she puts in, and we trust her," Banghart said. "She's a "dawg," and I'm glad she's a Tar Heel."

Up Next
It's back to a two-game week for Carolina this week, and back home inside Carmichael Arena. The Tar Heels' first home game in 18 days will take place on Thursday, with the only matchup of the season against Virginia Tech.

It's the first time since 2018-19 that Carolina and Virginia Tech will play just once in a regular season, as they were designated regional rivals in the 15-team, 18-game ACC scheduling matrix used for the first five seasons of the Banghart era. The Hokies are under the direction of first-year Head Coach Megan Duffy, and while the talent and national ranking that defined Tech in recent years might be absent, the Hokies are still a top-half of the ACC team that is tracking toward an NCAA Tournament bid. Tip on Thursday is set for 7:00 p.m., with our THSN coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the call worldwide for free on the Varsity Network app from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app, as well as on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.

Then on Sunday, Carolina and NC State will clash for the second time in three years at Carmichael with both ranked in the AP Top 25. Carolina (No. 12) and NC State (No. 10) are both ACC Championship contenders and teams capable of making deep runs in March. It's the first time in the history of this rivalry that the two teams will meet just once in the regular season, another change brought about by the expanded ACC. Sunday's game, which will be one of the best atmospheres of the entire season at Carmichael Arena, tips at 2:00 p.m. Our THSN coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the call worldwide for free on the Varsity Network app from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app, as well as on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.

If you missed it, this week's edition of Holding Court is available now on the Tar Heel Voices Podcast Channel, and will air on WCHL at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12. We'll tape again next Monday, Feb. 17, at Noon at the Sheraton Chapel Hill.

That's all for now. Go Heels!
-Matt