Carmichael Comments: West Coast History

Carmichael Comments: West Coast History
Vol. 7, No. 11
By: Matt Krause (@MattKrausePxP)

In this inaugural year of Cal and Stanford's membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference, there's been no shortage of talk among coaches, media, and fans alike about the impact of the travel to and from California for the new teams and their traditional ACC opponents. Headed into last week, there was some value to that conversation. After all, teams playing their first game of a trip that spanned two or more time zones were just 1-15 between ACC men's and women's basketball.

Don't tell Courtney Banghart's Tar Heels.

Carolina made history as the first ACC team to travel west and sweep the two-game set at the former Pac-12 schools. The Tar Heels embraced the mindset of "whatever is necessary" (that spells "win," FYI), and handed the Golden Bears of Cal their first home loss of the season and Stanford a third home loss for the first time since 2017. Here's some notes and nuggets that stuck out from the week that was:

Carolina improves to 5-0 in ACC road games for the first time since 2007-08 and just the seventh time in program history, and 6-0 overall in true road games for the first time since 2005-06 and just the fifth time in program history.

You have to go back to the days of Ivory Latta to find road success like this for the Tar Heels. Carolina earned a win in a hostile environment at North Carolina A&T back in November, then picked up right where they left off once ACC play began. First, a win at a Miami team that at the time had suffered just one defeat on the season. Then, a difficult week in mid-January with back-to-back road trips to SMU and Pitt. And now, the toughest test yet: getting ready to play in consecutive true road environments nearly 3,000 miles from home. The ability to win such games began with an intensive plan to have the players' bodies ready to go from Carolina's sports performance team – athletic training, strength and conditioning, and medical staff.

"I give our sports performance team a lot of credit," Banghart said "The travel, that's about five and a half hours, and if not handled properly, their bodies could get sore, they could become dehydrated, and if they sleep, when they do land, they probably wouldn't sleep as well that night."

A "regimented system" of movement and staying awake and hydrated on the plane was put in place, and it paid off with an energetic win at Cal in a game played at 10 p.m. Eastern time, and a gritty win at Stanford on the fourth day of a long trip.

Carolina's two-point margin of victory at Stanford was the Tar Heels' narrowest win since beating St. John's 61-59, by two, in the 2023 NCAA Tournament First Round.

Carolina led Stanford by two with eight seconds to go on Sunday. The Cardinal held the ball and called timeout, and the situation was obvious: the Tar Heels needed a stop to secure a victory, and with it, a happy cross-country flight. The situation was also familiar. Just a week prior, Carolina had multiple chances in the final 10 seconds to earn a game-sealing stop against Florida State, and were unable to do so. With the experience of a week prior on the minds of Carolina's players and coaches, a plan was put in place.

"We used (FSU) as an example," Banghart said on her radio show, Holding Court, this week. "We said, 'chest up to the ball,' and 'I don't care what they do, they're not getting an open layup.'"

Alyssa Ustby forced a contested shot from Stanford star Nunu Agara, and the Tar Heels earned a stop to secure their first one-possession win of the season. A happy flight, indeed.

Reniya Kelly hit a season-high seven field goals at Cal, scoring 16 points for a second consecutive game. 32 points is her highest two-game scoring total as a Tar Heel.

There's an adjective that's quickly becoming associated with sophomore guard Reniya Kelly: clutch. Kelly hit the jumper to tie the game against Florida State, capping off a 16-point game. The ensuing game at Cal, half of her 16 points came in the fourth quarter, a period where she also added two steals and two rebounds. The Golden Bears entered the fourth quarter down by just two. Carolina won the game by 13.

"She's such a 'dawg,'" Banghart explained after the Cal win. "She wants to facilitate, she wants to be the winning lead guard. We needed her to be aggressive for herself today, we knew that was one of our advantages, and she did it."

Sunday at Stanford, the Cardinal capped off a 12-0 run to tie the game at 62 in the fourth quarter, only to see Kelly score consecutive buckets, with the second coming on a remarkable sequence. Kelly lost her balance around the top of the key, yet somehow maintained her dribble, got up without committing a travel, and hit a step-back three.

Alyssa Ustby matched her career high with four made three-pointers at Stanford, her most made in a game since Feb. 7, 2021 against NC State.

Going into the matchup with the aforementioned Nunu Agara, who Banghart referred to as a hybrid of Alyssa Ustby and Maria Gakdeng, the Tar Heels knew that the play of their frontcourt on both ends of the floor would be critical in earning the win. For the most part, Agara held the upper hand on defense, where Ustby was just 2-for-10 on two-point field goal attempts. But an aspect of Ustby's game that she's been working on behind the scenes for years was on full display.

Stanford, as Banghart put it, "dared" Ustby to shoot threes, and shoot them she did. Ustby started 4-for-4 from three-point range, missing one look late in the third quarter, but matching her career high in made threes. The other such game for her came on Feb. 7, 2021 against NC State at Carmichael Arena. No fans were at that game, where Carolina famously beat the Wolfpack while wearing alternate Navy Blue uniforms at home.

"I always say 'confidence comes from the work you put in,'" Banghart said. "Then, you have to trust the work. (Alyssa) has put so much work in, into her shot, and she's showcasing it more and more. That's a shot that she's earned."

Grace Townsend made a season high two three-pointers. Her 10 points placed her in double figures for the third time as a Tar Heel, and first time on the road.

As Carolina has played without Trayanna Crisp for the better part of a month, Grace Townsend has seen her role evolve from more than just a backup point guard into a more dynamic scorer. Last week in this column, we discussed her 13-point game against Wake Forest that featured some explosive and shifty drives to the rim. Like Ustby, though, Townsend was "dared" to shoot the three against Stanford, and cashed in for Carolina in a game where every point mattered.

"Grace is a huge piece of our team, and even more so as she has found her way," Banghart said.

Up Next

Carolina plays just one game this week, a much shorter flight than last week to Clemson, South Carolina. The Tar Heels will put their eight-game win streak against Clemson on the line on Sunday, taking on a Tigers team under the direction of first-year Head Coach Shawn Poppie. Despite the fact that Clemson has lost six of its last seven games, the Tigers own homecourt wins against Cal, Miami, and Stanford this season. Tip on Sunday is set for 2:00 p.m., and 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 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5. We'll tape again next Monday, Feb. 10, at 11:30 a.m.

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