What a win North Carolina put together on Thursday. So much went on this entry took a couple of extra days. I was super excited about this matchup. Two Hall of Fame Coaches, the two winningest active coaches in the game and though it wasn’t the first time the two of them had coached the same game; they were bringing their current teams together for the first time ever. (photo from chapelboro.com)
These two are pioneers for the game and for women with teams that seemed to display their personalities. I figured for a lot of reasons it would be a real battle. I was right. Final: North Carolina 96, Rutgers 93 in Double Overtime.
But I was not right about how my afternoon would go. I was unexpectedly out of the house during the actual game and had to follow the whole thing on Twitter as nothing else (BTN to go, ESPN live stats) was keeping up. And that thing that lets you turn your DVR on with your phone? Yeah, didn’t happen for me. So I watched Twitter like a stalker. I sent out a few tweets during the game because I was so impressed with the fight in the team.
At the end, I used Twitter to express my gratitude to whomever sends those live updates out. I’m sure their fingers were shaking a lot of the time as mine were as I swiped at my phone’s screen almost continuously after each Tweet to get Twitter to refresh. Had to stop myself several times remembering one team had just called a timeout. Patience? What is that? When I was finally home I just wished I’d been able to witness it.
Careful What You Wish For
Well, I had some work to do at home and since I was out much later than I planned, the work went much later than I planned, all the way past 2am. The TV was still on BTN (Big Ten Network) and at 2:00, what is this? A replay? DVR! Wouldn’t you know? Not working. No wonder I wasn’t able to set it remotely. I start silently lecturing myself. “You cannot stay up and watch this. Besides, you already know the outcome. You should just turn that off and go to sleep.” I tried (a little). I turned down the volume. I was up again at the end of that 11 point run the Heels went on in the beginning. “You will regret this around 2:00 tomorrow afternoon when your body remembers just how little sleep you had.” “I’ll just go to sleep with the TV on,” I said. Lord forgive me I knew there was little chance of that when I came up with it.
Practical spoke again. "Hello??? Did you forget this was a double overtime game? Did you forget you have to get two children to school and yourself into the office in the morning?…wait, make that, in a few hours? “I’ll be okay right? It is Friday. I can sleep in the next day.” Yeah, that’s right. Spoken like I don’t live with a 4 year-old with an ever revving motor. In my defense he is the kindest son a widow could have. He waits patiently for me to wake up.
Then during a commercial that voice over guy comes on and says, “Due to time constraints, we will move ahead in the broadcast after this commercial break.” Oh okay then, it won’t be as long as it was earlier. Sad how I convinced myself to stay up and watch this. Eventually I concluded this entry would be much better if I actually saw the game. So I owed it to my craft to stay up right? Yeah, I didn’t buy it either.
But wow is Rutgers good! If they stay healthy they will continue to improve. I have to think they are going to make a lot of noise their first year in the B1G. I had read Coach Stringer “took the brakes off” and that concerned me for this game because in general other teams either can’t run with UNC or don't try. Knowing who was on this team I felt that if Coach Stringer actually did let them try to run with UNC they could. And watching the game confirmed that they did. Rutgers’ team has some strong, quick, ultra-athletic shooters and a couple of big posts. Sound familiar? It should.
So here’s how it went down in some detail. The truth is I talked a lot about the fight the team showed because they spent more time behind in this game than in front. Thankfully that doesn’t count for the W. North Carolina was out-rebounded for this game; but hopefully since they have finals, that won’t mean extra running this time. And Rutgers had 29, count them 29 fast break points to North Carolina’s 12. Not a typo.
In the eight games they’ve played North Carolina though has gotten victories in a variety of ways. And that’s a good thing. Yes, they did plenty of running; but, I also saw ball movement in the half-court sets last night that showed me our team has made considerable strides, especially passing against a zone defense. They continue to rack up assists with 21 on 35 made baskets and though they were outrebounded, they continue to share those duties. Only 2 players of the 10 that played, came away without a rebound in the game. Everyone else had at least 2. Some players had some big numbers; but this was very much a team effort. But on big numbers, first the “Star Watch”.
At the start of the game, Debbie Antonelli let us know they’d be keeping an eye on the performances of two players. And they were as advertised. Allisha (Gray) flirted with her career high. She scored from a variety of spots on the court and sank two free throws that sent the game to the first overtime.
Allisha Gray: 29 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks (photo from www.goheels.com)
Gray lead the team in points, rebounds and assists. It was what you’d call an All-American type of night *Cough (1st team). What has always and continues to impress me is Gray’s efficiency. She made 11 of her 15 shots from the field and 6 of her 10 free throws to put 29 points on the board.
Tyler Scaife: 25 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals (photo from nj.com)
Scaife (also a sophomore) had a tough shooting night; but made a living off a sweet pull-up jumper after being called for two player control fouls. Latifah Coleman and others did a good job on her I think; but she kept at it. Those were the two players for Star Watch; but they had plenty of help from their teammates.
Betnijah Laney: 24 points, 24 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals (photo from nj.com)
For a lot of the game, the Tar Heels were helpless to stop Laney. She had 14 of her points and 14 of her rebounds in the first half. Just an incredible performance. Now UNC did adjust. In watching the replay I noticed that at around the 4 minute mark of regulation she had 20 points and 21 rebounds and over the final 14 minutes she had 4 points and 3 rebounds. She is going to cause a lot of trouble for teams this year. Just going to be a big matchup problem for the opposition with the combination of her size and athleticism.
Stephanie was just a beast out there. How she appears high above her defender in that photo was how she played most of the time she was on the court. I read a Tweet that compared her footwork to Tim Duncan and there is that spin move and short bank shot she is great at that really does remind me of him. He is also called “the Big Fundamental” and Stephanie impresses everyone with just how fundamentally sound she is when she is on the court. Very deliberate, and highly disciplined on the offensive end and great timing most of the time on defense. Our friends in the black and white shirts though God bless ‘em. Okay I may be biased; but I thought a couple of calls against her, particularly the call that sent her to the bench for good, lacked a bit. She put up those numbers in 26 minutes on the court. Sitting was pretty much the only way to stop her. Rutgers' post players also had foul trouble. Hollivay and Evans had 4 a piece in limited minutes.
Xylina McDaniel: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal (Associated Press photo)
Xylina's minutes were not limited. I was proud of her. This was another game she had to play significant time without her front court partner. And that is significant because as I mentioned in the early season feature on them, they are great together and last night I could see it. Of the 5 assists between them I think most of them were to each other. One would draw the defense and the other would slip to the basket. Xylina played 42 of the 50 minute game and shot 60% from the floor. Two of our fast break points were on a lay-up she had where she beat everyone down the floor and Latifah Coleman awarded her with a sweet pass she caught in stride on her way to the hoop.
Syessence Davis: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals (photo from nj.com)
Something not mentioned during the broadcast or in anything I have read on the game: did anyone notice this young lady flirted with a triple double? Did anyone notice she had 9 assists to 1 turnover? She wasn't even a starter in this game.
Kaleah Cooper: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal (photo from
www.nj.com)
Cooper was Rutgers' other starter in double figures. She seemed to just take what the defense gave her. She has athleticism and length and hit almost half her shots from the floor.
More on the Tar Heels
Yeah, I know, that was a lot on the other team; but, like I said in the Hawaii entry when the other team does well, it tells you a lot about your team in how they respond. There are going to be nights where the other team can score with yours. There are going to be nights where they make shots they don't normally make. I think during that first overtime just as Tar Heel nation started to breathe, I heard Antonelli say at least three times that Rutgers was not a three-point shooting team. They then proceeded to hit two long balls in their effort to send the game to another extra session. On one of them it came from real deep. Our defender (Xylina McDaniel) was straddling the three point line contesting the shot. Are you kidding me? Thankfully we have shooters of our own.
Brittany Rountree: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals (Associated press photo)
Brittany did exactly what any of us would want. She sank some 3-pointers to keep the defense honest. She played great defense. She rebounded from the guard position, did not turn the ball over, but forced 5 of Rutgers' turnovers and as she is often asked to do, she went to the line at the end of the game and hit 3 of 4 free-throws. She was very active and with the exception of one play, completely under control. Her shot is quicker this year and with the athleticism we will see in defenders this year, that is going to be an asset for her. She's got a lot of range, but she was very deliberate in her movement during the game getting to her spot and being ready to launch. And the timing of the ones she hit, wow. I think all of them served to slow Rutgers' momentum.
Latifah Coleman: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals (Associated press photo)
After shooting 80% from long range out in Hawaii, Latifah’s long shot wasn’t falling last night; but she used her speed to attack the basket and penetrate Rutgers’ zone defense. On one play she weaved her way through multiple defenders for a lay-up. That got some emotion out of the senior. I loved seeing that. She pulled off a huge play in the 2nd overtime when she picked off a Rutgers pass and took it the distance for two points. Then not long after she sank two big free throws to increase our lead.
The starters did a great job in the game. They were 29 of 51 from the field. Four of them were in double figures and the other was on the verge with 8 points. But the bench came through with 18 points and these numbers may look small when you look at individual players; but the timing of their baskets was the key. They hit some big shots and combined for 96 minutes, which is over 1/3 of the minutes in the game.
Why is this important? Remember this team spent Thanksgiving week thousands of miles away in Hawaii. They played 3 games in 3 days while they were there. It’s a long plane ride back here from there. I still remember the jet lag. The team was back in Chapel Hill just two days before they had to leave for New Jersey. I get tired just thinking about it. Then there was over 7 minutes left in the game when Stephanie (Mavunga) went out with her 5th foul and North Carolina was facing a double digit deficit. Let’s start with the power pack.
Danielle Butts: 7 points, 3 rebounds (Associated Press photo)
While dealing with foul trouble of her own, Danielle did what she had to do out there harassing Rutgers’ players, grabbing key rebounds and when each overtime started, she jumped center in place of Mavunga. Yes, that’s right. Do I need to say it? Well I like saying it, so I will. Crazy vertical leap. In the first over time with North Carolina up 4 points, we had the ball on the baseline with a couple of ticks on the shot clock. She wasn’t in the game before that play; but subbed in at that moment. I remembered the Tweet “Alley Oop to Butts and is fouled”. I sat up. This was it. Her reaction was just as I had pictured. (photo from www.nj.com)
You have just got to love her. This is a play North Carolina has run over the years. On Thursday, Danielle rose up for the pass (from Gray) and pushed the ball into the basket in one motion. Here's some perspective. Danielle is 5'10" tall. Previously this play was run with 6'7" Waltia Rolle and before that, 6'3" Jessica Breland. When she went up for the pass, Danielle's waist was almost at the shoulders of her defender. She made the free throw to push the lead to 7 points.
I know people remember that Rutgers came back to tie the game; but, I like to think, “Hey, what if we didn’t built that lead?” And I thought she had another game winner for her career on a later play; but she was called for the charge. Maybe should have pulled up for the jumper the way she did in that Miami game; but I’m sure she thought she had Davis beat and just wanted a better shot.
Jessica Washington: 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal (photo from chapelboro.com)
Okay I know you might be thinking it was one basket. But it was one huge basket when we were behind and time was not on our side in the ball game or on the shot clock. Ball movement was stellar on the play and when Jessica spotted up in the corner she didn’t hesitate and sank a big one right in front of our bench. And it was 13 minutes a starter got some rest. 3 points was after all the margin of victory.
Jamie Cherry: 3 points, 3 assists (Associated Press photo)
Parts of the night were kind of tough for Jamie. She had some passes that got picked off after she’d penetrated the defense, drawn it towards her and tried to get the ball to an open player. But there were three plays where it worked and she got her teammates good shots and Rutgers just adjusted. I still just love what I see from her, how fearless she is in the big moments. And the 3 pointer she hit, was also on a pivotal possession for us. We were down seven points and she hit the shot in the flow of the offense to bring us back to within 4. On our next possession Brittany Rountree hit one to bring us to within one. Our shooters really came through in this one.
Every play was important in this one. N’Dea Bryant and Hillary Summers combined to help fill the space inside. Hilary hit a shot, grabbed 2 rebounds and had a block. N’Dea grabbed a couple of boards and drew a foul on Rutgers and Megan Buckland drew a charge on Rutgers that took away a potential basket.
So was staying up to watch the replay worth it? Especially in light of finding out today the replay is available online now? Eh, I figured I could sleep later and I did. And honestly, this wouldn’t be the nuttiest thing I’ve done in relation to UNC Women’s Basketball. In 1995, I couldn’t afford plane tickets to the Regionals so a friend and I drove across country to Los Angeles in 2 days. Ah to be young and crazy. But most recently, when we were in Greensboro for the 2014 ACC tournament, a lot of people will remember we had a winter storm. Arrived at the Coliseum on Semi-final Saturday to find the parking lot under 2 to 3 inches of ice water. I pulled up to the front, carried (yes, carried) my then 10 year-old daughter getting her as close to the entrance as I could, parked my mini-van and proceeded to walk through the slush wearing my Saucony sneakers. Of course the whole thing only happened because I had not purchased winter boots for my children and me that season. It seems all I need to do for the triangle area to get snow is not buy winter boots.
My daughter’s shoes weren’t water proof; but she was far from soaked. Any familiarity with Saucony sneakers though would let you know they kept about as much water off my feet as if I hadn’t been wearing anything; so I was grateful I had the foresight to pack extra socks and that I never leave home without my son’s stroller. My daughter and I watched the games with our shoes off and our feet wrapped in our coats. Looking around we were far from the only ones doing that. So staying up until almost 4am was nothing right? Yeah, I’m not buying it either. It was more fun than pulling all-nighters at UNC. And on that note, I wish the players and all of the students the best on their finals.
After that, is a game against Appalachian State on December 14th. So excited to see the team again and give them the standing ovation I’ve been saving during that road trip. And I’m ready for the end of, “Mom when are they coming back, it’s been forever!”
Go Heels!
