Things started out really well with Xylina McDaniel and Stephanie McDaniel getting early buckets. I could tell Oregon was going to have a difficult time with these two. I noted in an earlier post that they are a lethal combo. Today was no different. The Tar Heels had a clear advantage in the paint. When they struggled as they did during the last 10 minutes of the first half, was when they went away from working the ball inside out.
Despite their best player being in the frontcourt, Oregon is a team who shoots a lot of outside shots. They attempted 29 of them today. And in the first half for a while those shots were falling. 3-point baskets for them combined with empty possessions for the Tar Heels resulted in an 11 point lead for the Ducks (25 to 14) during the first half. But as tends to happen when a team shoots a lot of long balls, they eventually stopped finding the net. North Carolina seized the opportunity and closed to within a point by half-time.
The main bright spot in the first half was Stephanie Mavunga who just would not be denied inside. Of North Carolina's 28 first half points, she had 15 of them.
Stephanie Mavunga: 23 points, 18 rebounds, 6 blocks, 2 assists (picture from www.goheels.com)
This young lady just flat out went after it tonight. She was hitting shots from a variety of places on the court and picked that moment when UNC was down 11 points to hit her 2nd career three pointer. It was one of only three long balls UNC would hit today. The versatility in her game was on full display today. Per Twitter she stated she was on a business trip this week and she certainly was all business out there today. She put this team on her back in the first half and continued to go to work in the 2nd half as UNC found ways to get everyone involved to balance out the offensive attack.
Xylina McDaniel: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals (picture from www.goheels.com)
The way Stephanie (Mavunga) and Xylina (McDaniel) work together is like magic. When they are both on the floor, North Carolina's offense can run through either of them and they make each other better. Xylina has impressed me lately with how much she plays with aggressiveness but still under control. Plays that previously may have resulted in a charge call or an impossible shot, she's getting the basket or getting to the line most of the time. She's playing more within herself and UNC is benefitting from it.
Danielle Butts: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal (picture from www.accwbbdigest.com)
I'm never surprised with how much productivity Danielle manages with her minutes. The Pac-12 announcers alluded to her seemingly limitless energy and how much she brings to this team when she comes off the bench. She hit 4 of her 5 shots today and pushed the pace to North Carolina speed.
Allisha Gray: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists (picture from www.goheels.com)
Allisha's performance today is a prime example of making adjustments and the importance of being a multidimensional player. North Carolina's 3-point shot wasn't really falling today. Gray was 0-6 from deep. So what does she do? In what was UNC's concerted effort to attack the paint in the 2nd half of the game, Gray used a variety of moves to get to the rim and score. All 9 of her field goals were within 15 feet.
Second Half Adjustments
If you've watched many games in this sport, this is a really significant area. Whether things have gone well in the first half or not, there are always adjustments to be made in the 2nd. Some the coaching staff will put in while they are doing their half-time talk. Others will come as the 2nd half goes along. Failure to adjust in the 2nd half can and does cost many teams. It's a real credit to the coaching staff and the players when the changes are put in and executed the way North Carolina's were today.
Stephanie Mavunga going to locker room with 15 points at halftime made it clear UNC had an advantage in the paint. Of their 28 half-time points, 18 of them came in the paint. Everything was better in the 2nd half. The ball movement showed patience. Player movement showed a real effort to get each other open. Players kept their heads up and I could tell even on television there was a lot of communication on the both ends of the floor.
North Carolina took the lead on the first possession of the 2nd half with a Stephanie Mavunga lay-up. From their they just continued to execute stretching the lead to double figures.
Then Came the Zone
Then there was that moment. UNC came down for an offensive possession and Oregon was in a zone defense. I don't like when this happens because our team slows down and like most teams, attempt to shoot the other team out of it. It's a natural instinct really. A couple of well timed 3 point shots can bring a team out of a zone. Since 3 balls weren't falling today, that could have been a real issue. Oregon over this stretch hit back to back 3 pointers. Even with the lead still at 17 points, Coach called a timeout. Out of the break, UNC found the hole in the zone. Jessica Washington (as you should against a zone defense) got the ball into the middle where Stephanie took it to the basket. She didn't make the shot; but, her frontcourt partner Xylina (McDaniel) had her back on the glass. The result was an old-fashioned 3 point play.
The 2nd half was UNC 48, Oregon 30. That's what you want.
Non basketball feel good moment of the game was a nice gesture by some Oregon fans who held up a sign welcoming Coach Hatchell back to the sidelines and acknowledging this being her 40th year coaching.
So this being a fan experience blog, I generally talk about how my children watched the game. The timing of this one did allow them to be up to watch. My daughter is louder when we are watching on television than when we are in attendance. She says it is because it's just us here. 11 year-olds are interesting people. When do they stop worrying about looking silly anyway? The two of them spent the evening waving our North Carolina car flags, singing "Here Comes Carolina" and yelling "GET THE REBOUND!" on every Oregon possession like the team could hear them. So as usual the game was not all I had for entertainment.
I'm really proud of the team for keeping calm and just doing what had to be done. They didn't look like the #11 team in the country for a few minutes; but, they put it together on both ends of the court to control the balance of the game.
Both teams played a really clean game. There were under 30 fouls called and the teams combined for only 18 turnovers. In a lot of games one team can have that many. North Carolina has but not this season. Today, North Carolina had....DRUM ROLL....8 turnovers. No it isn't a typo. How's that for an adjustment? Oregon was paced by 18 points and 17 rebounds from Jillian Alleyne who appears to be a really dangerous front court player for them. Even though it took her 17 shots to get there, it appears she plays well within herself. She used her size really well against one of the top frontcourt combos out there on occasion getting the rebound between them. She's a preseason Pac12 Player of the Year candidate and I can definitely see why that is the case. With improvement from the free-throw line (she was 4 or 10), she would have been well over 20 points today. Oregon would do well to run more plays through her; but, they are in their first year with a new coach and I'm sure there will be a lot of changes.
What I imagine we'll see for the next game and as the season goes on is that they continue to improve their offense against the zone and their defense against the 3-point shot. Early in the season defensive rotations are generally a tough area for most teams; but, I can definitely see great improvements on the team's half-court execution. That will go a long ways towards winning games that aren't played at a North Carolina fast tempo.They are off to Hawaii next. Thankfully, GoHeels TV is set to carry all three games out there.
Go Heels!
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