Game 1 in Hawaii: #11 North Carolina Defeats #5 Stanford

Okay confession time: My children and I are spending Thanksgiving weekend with some family.  Lots of food, family, cousin time for my children and snuggle time with a brand new addition.  I have a nephew who was born a few weeks early but is doing well.  He's the star this weekend.  There's nothing like holding a newborn and I have certainly been enjoying every bit of this tiny little miracle.

But tonight at 7, I pulled out my tablet to follow the game.  With everything going on around me, I remembered my favorite sports team had a big game today.  I mean it isn't everyday we play a top 5 opponent.  UNC was looking for it's first victory ever over Stanford.  I got a gift.  It wasn't tense at all watching the game move along on my little device.  Final: North Carolina 70, Stanford 54.

I certainly was expecting a much closer battle and in the first half it was what I expected.  Well, except for both teams struggling to get the ball in the hoop.  Fortunately all of those rebounding drills they have been doing lately were paying off and the team was rebounding the ball very well.  They kept a significant edge in that category through the contest.  Now the personnel we have suggested we could do this; but, rebounding is as much about will as anything else.  Heels won the battle 47 to 32.

So how did this one play out?  Not how many would think.  But those four elements Coach Hatchell gave us, the ones I've done a few posts on this blog about, were all present.  And you'd expect that in a game like this.  Experience, Leadership, Chemistry and Depth: this team seems to take advantage of what the defense allowed, especially in the 2nd half of this game. It doesn't matter who gets the points, they just stick together.  Presenting the hot hand for this game.

 

Latifah Coleman: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists (Associated Press Photo)

 

I remembered writing about how Latifah just does what needs to be done.  In previous years it might have been a surprise to see this type of game; but at this point, I have seen her multiple times just make a few big baskets when the situation called for it.   But it happens as UNC needs it.  It says a lot about her as a player and as a person that she can step forward for a night like this or pivot to another type of game.  It makes North Carolina that much better when multiple players are capable of a big game and it isn't one or two players that everyone expects, especially hitting 4 of 6 shots from distance.

 

Xylina McDaniel: 15 points, 4 rebounds (photo from www.goheels.com)

 

Xylina played a bit of a different game tonight.  Stanford's defense tends to draw her away from the basket and tonight was the same.  But she took advantage and sank three 3-point shots for 9 of her 15 points.  It also meant she didn't coral as many rebounds; but other Tar Heels had that covered.

 

 

 

Stephanie Mavunga: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2 steals (Associated Press photo)

 

Nearly another double double for last week's ACC Player of the Week.  And she continues to add to that already impressive block shots total.  The space she takes up on the inside makes it difficult for a lot of teams and tonight was no different.  Yes, our friends in the striped shirts noticed our inside duo this evening; and, they each had four fouls.  But they both stayed on the court for over 30 minutes.

 

 

Brittany Rountree: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal (photo from www.indyweek.com)

 

Brittany did a good job filling the stat sheet while she was in there tonight.  She and Jessica Washington split duties this evening; along with, Jamie Cherry who contributed 7 points in 9 minutes of action.

 

 

Jessica Washington: 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal (photo from www.goheels.com)

 

 

Jamie Cherry: 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist (photo from www.goheels.com)

 

Now I mentioned chemistry, experience, leadership and depth.  I always do.  Coach Hatchell told us those were important things to this team and I have taken it to heart and try to notice how they stand out in each contest.  When you have a player like North Carolina has in Allisha Gray who has been putting up 20 plus points in each game, it's a real luxury.  When said player can come away with a little less than 20 points and the team still comes out with a big win, it's special.  It wasn't scoring tonight; but Gray made sure she found ways to help the team.  She makes others around her better.

 

 

Allisha Gray: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals (photo from www.goheels.com)

 

The 2nd Half Push

 

Again North Carolina made a big push in the 2nd half of the game.  Must be something about that half-time talk who knows.  I've heard they are amazing.  After a first half of good defense; but some challenges putting the ball in the basket (and with a 25% shooting percentage saying it was a challenge is putting it mildly), the team shot nearly 60% in the second half, including 8 of 12 from deep.  That all added up to a half with 46 points.  Pretty impressive on a night when the fast break points were nonexistent.  Everyone who knows anything about this team knows they can live on fast break points.

 

What to Take From This Win?

 

As a fan, I'm so proud of this one.  We got more than a few looks from the family in the room when I periodically gave my daughter a look at the score.  She remembered the heartbreak at the end of last season and even though this one didn't have the same things at steak, it was very satisfying to get a win over the Cardinal.  It's really great to see the team get a win over a team ranked higher than they are.  It's encouraging to see them come through in that kind of moment, especially this early in the season.

 

For the team, Stanford is a very disciplined team as a rule.  They don't foul much and didn't tonight.  They don't turn the ball over much.  Again that showed tonight.  They are very deliberate in what they do on both ends of the court.  They've been very efficient and scored a lot of points so far this season and tonight were held to 54 points, nearly 30 below their average.  North Carolina is known as the aggressive high risk high reward type of team; but when a team isn't used to the type of thing, it's really unsettling.  Stanford shot 31% tonight; so that is something North Carolina can build upon going forward.

 

The Tar Heels really shared the ball and had a balanced attack even on the boards.  Six players had at least six rebounds.  North Carolina had 16 assists on 26 made baskets.  They had 24 points in the paint and 36 points from the 3 point line.  They've pulled out victories this season in a variety of ways and it's still November.  There are two more games to play in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown; so the Tar Heels can't let down.  It's back to business tomorrow against Prairie View A&M.

 

Go Heels!