I’ve said of my child that she is probably the most
competitive non-athlete I have ever met.
I thought she was going to chew through her (brand new) UNC hoodie. My other one.
Well, he’s there to keep everything balanced. He just loves any chance he gets to see the
team, especially Stephanie. He’s looking
for her even when the guys are playing.
Only 5 and already star struck.
We were the underdog last night and that doesn’t happen
often and since we are down a starter, I knew this was going to be a tough
one. It was up and down and neither team
put the other away at any point until the horn sounded. Still, final Notre Dame 89, North Carolina
79.
So, what happened. I’ve
watched a ton of basketball and I went into this one with a list of five things
that needed to happen for my Tar Heels to upset Notre Dame. There’s more; but these were my top five,
just not in any particular order.
- Must
defend the three point line
- Must
avoid foul trouble, but be aggressive
- Must
be patient in the half court sets
- Must
have significant contribution from the bench
- Must
shoot well
Brittany Rountree I believe came into this one poised to have a career night. Her shot is looking better and better and she has always been a great defender. The folks (can’t call them friends for this entry) in the striped shirts had a different view. She was limited to 17 minutes in last night’s game and the Tar Heels already down a starter could ill afford to have one of its top defenders play less than half of the game. So number 2 on my list…that one didn’t quite work out. Rountree hit every shot she took while she was on the floor. I can’t help but wonder what she could have done in this game offensively and defensively; especially when Lindsey Allen went for a career high with 24 points speaking loudly in place of the quiet night from All-American and leading scorer, Jewell Loyd, who had 8.
As to patience in the half court sets, I think they did an
admirable job there. I saw very few
quick shots go up and don’t remember much happening outside the flow of the
offense. And generally impatience in the
half court will generate a bunch of turnovers and North Carolina only had 11
for the game (Notre Dame had 17). So I’d
give that one a check. I’d also give the
bench contribution a check. N’Dea
Bryant, Jessica Washington and Jamie Cherry gave us 27 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
Shooting wasn’t quite where it needed to be. I estimated we needed to shoot around 45% and
we were around 37 or 38% depending on the source of your box score. I think it dropped a couple of percentage
points in the last minute or so when there were a lot of quick shots in the
attempt at one more rally; but a couple of players had tough nights in that
area though they contributed in other ways. The Tar Heels hit 39% from three
point range and that is a good number.
It was inside the arc where difficulties arose.
Difficulties name was Brianna Turner. She had 7 blocks. Now she is a phenomenal player. She also had 29 points and 18 rebounds. Still, here’s where the folks in the striped shirts
had me confused. I won’t say much about
this; even though this is a fan blog and some bias is expected. I will say though I did hear from a friend who was at the game
sitting near an official with 30 years of experience. She said he couldn’t believe what he was
seeing.
So what I’ll say is this. All I ask is consistency from those
folks. If they are consistent with the whistles I believe
the players will adjust whichever way they need to. If not well…you get confusion, frustration
and anger. In 25 years of watching this
team, I’ve always admired how Coach stuck by and stuck up for her players. Still, this is something I had never seen
before. But hey, she warned us all prior
to the season she had more fire in her.
And I’m sure the team is all the better for her sticking up for them. (photo from www.goheels.com)
So that covers my five things. I would be remiss though if I didn’t mention
the effort from the students in last night’s game. As an alumnus of the university I was happy
for how they showed up and stayed vocal through the game. I especially love the guy with the big
hair in the front row. He seems to show up no matter who
else does (or doesn’t). He is up the
entire time doing whatever he can to support the team.
As I always do though, here’s the player breakdown.
Danielle Butts: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals (photo from www.goheels.com)
Challenged with playing taller than 5'10" night in and night out, I've seen Danielle develop and improve over every year she has been at UNC. How she manages some of the shots she makes I don't know. She's figured out how to combine an inside and an outside game to help the team. Her athletic ability helps a lot; but I've seen over time how she's become more disciplined. With the height Notre Dame had, this was essentially a mismatch game for her; but she contributed.
Stephanie Mavunga: 13 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 steals (photo from www.goheels.com)
Stephanie was pretty much double teamed the entire night. It takes that much effort to defend her. I had hoped we could get single coverage on her in this game though it wasn't one of the five things I listed. Some other players hit some big shots; but Notre Dame still continue to double. Stephanie got 4 assists out of the double team; since shooting was tough. One of the people she loves to pass to out of the double though is Brittany Rountree.
I've already talked about how Brittany was limited in this one. The 8 points was on two three pointers and a midrange jumper. She was perfect from the floor and great on defense while she was in the game.
N'Dea Bryant: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal (photo from www.goheels.com)
I sometimes call N'Dea my sleeping giant. I can't call her that anymore. I've remarked how she has one of the smoothest jumpers I've seen and she hit some big baskets in this game. What I love is her confidence. She's defending well, crashing the boards and showing more intensity.
It was a tough night shooting for Latifah. Not sure how the shoulder is feeling. I know it's been bothering her all year; but she made good decisions with her passing and ball handling. Not one turnover in the game to 6 assists.
Many freshmen might be intimidated in a game like this; but we found out early on not much could do that with Jamie Cherry. There wasn't one shot in this game that wasn't a big one and she hit some of those including a couple of three pointers, one of which came when UNC was mounting a comeback late.
Jessica hit some big shots as a part of the effort from our bench. But oh my! Somebody needs to get an extra of one of those massage certificates they give away at these games and give it to Jessica after last night. She's never been one to shy away from contact or risking her body on a play. You can't let her size fool you. There's a lot of strength packed in there. I don't know how many loose balls she went after. You certainly can't fault the effort.
As seen in this photo, Allisha was really too quick for whoever was guarding her on the perimeter. Notre Dame really depended on Turner for clean-up when this kind of thing happened. I remember at the end thinking "how did she manage 20 points?". She was having a tough night from the field. She was guarded heavily and had some type of calf issue. But, she stayed aggressive. Despite how certain plays went, despite "no calls" like this.
Oh, I said I wasn't going to mention that again. Other than this play, she did get some trips to the line, where she was a perfect 10 for 10. I'm not one to blame officials for a loss and anyone who knows me will tell you that. A few shots bounce one way and not the other who knows. We did have some opportunities we missed on both ends.
Just saying I noticed those folks more on some nights than others. Last night was one of those nights. Even my daughter reacted and she hates when I yell at the refs. I think for her it's 100% because she's protective of the team. When you go to as many games as we do, it starts to feel like they're family. On the walk back to the van she told me "I had to ask Jesus to help me keep my butt in the seat on some of those plays mom."
Moving Forward
So what's to take forward from this one? Despite the outcome, I could see that the Tar Heels have arrived at a level of intensity they need to maintain through the rest of the season. I mentioned intensity at the top of this post, and it's vital in a league like the ACC where any team can get you on any night. In some games, you could see a lack there. That wasn't the case here.
Finally, in truth, though the polls don't show it, Notre Dame is likely the 2nd best team in the country based on how everyone is playing now. Their faces as they left the court after the alma mater let me know the North Carolina players believe they were every bit capable of taking this one. There were times in past seasons I worried for how a loss like this might shake their confidence. I don't have that worry. I need to be right. Another battle in this long war down in Clemson, South Carolina on Sunday.
As always,
Go Heels
Note: I'm pulling out my Nikon 820 more at games now. I'm still learning its capabilities. Any photo not noted from another source, I snapped with my own device.
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