The second half saw much more use of the bench players and some starters getting some much needed rest. Still, the Tar Heels managed a 22 point victory. Final, North Carolina 78, Clemson 56.
The Tigers play in Littlejohn Coliseum. I hadn't been there in years; so really had little memory of it; but my phone's GPS didn't fail. We parked right outside about an hour before tip-off. This was plenty of time to get nice seats in the section behind our team's bench. All the orange and purple was a little confusing to the short one; but it was all good when he saw his Tar Heels.
Prior to the National Anthem and player introductions a very entertaining video ran on the jumbo-tron. Lightening struck the tiger statue outside Littlejohn and Death Valley, bringing it to life. It then chased down a North Carolina truck, ripping the Tar Heel flag flying on it with its claws. Then he and two others that joined him climbed on top of the North Carolina truck roaring in triumph. My daughter had an interesting reaction...a full giggle.
How the Tar Heels Tamed the Tigers
This was very much a team effort; but two players got a career high today. Our two resident ankle breakers, Jessica Washington and Jamie Cherry. Jessica scored a career high 20 points. Jamie dished out a career high 7 assists.
Jessica Washington: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist (photo from www.goheels.com)
Watching Jessica today I almost wanted to bring those baskets home. Swish here, swish there, everywhere a swish swish. Three pointers, midrange jumpers, lay-ups you name it, she was hitting them today. Throw in a couple of free throws and there you have it. Coach said she played all three guard positions today. Very productive 30 minutes for the sophomore.
Jamie Cherry: 12 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds (photo from www.goheels.com)
Still learning; but I saw some great things out of Jamie today. Her court vision was great. She managed the game really well. She used the screens set for her to get off some nice shots and did not turn the ball over at all.
Stephanie Mavunga: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal (Associated press photo)
Stephanie played a great game. Some fouls; but really a good game. She used her size well and had a good shooting day despite being double teamed some of the day. A lot of the game though we spent trying to figure out a fashion statement she was making with her uniform. Long gone are the days when basketball uniform shorts were...well....short. Stephanie made a little adjustment in hers today. It seemed like a little blast from the past. She took a little ribbing from Clemson's Pep band when she went to the free throw line. They started singing "We wear short shorts" from that "Nair" hair removal cream commercial. I'm sure she got a laugh out of it.
Allisha Gray: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal (photo from www.goheels.com)
It seems I often find myself asking, "How?" when I look at Allisha's numbers. She saw very limited action today. She was able to rest most of the game. How does one manage these numbers in 17 minutes on the court? That's Allisha Gray. She needs very little opportunity to make an impact.
Brittany Rountree: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals (photo from www.goheels.com)
Tough shooting day for Brittany; but she contributed in every positive way in this game. She also spent a bit of time guarding Clemson's best player, Nikki Dixon and that takes a lot of energy. I love how she consistently has assists from the off guard position.
N'Dea Bryant: 7 points, 3 rebounds (photo from www.goheels.com)
So proud of how N'Dea is contributing. She's stepping up and hitting shots consistently and crashing the boards. I hope she continues to see time I love watching her play.
A Little About Our Journey
Since this is a fan experience blog, I'll include a little about our journey. This was a great trip. I've long made road trips part of how I support the team; but with my son being so young, this is the first year since he joined our family that we've traveled over a couple of hours away for a game. Clemson is about five and a half hours from home for us (with one stop to stretch); and not wanting to stretch myself or my son's patience too thin, we made this an overnight trip. I knew from a drive down to Orlando in 2013 that I broke into two days he could handle that much. We left home around 1:00 yesterday afternoon to drive down there.
Thankfully I'm two for two on children who love to travel. With the long-legged one in the third row of the mini-van armed with her books and Kindle Fire and the short one strapped in the 2nd row with his backpack of toys and his tablet within reach, we cruised down I85 South to our home for the night, a Comfort Suites on Interstate Boulevard. It's in Anderson, just outside Clemson, South Carolina. No complaints at all. Nice area (several restaurants, other hotels a gas station and even a movie theater were right on that street) and the rooms were clean and comfortable and we all had a good night's sleep. It was also very easy to find. First right turn off exit 19B of the highway.
We enjoyed the hotel's included breakfast before checking out. One thing I love about Choice Hotels is that breakfast is generally included in the room rate. There was a lot of time before the game; and our hotel was just 10 miles down Highway 76 west from Clemson; but right off 76 West was Veteran's Park in Pendleton, South Carolina. We went there for some play time. Major props to the keepers of this place. It was beautiful and the children loved it.
The road trips aren't done. This coming Thursday, the Tar Heels travel over to Reynolds Coliseum for round two against the Wolfpack of NC State. This game kind of snuck up on me. I'm so used to it being the Hoops for Hope game in February, the one dedicated to raising money for Breast Cancer research. I didn't even purchase tickets for this game until a couple of days ago. We've made multiple trips to this game over the years; but going to Clemson today was a first for my children. On the drive I realized this was the tenth different location my daughter has been to in order to see the Tar Heels play. It's the sixth for my son. We marked that with a picture by the Tiger outside Littlejohn before heading back to the van.
North Carolina is now 16-3. This was a great win today as we were able to see some players rest that would normally play a lot of minutes. Our bench gave us 41 points. And that's good because you need depth to do well in the ACC. NC State is likely gaining confidence winning three of the four games they've played since the loss to UNC on January 4th. They are always tough at home; but UNC should be confident as well with shooting over 52% today while holding the Tigers to 30% and even though it was a loss, the effort the Heels put forth in the Notre Dame game would beat a lot of teams. Hopefully we can keep on the trend the Tar Heel/Wolfpack matchup has been on lately. Until then and as always...
Go Heels!
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