UNC women’s basketball fights through first half, holds off Duke in 61-56 ACC win
Following UNC’s 11-point victory at Virginia earlier this month, North Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart spoke about the need for her team to “find ways to win without shooting the ball.”
In Thursday night’s matchup against the No. 13 Blue Devils, it was clear that 17th-ranked North Carolina would have to once again find a creative solution for its offensive woes. After shooting under 30 percent from the floor in the first half, the Tar Heels turned to a trusty tool — their 3-2 zone defense.
“Three,” an active and amoeba-like zone, aided UNC in its dominant third quarter — in which it outscored Duke 19-10. This paved the way for the Tar Heels (13-5, 4-3 ACC) to defeat Duke (16-2, 6-1 ACC), 61-56, handing the Blue Devils their first conference loss of the season.
Duke head coach Kara Lawson knew UNC’s zone was coming. Her Blue Devils aren’t the first ACC team to fall victim to the strategy.
Wes Moore said that North Carolina’s 3-2 gave his team “some trouble” following N.C. State’s 56-47 loss to UNC on Sunday. The defensive strategy was also crucial in the Tar Heels’ upset of Notre Dame. UNC went to its “three” formation and outscored the Fighting Irish 17-9 in the third quarter of that game.
“We really just tried to work on having movement, just keep moving,” Lawson said of her team’s approach against UNC’s 3-2. “Flash into the open areas. Really, against a zone, you’re trying to find the open areas.”
Initially, this approach worked for the Blue Devils, as they traded buckets with the Tar Heels to start the second half.
North Carolina stuck with its defensive principles, though, and went on a 9-0 run to close out the third quarter. North Carolina’s knack for tipping the ball away, getting out in transition and hitting easy layups allowed UNC to jump out to a nine-point lead.
“I think we went 9-10 at some point in the third quarter,” Banghart said. “We haven’t gone 9-10 in a while, so I remember all of those. But I also remember the defensive tip-balls and the communication. The combination of good offense, good defense gave you the little run you needed in a game like this.”
The activity of the post — not only in the third quarter, but throughout the game — was crucial for the undersized Tar Heels. UNC held Duke center Kennedy Brown to just two points in 31 minutes. This interior pressure put the onus on the Blue Devil guards to knock down outside shots at a high clip.
In the final minute, Duke cut its deficit to just three points thanks to a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Shayeann Day-Wilson.
When asked what allowed North Carolina to hold on to its lead in the fourth quarter, Banghart was blunt: “(There was) less game left.”
The Blue Devils’ full-court press and the Tar Heels’ 12 fourth-quarter fouls — four of which were committed by junior wing Kennedy Todd-Williams — allowed Duke to sneak back in.
“She said she won’t do it again, so we trust her,” UNC junior point guard Deja Kelly said.
While Kelly, junior small forward Alyssa Ustby and Banghart shared a chuckle in postgame interviews over Todd-Williams’ blunders and UNC’s narrow escape, the Tar Heels know they can’t get complacent.
This week’s wins mark the first time North Carolina has defeated ranked N.C. State and Duke teams in back-to-back games, but these games were also North Carolina’s worst scoring performances of the season. UNC shot a combined 31.5 percent in its rivalry contests. Despite a four-game win streak, the Tar Heels have put up two of their worst field goal percentages on the season this past week.
If the Tar Heels hope to make a deep postseason run, North Carolina’s temporary shooting slump can’t become a permanent trend.
“I know what I’m getting in these guys,” Banghart said. “I can just remind them that we scored three total baskets in the second quarter. This group, our offense is going to have to be better. We’re going to have to make more shots… we’ve got to make more shots.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 10:25 PM.