No. 4 seed Tar Heels defeat No. 13 seed UT Martin

There’s a game that isn’t recorded by a box score.

It starts long before the tip-off and continues long after the final whistle. It’s affected by what happens during a game, but, more often than not, it affects how that game itself turns out. And Sunday night, the No. 4 North Carolina women’s basketball team let it take them over completely.

For better or for worse, the Tar Heels succumbed to the mental game.

While it started long before UNC survived No. 13 UT Martin 60-58, it was 30 minutes prior to the game that it was most prevalent.

Both teams sat in the stands of Carmichael Arena watching the first game of the afternoon — two teams personifying two contrasting mentalities.

As Michigan State decimated Hampton University, freshman guard Diamond DeShields stood with the Hampton marching band, dancing along to the drum line as her teammates cheered her on. Across the court, the Skyhawks solemnly and silently focused on the game in front of them and seemingly nothing else.

But when the two teams finally met on the court, the mood was drastically different.

“I ain’t going to lie,” freshman Allisha Gray said. “I was a little nervous before the game. It’s definitely a whole different atmosphere.”

At halftime of a game that was poised to be a blowout, UT Martin led UNC 35-22.

“I think the first half was us getting all the nerves aside,” Gray said.

But those nerves still seemed prevalent deep into the second half. With 10 minutes 51 seconds remaining, the Skyhawks led by 18.

For DeShields, that was when it clicked.

“We collectively decided that we didn’t want the season to end,” she said. “With time running down in the second half, we had 10 minutes to continue our season, basically. I know I wasn’t ready to stop playing.”

In fact, it was almost as if DeShields decided to start playing at that moment. The freshman had two points in the first half but added 13 in the second. Her free throws with 10 minutes and 39 seconds left in the game started UNC on a 15-0 run.

While UNC managed to escape the grave it had been digging for itself, DeShields acknowledged that almost wasn’t the case and that UNC had no one to blame but itself.

The Tar Heels had prepared for the smaller, feisty Skyhawks, they had prepared for a persistent press and a triangle-and-two defense, but there was one thing DeShields said was missing.

“I really think it was completely our fault,” DeShields said. “As far as preparation goes, we weren’t mentally prepared for that game.”

The Tar Heels slowly started to chip away at the deficit, but it took even more motivation for the team to fully commit.

With just under nine minutes left, DeShields caught an elbow to the throat and hit the floor. UT Martin’s Tiara Caldwell was charged with a flagrant-1 foul.

“After that, we had this fire,” freshman Stephanie Mavunga said. “This fire in everyone’s eyes. We were furious.

“You’re not going to do that to our teammate. We’ve got something for you.”

The Tar Heels finished the game on a 28-8 tear, capping the team’s biggest comeback this season.

When sophomore Xylina McDaniel hit a layup while sitting down on the court, UNC’s earlier sense of anxiety was gone and finally, the Tar Heels were back to one mentality they were familiar with. Fun.

“I’ve never seen a bench so enthusiastic,” Mavunga said. “It was crazy. I’ve never seen the girls on the court have so much fun.”

And as a Skyhawk 3-pointer with two seconds left skyed off of the backboard, that fun found a much-welcome companion — relief.

For two more days at least, DeShields and UNC could keep dancing in the Big Dance.

sports@dailytarheel.com