Varied defensive schemes lift Tar Heels to victory

The offense was rolling, but it was the defense — physical, on-the-ball and unrelenting — that proved the most important.

In the North Carolina women’s basketball team’s 76-56 win against Wake Forest on Thursday night at Carmichael Arena, No. 14 UNC pressed and pressured the Demon Deacons for most of the game’s 40 minutes, and that pressure led the Tar Heels to victory.

“We kept throwing a lot of different things out there,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “Our kids are active, and that makes a difference.”

The Tar Heels (23-3, 11-2 ACC) forced the Demon Deacons (11-14, 4-9) into 23 turnovers and a number of hurried shots and possessions. They held them to 36.4 percent shooting, and only two Wake Forest players scored in double figures.

Driving the strong defensive effort in the first half was an insistent full-court press that confounded Wake and resulted in easy steals and even easier layups. UNC had 20 points off turnovers; Wake Forest had nine.

“I love playing defense, because I feel like it really does get your offense flowing,” freshman forward Xylina McDaniel said.

The Tar Heels stopped pressing when Hatchell realized Wake Forest guard Chelsea Douglas, who finished the game as her team’s leading scorer, found holes in the press. They then reverted to full-court, man-to-man defense.

“We came out of it because Douglas is so quick,” Hatchell said. “She is really good at finding people, and then also she can score. So we just started picking them up full court … I told them, ‘Keep her in front of you.’”

They listened, and by the end of the game Douglas was one of three Wake Forest players to turn the ball over at least four times.

North Carolina continued its spirited defense for the rest of the half — it allowed Wake Forest only 24 points in the first 20 minutes — and led by 19 at the break.

In the second half, UNC successfully implemented even more defensive schemes.

“We really started coming after them hard with the double-team on screens,” Hatchell said, adding that her team soon began switching on defense. “We have so many different things (that) sometimes we really confuse ourselves.”

But what remained constant was the Tar Heels’ unyielding ball pressure, which led them into foul trouble. So they changed strategies again.

And though one year ago McDaniel was playing against high schoolers, she said she’s nearly learned North Carolina’s complex defenses.

“The transition for defense from high school to college … It was complicated,” she said. “I’m still working on it, and it’s not that hard, but I definitely put in some hard work.”

It seemed to pay off Thursday — McDaniel had a block and two steals, and that’s only what appeared on the stat sheet.

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.