UNC women's basketball holds off No. 10 South Carolina

With nine minutes and 21 seconds remaining in Wednesday night’s clash against cross-border rival South Carolina, the North Carolina women’s basketball team saw its once 13-point lead cut to two and its hopes of beating a top-10 opponent rapidly dwindling.

In the face of this adversity, the No.14 Tar Heels once again turned to sophomore forward Xylina McDaniel, who had previously hit two clutch 3-pointers to hinder the No. 10 Gamecocks’ comeback attempt.

McDaniel received the ball at the top of the key, drove to her right and, with sheer determination, converted a highly contested layup attempt.

This was as close as the Gamecocks (9-1) would come as the Tar Heels (10-2) went on to seize a 74-66 victory against their previously undefeated foe in the final game of the team’s annual trip to Myrtle Beach.

The layup by McDaniel, the Columbia, S.C. native, accounted for two of the 12 vital second-half points she scored. Freshman guard Diamond DeShields, who finished with 17 points despite being in foul trouble for most of the game, praised McDaniel for her strong performance in what was a homecoming of sorts for her.

“Xy’s an animal,” said DeShields. “We all know that — the nation knows that. But, tonight, I believe she really found herself — against a top opponent. That was a huge win over her old teammates, and this was a home crowd for her. She had a lot of family and friends in the stands, so she performed.

It was a battle for her. She did well. She did great.”

A battle is what the Tar Heels were preparing for entering Wednesday’s contest. The Gamecocks were ranked second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing a mere 45.8 points per game, and fourth in shooting percentage, 50.3 percent from the field.

In addition to those daunting statistics, associate head coach Andrew Calder said coach Sylvia Hatchell, who continues to fight leukemia, informed the team of what to expect and how to approach the game.

“(She said) it was going to be a very physical game, be very tough because it was going to be a battle, control your emotions, your body language is very important,” Calder said. “Coach Calder was probably the most that didn’t follow that — I got into it pretty good. But the girls were very poised and showed a lot of encouragement to each other.”

Calder also emphasized the team’s ability to win on the boards as a key factor in the victory. USC had been outrebounding its opponents by 12.7 boards per game, but the game culminated with UNC holding a 43-33 advantage. Leading the team in this category was freshman forward Stephanie Mavunga, whose 12 rebounds accentuated her 20-point performance.

Mavunga said, despite her superb performance, it was a team effort that resulted in the Tar Heels walking away as the victors.

“It was a hard-fought great team win, and everybody did a good job of something — the bench players, starters, or everyone as a whole,” Mavunga said. “Whether it was aggressiveness, hustle, or knocking down shots when we needed them.

“It was a phenomenal team win.”