Stephanie Mavunga's double-double lifts Tar Heels over Boston College

It seems like only three things in life are certain — death, taxes and a Stephanie Mavunga double-double.

And in the North Carolina women’s basketball team’s 72-60 win against ACC opponent Boston College Sunday, the latter could be seen once again.

The sophomore forward recorded 25 points and 14 rebounds — good enough for the 20th double-double of her career — and proved to be an indomitable force for a relatively small Eagles’ lineup.

“She was able to turn over that right shoulder and hit that money-shot, and she had some big ones down the stretch,” said Boston College Coach Erik Johnson after Sunday’s matchup.

“I don’t know if that’s as much on us as it is a great player making some plays, but North Carolina did a nice job isolating her and giving her some good opportunities.”

Things got started fairly early for Mavunga, as on the opening possession she positioned herself in the high-post, caught an entry-pass from Brittany Rountree and hit a silky-smooth turnaround jumper for the first basket of the game.

But as the first half wore on, the Eagles' pressure became tougher and the opportunities became thinner for the Brownsburg, Ind., native. After putting up six points in the first three minutes, Mavunga only mustered seven points the rest of the half as the Tar Heels found themselves down 36-34 at the break.

With her team shooting a horrid 0-7 from 3-point range, Coach Sylvia Hatchell walked into the locker room at halftime with a simple request for her team — get the ball down low.

“I told them we were gonna get the ball inside,” she said.

And when the Tar Heels came out to begin the second period, a new offensive game plan took over, and the team’s guards began to feed Mavunga more and more.

And while the added attention from her teammates allowed the sophomore to get several open looks, not all of the baskets were easy.

At no point was that clearer than with 16:03 left in the second half, when sophomore guard Jessica Washington charged into the lane and attempted a layup. Mavunga waited on the right side of the basket, and as Washington’s shot rolled out, she jumped up to try and tip the ball in.

But Mavunga missed, and she had to reach up to corral the ball once again.

Another miss. Another rebound.

And after her third offensive board of the possession, the forward rose up and made sure her next shot was true, laying the ball in softly off the glass.

The tenacity to follow her shot, Mavunga said, came from the constant pleas of her associate head coach to not take any baskets for granted.

“Coach Calder always yells at us in practice or when we’re watching film about not assuming that something is gonna go in,” she said. “Sometimes the rim plays games with me. Sometimes you put up a shot and it’ll go around and around and you think it’s gonna go in and all of a sudden it comes out.”

The Tar Heels relied on the intensity of its star post player for the remainder of the second half, trusting Mavunga to lift them over a tough Boston College team.

Mavunga said this trust gave her the assurance she needed to take her game to the next level.

“That just really builds my confidence up, knowing that my teammates and coaches believe in me,” she said. “So I just try to go out and perform as well as they think I can.”

sports@dailytarheel.com