UNC women's basketball relies on balance in ACC tournament win against Georgia Tech

GREENSBORO — Balance.

It’s pivoting on one foot, pirouetteing and lofting the ball upwards with the flick of a wrist. It’s a bounce pass — not too firm or too soft, but just right — perfectly in step with a cutting teammate.

But there’s something more meaningful than any individual play, any one moment of unparalleled grace. When that word, balance, transcends letters and becomes a strategy lived out on the basketball court, it’s hard to change it back.

Such was the case in the North Carolina women’s basketball team’s (24-7, 10-6 ACC) 84-64 victory over Georgia Tech (18-14, 7-9 ACC) Thursday night in the second round of the ACC tournament. Seven different Tar Heels scored at least eight points, including all five starters.

“I thought this was one of the most balanced attacks that I’ve ever seen a North Carolina team have,” Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph said.

UNC didn’t begin the night as such a well-oiled machine, though.

For the first several minutes of the game, the Tar Heels looked to one player and one player only: Stephanie Mavunga. The sophomore forward exemplified depth early on — a layup here, a free throw there, even a mid-range jumper or two for good measure.

By halftime she already had 14 points. Coach Sylvia Hatchell’s plan had worked, but it was time for a change in attack.

“If you can get Stephanie a couple buckets, she’ll get going,” Hatchell said. “Allisha (Gray) is the same way. We run some things for them and if they can get a couple buckets, then they get rolling, and that’s pretty important for us.”

After not scoring a point in the first half, it was Gray’s turn. An ankle injury momentarily gave pause to her efforts and sent her to the locker room, but her return minutes later was seamless.

She, like seemingly all her teammates, was everywhere.

In her first possession back on the court, Gray scored a layup — nothing intricate or elaborate, but two of her eventual 14. Harping on her efforts alone, though, would be nearsighted.

N’Dea Bryant, after she was held scoreless at Duke on Sunday, rebounded with eight of her own. Latifah Coleman tacked on 10, while Brittany Rountree added nine.

Mavunga may have led the team in scoring, but even she poured in a little extra Thursday night. Sixteen-rebounds, not to mention a career-high eight blocks, were the cherry on top of possibly her most dominant performance all season following a disappointing one at Duke.

“I don’t think I was motivated to have a good game, but I just knew that I really had to step up big, especially after having such a bad game the other day,” Mavunga said. “I felt like I let my teammates down the other night.

“I knew I had to just turn it around.”

On a night such as Thursday, though, there is no one star, no singular entity willing an entire team to victory. It was a team effort in the truest sense of the words, the combined excellence of any number of players.

It was, in the utmost sense, a matter of balance.

sports@dailytarheel.com