RALEIGH — Standing in a mostly empty Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday night, Janelle Bailey smiled when asked for her thoughts on North Carolina’s 76-68 loss to rival N.C. State.
“How do I say this ...” the junior began. “Can I have the stat sheet?”
She pored over the final box score, acclimated herself with the numbers and continued.
“OK, so, the person I was guarding was four of 12,” Bailey told the Daily Tar Heel. “And she made 14 free throws — went there 16 times. I don't have to say anything else. That's pretty much my summary of the game.”
She spoke for her team and coach alike with that carefully worded yet crystal clear answer.
The Tar Heels (14-6, 5-4 ACC) came to Raleigh looking to topple the No. 8 Wolfpack for the second time this season. But they left with more frustration toward the game’s referees than toward anything they did too poorly or N.C. State (19-1, 8-1 ACC) did too well.
A primer on the stats Bailey referenced and the story they tell: N.C. State forward Elissa Cunane, who struggled in the teams’ first meeting, shot 16 free throws. UNC, as a team, shot 14. The Tar Heels were called for 18 fouls — including a technical assessed to the bench — to the Wolfpack’s 12.
And, most notably, Bailey and fellow forward Malu Tshitenge spent long stretches of the rivalry game on the bench, deep in foul trouble, unable to play the heavy minutes they have all season as UNC’s starting frontcourt. By game’s end, both had fouled out.
“I think Janelle played through adversity like a grown woman,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “I think Malu played through adversity like a grown woman. It was hard because you can't really tell what they're doing wrong — because I don't know, right?”
