Preview: Three keys for No. 3 seed UNC women's basketball to advance to the Sweet 16

No. 3 seed North Carolina (28-7, 13-5 ACC) will take on No. 6 seed West Virginia (25-7, 13-5 Big 12) in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday at 7 p.m. The Tar Heels will battle again on their home turf in Carmichael Arena after shutting down No. 14 seed Oregon State, 70-49, there on Saturday. 

UNC led by only two at halftime against the Beavers but outscored Oregon State 44-25 in the second half behind the sharpshooting of graduate guard Lexi Donarski. 

Now, North Carolina welcomes the Mountaineers, who toppled 11th-seeded Columbia in the first round, 78-59. 

Here are three keys for the Tar Heels to capitalize on if they want a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 and take their third shot at Duke this year:

Handle the ball

West Virginia is the best defensive unit in the Big 12 and one of the best in the nation.

The Mountaineers rank third in the country in forced turnovers per game, averaging nearly 24 per contest. They are also No. 2 nationally in steals per game at 13.8 and lead their conference in opponent points, allowing an average of only 55.6 per game. 

West Virginia runs a press that is known to disrupt the offensive flow of its competition. To combat this, North Carolina — which averages just shy of 13 turnovers a game — must focus on protecting the ball. 

Head coach Courtney Banghart compared the Mountaineer press to that of Louisville, a game that UNC won 79-75 in February. She said she’s been preparing her Tar Heels by showing them the angles of the court to determine the best route to escape such a trap — to use an opponent's pressure against them to create shots for North Carolina.

UNC boasts a variety of ball-handlers, like sophomore guard Reniya Kelly, graduate forward Alyssa Ustby, first-year guard Lanie Grant and graduate guard Grace Townsend. The better choices these playmakers make in response to West Virginia’s defense, the better chance they’ll have to come out on top in the round of 32. 

“Knowing that they’re a really active defensive team and their offense thrives on turning teams over and getting scores in that way, we have to make sure we’re really poised and make good decisions with the ball,” Ustby said.

Group defense 

West Virginia is not the only talented defensive group out there. UNC has been one of the ACC’s best defensive teams all season long.

The Tar Heels rank second in the conference in both opponent points per game, allowing 57.9, and opponent field goal percentage, at 37 percent. 

Led by guards Jordan Harrison and JJ Quinerly — who combined for 50 points in the first round against Columbia — West Virginia likes to attack through its backcourt play. 

Luckily for UNC, highly skilled guards will not be anything new. North Carolina has had its fair share of defending First Team All-ACC selections Ta’Niya Latson at Florida State, Hannah Hidalgo at Notre Dame and Aziaha James at N.C. State throughout conference play. 

“I give a lot of credit to our ACC counterparts,” Banghart said. “I’ve had to prepare for elite guard play, I feel like all year.”

And just as they’ve done all season, they need to play defense together. 

Limiting these dynamic guards will involve avoiding one-on-one matchups. Since West Virginia’s offense is primarily run through guards coming off ball screens, it will be crucial that senior center Maria Gakdeng is quick to contain dribble drives while UNC’s perimeter players work to recover on defense. 

“They get to the paint, they hunt paint touches and they’re very crafty, as well, with the ball,” junior guard Indya Nivar said. “Making sure we’re crowding them, putting them in a crowd, is the best thing for us to do in this game.”

Once a Mountaineer guard gets going downhill, she can be very difficult to stop. 

Feed the post

Gakdeng could be very influential in this game in more ways than one. 

UNC holds a considerable size advantage over West Virginia, which is projected to start four players 5-foot-10 and shorter. 

The Mountaineers' starting big, Kylee Blacksten, matches Gakdeng’s 6-foot-3 frame. Blacksten averages 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. If Gakdeng can find a way to expose the lack of size on the inside, she could help North Carolina pull away with a win. 

Gakdeng leads UNC in points per contest at 11.3, while grabbing 7.6 boards a game. The Maryland native also paces the Tar Heels in field goal percentage, hitting almost 60 percent of her shots. 

Gakdeng said her plan is to continue what she’s been doing: finding her spot in the post early, asking for the ball and being aggressive once she’s got it. 

And her teammates trust her to do it. 

“I don’t think anybody can really guard her in the country,” Nivar said. 

@meganosmithh

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com