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'No other option but to win': UNC women lean on young guards in NCAA Tournament
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- 'No other option but to win': UNC women lean on young guards in NCAA Tournament
CHAPEL HILL— UNC women's basketball has reached back-to-back Sweet 16s for the first time in a decade, and the Tar Heels have done it behind the precocious play of a young guard trio.
In their second-round win over fifth-seeded Maryland (24-9), Tar Heels Elina Aarnisalo, Nyla Brooks and Lanie Grant combined for 47 points and 18 rebounds, accounting for 64% of the offense in a 74-66 victory that tested the fourth-seeded Tar Heels' ability to adapt.
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That production doesn't happen without the key ingredients of poise and execution – characteristics typical of veteran players with experience. But UNC's young guards are showing an exceptional ability to trust game planning and make the right play in the moment.
"We knew it would be a dog fight," Grant said. "So, even though we were up by double digits, we knew we couldn't let up. They gave us a good run, and we kind of just did a good job of absorbing that and not panicking, not trying to do too much, not getting away from the game plan."
That kind of focus is exceptional for a veteran guard, but Grant is only 18 years old. A sophomore this season, she decided to reclassify in high school, graduated early and joined the Tar Heels (28-7) last season after committing when she was just 14.
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She's part of a UNC roster that ranks among the youngest in Power 4 with an average age just over 19 and only two seniors in Nyla Harris and Indya Nivar.
"We're a young team and there's a lot of trust in that locker room," Heels coach Courtney Banghart said. "These guys just really embraced 'hard' this whole year. … They were complete warriors."
Aarnisalo, who joined UNC from UCLA as one of only two Tar Heel transfers in the offseason, was one shy of a career high with 21 points against the Terps, effectively setting the offensive tone for the Tar Heels with a pair of layups to start the game.
"We had to play a different way," Banghart said. "We love to share the ball and space you out and beat you on the inside and attack you from the arc, and this team really wanted to go 1v1 and they wanted you to win your matchup."
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UNC's guards flipped their pass-first mindset to one of attacking, and it worked.
"There were times Lanie and I had the ball and saw the paint empty and it's go time at that point," Aarnisalo, a sophomore from Finland, said.
The guards consistently got around the first defender and drove straight to the hoop, showing the adaptability and skillset it takes to win in March.
Brooks, a freshman and McDonald's All-American, was key to UNC's flexibility against Maryland, and she pulled up for the dagger triple in transition to double the Heels' lead with 1:43 to go after the Terps had trimmed it to just three on an Oluchi Okananwa layup.
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Brooks then pulled down a defensive rebound that led to a Grant layup and an eight-point lead with less than a minute remaining.
"Brooks has proved herself. … She's ready for those big moments," Grant said, calling the late 3-pointer the biggest shot of Brooks' collegiate career so far. The freshman's contributions on defense and creating spacing on offense were also difference-makers for UNC.
"They were really staying out on our shooters so having Brooks in to spread the floor a little bit, it allowed me and E to get to the rim more," Grant said. "Next game, we could have a completely different core group that's playing big minutes. So that's what's so beautiful about this team and this program."
Banghart credited a grueling ACC schedule for preparing UNC for the physicality of the postseason and compared Maryland's offensive balance, rebounding and perimeter defense to that of ACC champion Duke. Add Brooks and her "money's always good" mantra to the mix and the Tar Heels have added flexibility, often playing with just one big to tackle Maryland.
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That's by design, and it's something Banghart emphasizes as she builds one winning roster after another from the inside out.
"There's so many different ways to build your team," Banghart said. "The story that gets told the most is, interestingly, through the general manager route, the teams that have all the transfers.
"The story that gets told the least is the coaches that trust their recruiting and develop their players."
One of those is players is Reniya Kelly, who averaged 9.6 points as a sophomore last season (she's spent all three years at UNC) and dropped a career-high 24 points against Miami this season before going down with an injury and missing the Tar Heels' last 11 games.
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That impactful loss makes UNC's NCAA Tournament run even more impressive, and the ability of the Tar Heels' young guards to adapt, along with their game IQ, has the Heels looking like a dangerous matchup.
"In March," Grant said, "there's kind of an urgency where you know there's no other option but to win."
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC womens basketball young guards in March Madness
