Paris Kea driving against Elizabeth Balogun
Sports

Role Players for the Lady Tar Heels Come up Big in First ACC Tournament Game

Landon Bost

Greensboro – Both benches looked quite different in the second round ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament matchup between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and North Carolina Tar Heels. 

The Yellow Jackets were without head coach MaChelle Joseph due to an ongoing suspension due to a “personal matter”. Also, Yellow Jackets sophomore Kierra Fletcher and junior Francesca Pan left the team when Joseph got suspended.

Tar Heels junior guard Stephanie Watts didn’t play due to her hyper-extended knee. Moreover, their second team All-ACC sophomore center Janelle Bailey sat out after being ejected at the end of their last game against the Duke Blue Devils. 

The Tar Heels started the game slowly, however, Carolina’s role players lifted them to an 80-73 victory over the Yellow Jackets. 

Impact Players 

Leah Church, Tar Heels sophomore guard: Church shot 6-8 from the 3-point line and knocked down two free-throws for a season high of 20 points.

Jocelyn Jones, Tar Heels redshirt sophomore guard: Jones’ 14 points tied her career-high. She also snagged a season-high of nine rebounds. 

Paris Kea, Tar Heels redshirt senior guard: After scoring four points in the first half, Kea exploded in the third quarter with 11 points. She also finished with nine assists and zero turnovers. 

Game Commentary 

  • Church went 3-3 from the 3-point to score Carolina’s first nine points of the game 
  • Tar Heels guards Paris Kea, Taylor Koenen and Shayla Bennett shot 2-14 from the floor for five points in the first quarter.
  • Yellow Jackets’ ACC Freshman of the Year guard Elizabeth Balogun picked up two fouls in the first quarter and sat the rest of the quarter. She erupted for a career-high of 35 points against Carolina earlier this year. 
  • The Yellow Jackets ran a soft full-court press, and dared the Tar Heels to score from the perimeter in the half-court.
  • The Tar Heels attacked the paint more in the second quarter than the first. 
  • Carolina went on 9-0 run to tie the game at 33 with just over three minutes left in the quarter. However, they went on a scoring drought to finish the half trailing the Yellow Jackets 35-40. 
  • Carolina and Tech went back-and-forth to start the second half. 
  • Balogun picked up two fouls in the in the third quarter. She went to the bench after her fourth foul with 4:43 remaining. Both fouls were drawn by Church. 
  • The Yellow Jackets capitalized on multiple second chance opportunities in the fourth quarter to keep the game close.
  • Jones stepped up and made game-changing plays on both ends of the court down the stretch. 
  • After milking the clock, Church drilled a dagger 3-point shot with 39 seconds left to give the Tar Heels a 77-70 lead. 

Quick Hits 

  • The bench erupted when Tar Heels junior center Naomi Van Ness made her first shot, that basket was her third of the season. 
  • Church tied her season-high of 12 point in the first half from four 3-pointers. 
  • Balogun scored on the Yellow Jackets first possession of the second half after sitting the entire second quarter. 
  • Tar Heels head coach Sylvia Hatchell subbed in junior guard Olivia Smith for Kea with for her first free-throw attempts this season with 25 seconds left in the game after Kea took a shot to the face. She split the free-throws to give Carolina a 78-72 lead. 
  • Tar Heels guard Shayla Bennett finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. 

Firsthand Perspective 

“I thought that, for the most part, they hurt us with second shots,” said Yellow Jackets acting head coach Mark Simmons. “And then, Paris Kea is a heck of a player and she took over the game in the second half.”

“It hurt us that Elizabeth got in early foul trouble,” Simmons said, “and we had to limit her minutes in the first half. And then she wasn’t herself when she came back.”

“I challenged them all to step up,” said Hatchell, “and they did. Jocelyn made some big baskets, had some big rebounds. And she’s a physical-type player. She loves a game like this.”

“I was just trying to take advantage of this awesome opportunity,” Church said. “It’s been a dream of mine to play in the ACC Tournament. To have this chance, I didn’t want to waste it.”

“Well,” said Kea, “I feel like there were a few calls that I didn’t get. They were very physical. So, I just had to learn to just play through the foul really down the stretch.”

“It’s a day-to-day thing with Stephanie,” Hatchell said. “… And then Bailey will play tomorrow.”

What’s Next

The Tar Heels play the No.1 seed Norte Dame Fighting Irish tomorrow at 2 p.m.