Women’s basketball team bounces back from a tough loss

Following the No. 8 North Carolina women’s basketball team’s 84-59 loss to Pittsburgh, Coach Sylvia Hatchell considered her team’s effort level unacceptable. The Panthers out-played the Tar Heels decisively, and Hatchell decided to do something about it.

“We learned mental toughness at 6 a.m. the next morning,” said sophomore forward Stephanie Mavunga.

The lessons learned in that practice showed on the court Sunday afternoon against Georgia Tech (12-6, 2-2 ACC). The Tar Heels (15-2, 2-1 ACC) opened the game on a 12-4 run and the outcome was never in doubt on the way to a 96-81 win.

“This is the way we need to play the rest of the year,” Hatchell said.

Four Tar Heels scored in double digits, led by Mavunga with 20 points and 13 rebounds. UNC tied a season-high of 96 points while playing its fifth game without junior forward Xylina McDaniel.

Without McDaniel, UNC opted for a four-guard lineup that left Mavunga as the only forward. Hatchell said the lineup created matchup issues because, with four other guards who can drive and shoot threes, it becomes hard for teams to double Mavunga down low. She capitalized on the mismatch with a huge game.

Senior guard Brittany Rountree and sophomore guard Allisha Gray both finished in double digits, while sophomore guard Jessica Washington tied a career high with 16 points off the bench. Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph credited Washington’s points as the difference-maker in the game, given UNC’s bench outscored the Yellow Jackets’ 38-24.

“My mentality is to just be focused and let the game come to me,” Washington said. “My teammates are going to find me, they’re going to get me open, and the rest is just going to come to me.”

Georgia Tech, which Hatchell described as a physical team, came into the game with a size advantage. But UNC outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 49-38, including 24 offensive rebounds.

“(Against Pitt), we got torn up on the rebounds,” Mavunga said. “That’s not Carolina basketball and that’s not how we play.

“We just picked up the energy and we played Carolina basketball today.”

A halftime video of Hatchell — who missed the 2013-14 season because of her cancer diagnosis — advertised ‘Be the Match Day,’ encouraging people to have their cheeks swabbed to see if they were a match as a bone marrow donor.

Hatchell said some members of the gospel choir that sang the game’s national anthem worked at the facility where she received treatment and would sing to her, lifting her spirits during low times.

“Those people took care of me,” Hatchell said. “That’s a special group of people because of the job that they have.

“It’s not always all about basketball.”

sports@dailytarheel.com