If there was anything encouraging the women’s basketball team took from its 85-79 loss to No. 2 North Carolina on Monday night, the women realized they could compete with bigger teams — even with their key post players in foul trouble.
By the game’s end, sophomore center Chanita Jordan fouled out, and senior forward Khadijah Whittington, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, was limited in her aggressiveness with four fouls.
Though the lack of size may have resulted in foul trouble, the Wolfpack still grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded the bigger Tar Heels 46-38 in the contest. That’s a big difference from the first time the teams met this season, when Carolina beat State up on the offensive glass, grabbing 28 offensive rebounds.
“There are some games where the opposing teams have four guards and one post, and we’re not needed as much,” Jordan said of the post players. “But there are games like [Carolina] where we really need [frontcourt depth] in a game, because the last time we played them they had close to 30 offensive rebounds.”
Jordan said the team has learned to compete with a smaller lineup by focusing on boxing out in practice. Rebounding efficiently has become a point of emphasis for the Pack, who have at times have started five players 6-foot-1 or shorter this season.
“We worked on boxing out the whole week. We watched [Carolina] and what they did, and even our guards worked on it,” Jordan said.
As a result, the guards showed their ability to grab loose balls and chase after rebounds. Sophomore guard Nikitta Gartrell collected 11 rebounds to accompany her 13 points.
“We knew we didn’t have an inside presence, so we had to do every little thing,” Gartrell said. “We were going to the offensive glass, going to the defensive glass, penetrating and getting to the free throw line.”
Other than Jordan and Whittington, the Pack’s only other post player who sees significant minutes is sophomore forward Lucy Ellison, who recently returned from a knee injury. Though Ellison said her conditioning has caused her problems since her return from injury, she believes her team has “come together” in her absence.
“With me being out, it brought the team together more to realize that we can’t depend on one person to do one job,” Ellison said. “We’ve just come together.”
The guards, in particular, have adjusted to playing big on the defensive end of the floor, Ellison said.
“The guards stepped up on the rebounding side,” Ellison said. “A lot of the time, against good teams like Carolina, we’re not going to get the rebound, but we’re going to make sure our man doesn’t get the rebound, and the guards can step up and chase it down.”
Despite the close score against the Heels, who remain unbeaten in conference play, State finds itself at 17-10 overall and 5-7 in the ACC, needing to win its final two conference games to go into the ACC Tournament at .500 in the conference.
“That’s my main motivation,” Gartrell said of finishing the season strong. “The guards have to get together and get on the same page the same way we did [against Carolina], even though we didn’t pull it out. But this season isn’t over. As long as we continue to push through the little things, the aches and pains, the injuries that are holding us back.”
According to Ellison, the women are confident that if they rebound like they did against the Heels and “put it all together” in their remaining games, a bid to the NCAA Tournament is still within reach.
“[The Carolina game] gave us confidence that we are a good team and we can beat good teams. I know we had problems with the referees, but we still only lost by six points to the No. 2 team in the country,” Ellison said. “I think it gives us confidence that we can make the tournament, and we can win the next two games. And we can go far in the ACC [Tournament], and we do have a good chance at making the NCAAs.”
