Women's basketball team overpowers Coppin State

In the waning minutes of Sunday’s 91-51 drubbing of the Coppin State Eagles, the bench of North Carolina women’s basketball team erupted.

Although the game was in hand and a majority of the starters were on the bench, it was an acrobatic up-and-under by redshirt freshman forward Hillary Summers that instilled such a reaction from her coaches and teammates.

This moment was a testimony to the team chemistry displayed in Carmichael Arena throughout the afternoon, as every player who saw minutes scored for the Tar Heels.

Freshman Diamond DeShields, who led UNC with 16 points, was one of the players on the bench when Summers made the shot, and she commended Summers and the other bench players for their hard work.

“She went out there and gave it everything she had,” DeShields said. “That makes us feel good that she’s out there working just as hard as we were, even though she may not have had as many minutes.

“She’s out there giving it everything she has, and that’s a credit to her hard work and her attitude. You’ve got to respect a player like that and appreciate the things that they’re out there doing.”

Freshman point guard Jessica Washington came off the bench Sunday to make the first start of her young college career in replacement for the injured Latifah Coleman. The hard work that she has put in was evident as she made her presence felt scoring 14 points, drilling four of her six attempts from three-point land and tallying five assists.

Washington said she was confident entering the starting lineup, but that there were moments in which she received encouragement from her teammates to alleviate the pressure. After the game, she referenced a specific moment of counsel she got from junior guard Erika Johnson.

“My teammates always have my back — telling me that I’m going to be fine and do a good job,” Washington said. “That’s a great feeling for an older teammate to have your back and just talk to you. Even if it’s just as, ‘You’re the only one up there. I have your back.’ It always gives you the extra confidence, and it just shows great leadership on her part.”

The combination of team chemistry and talent on this year’s roster was evident during Sunday’s victory, and it demonstrated how unselfish the team is. Coach Andrew Calder said that both of these things were correlated with the ball movement the team displayed.

“Chemistry is good,” Calder said. “They’re good basketball players — very good basketball players. They have high basketball IQs. They move the ball well. They play for each other. They don’t play for just themselves. They play for each other. Good spacing with good ball movement will get you some easy scores.

“We’re playing well together. We like that.”