McDaniel uses offensive aggression to help Tar Heels

For the North Carolina women’s basketball team, the night belonged to Xylina McDaniel.

After scoring a combined 11 points in No. 18 UNC’s last two games, McDaniel scored a game-high 25 in Wednesday night’s 75-62 win against No. 15 Nebraska.

However, in a night where she led the Tar Heels to their first win against a ranked opponent this season, McDaniel focused on something other than scoring — her temper.

In a private session on Tuesday, coach Sylvia Hatchell, who has been away from the team since announcing her leukemia diagnosis on October 14, reiterated the importance of staying composed to McDaniel.

“First off, we talked about my progress, what I’ve worked on, what I need to work on, and the main focus was my temper,” McDaniel said. “In the previous games, I’ve probably averaged like four fouls a game, and so she (told me) I have to keep my cool, you know, sort of get the refs on your side.

“She told me to wear this rubber band and so whenever I start feeling myself getting worked up, I just click it or pop it or whatever.”

Fouls were not an issue for the sophomore forward on Wednesday, and she finished the game with only one personal in 30 minutes.

McDaniel used her physical 6-foot-2 frame to her advantage, providing North Carolina with the offensive spark it was lacking with freshman Diamond DeShields coming off the bench.

In last week’s Cancun Challenge, the Tar Heels (7-2) relied heavily on the freshman DeShields, who scored a season-high 28 points against Arizona State. Due to a technical foul in UNC’s last game, though, DeShields was ineligible to start Wednesday, per North Carolina women’s basketball policy.

With the Tar Heels’ leading scorer on the bench, McDaniel stepped up her game, making each of her first eight shots. Her first miss came with 15:44 remaining in the second half.

“It says they’re talented when any one of those (girls) can put those kind of points on the board, and I think all of them have scored in the twenties this year,” associate head coach Andrew Calder said. “We have some talent there that can put some points on the board.”

As a member of a young North Carolina team with no seniors and the nation’s top-ranked freshman class, McDaniel acknowledged that she must continue to play smart basketball and set an example for her younger teammates.

“I have to set a huge example because you do not want to give yourself a bad name, especially to the officials, because I mean, they have a huge role on the game, they pretty much control the game,” McDaniel said.

“You don’t want a bad name as early as I am in my career, and so I’m having to start over, work my way back up and get on their good side.”