By Andrew Kurzeja
No. 16 North Carolina pulled off a resounding 72–53 upset win over No. 14 Kentucky on Thursday night, fueled by what may have been the best performance of sophomore guard Reniya Kelly’s young career so far. The Hoover, Ala., native finished with 18 points and six assists while also hounding Kentucky star point guard Georgia Amoore for most of the evening.
Carolina’s defense held Amoore to just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 0 of 5 from behind the arc.
We’re going to examine the ball-screen coverages that UNC used against Amoore. According to Synergy Sports, Amoore is in the 98th percentile of all Division I women’s basketball in ball-screen usage.
Flat hedge
While the Tar Heels mixed up their coverages throughout the matchup, the one they used most often with starting center Maria Gakdeng in the game was a flat hedge.
The coverage involves the defender guarding the screener (usually a big), coming up to the level of the screen, parallel with the screener’s shoulders, and disrupting the ball handler long enough for the handler’s original defender to recover.
This keeps players such as Amoore from being able to shoot the outside jumper and clogs any potential driving lanes. It importantly also makes sure UNC can defend the ball screen with just the two players involved, helping out their rebounding numbers.
Drop
When Ciera Toomey came in to relieve Gakdeng, Carolina used her in more traditional drop coverage. Toomey would drop below the screen level to ensure that Amoore couldn’t dribble into the lane.
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This can be vulnerable to pick-and-pop 3-pointers if the screener can shoot the ball from outside, but the Heels seemed content to take their chances with those 3s if it meant that Amoore didn’t get into the teeth of their defense.
There was also an example toward the end of the first half when UNC employed what is known as “ice” coverage. Trayanna Crisp forced the handler away from the screen toward the baseline, accompanied by Toomey in the drop. In my three seasons covering this Carolina team, this is the first time I’ve ever seen them use that specific coverage.
Gap help
Being able to contain a player as talented as Amoore with just two defenders wouldn’t work on every possession. Sometimes the Tar Heels brought a third defender to close off a driving lane, even at the cost of leaving another Wildcat open on the perimeter.
Toomey was willing to leave Kentucky forward Amelia Hassett open from the arc just to shut off Amoore’s angle, and Crisp was willing to do the same with freshman guard Lexi Blue, who was 1 of 10 from 3-point range coming into the contest with Carolina.
Bigger picture
All these coverages allowed Carolina to ensure that the Tar Heels weren’t put in rotation by Amoore getting into the paint and collapsing the defense. This, in turn, allowed UNC’s bigs to have a premium position to secure the defensive glass.
By forcing someone other than Amoore to beat them one-on-one, Carolina held Kentucky to 53 points on 35% shooting and a decisive 19-point victory at home in Carmichael Arena.
If you’re looking for a more extensive breakdown of the coverages, I go through each coverage and even a few more advanced possessions from Thursday night’s game in the video below.
Andrew Kurzeja is a video coordinator with seven years of basketball coaching experience at both the high school and collegiate levels. He also contributes to Carmichael Radio, a podcast dedicated to the North Carolina women’s basketball team. You can find him on X at @AndrewKurzeja.
UNC season statistics
UNC schedule
| Date | Day/ month | Time | Opponent/event (rank in final poll) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 18 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Davidson | |
| 24 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Maryland | B1G+ |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | Monday | 2:30 ET | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No. 12 Oklahoma | ESPN2 |
| 8 | Sunday | 5:30 | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 2 South Carolina | ESPN |
| 11 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. Central | ACCNE |
| 14 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at Penn in Palestra | ESPN+ |
| WBCA Showcase | Orlando | |||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech | ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Alabama | ESPN+ |
| ——— | ||||
| 24 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Gardner-Webb | ACCNE |
| 27 | Friday | 7 p.m. | vs. Army | ACCNE |
| 29 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Brown | ACCN |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Wednesday | 7:15 | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 8 LSU | ESPN2 |
| 6 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Elon | ACCN |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop | ACCNE |
| 13 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. N.C. State | ESPN |
| 17 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 21 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Norfolk State | ACCN |
| 28 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 31 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Clemson | The CW |
| 7 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 10 | Sunday | 3 p.m. | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 17 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 21 | Thursday | 8 p.m. ET | at California | ACCN |
| 24 | Sunday | 2 p.m. ET | at Stanford | ESPN, 2 or U |
| 28 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 9 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 31 | Sunday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 5 Duke | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ACCNE |
| 7 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at SMU | ACCNE |
| 18 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Florida State | The CW |
| 25 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. No. 19 Virginia | ACCN |
| 28 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | at No. 5 Duke | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 3–7 | Wed.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
