By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Uncommon, unconscious shooting calls for creative celebrations on the bench.
That happened on Saturday when UNC graduate guard Lexi Donarski scored five 3-pointers in the third quarter of the No. 3-seed Tar Heels’ 70–49 victory Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament over Oregon State.
After the fifth 3-pointer, freshman center Blanca Thomas — who had done three pushups after Donarski’s third 3-pointer — acted like she was unconscious and went down with her back on the court.
Redshirt sophomore forward Laila Hull and sophomore guard Sydney Barker acted like they were resuscitating Thomas. Watch the celebration at 1:17 in the below video.
“It’s so much fun,” Donarski said. “This team is so connected, and it shows in the way we play and the way that we cheer each other on and hype each other up.”
UNC coach Courtney Banghart said that what the fans see on the sidelines during the games is fueled by the same sort of energy when it’s not game day.
“That’s how they are in practice, too,” Banghart said. “I don’t know if they do exactly that, but they have a lot of moments of passion. I hope that’s something that they see the importance of.
“I always say that you have to out-team and out-tough to win in life,” Banghart said. “You have to be a good teammate, and you have to be tough. Those types of moments are showing you that we’re out-teaming. We’re celebrating team success even if you’re not directly a part of it. And I think we promote that in practice.”
Thomas, Hull and Barker had talked about such a celebration about five minutes beforehand, and with the Carmichael Arena crowd in a frenzy, it was the perfect time to unleash it.
“We just wanted to bring a lot of energy to the bench the best we could. So that was the first thing that came to mind,” Thomas said. “You can see a lot from a team based on how their bench reacts for their players on the floor. I feel like you can see that we have good culture and that we can bring energy no matter what. If we’re on the court we can make an impact or on the bench.”
Much like Banghart has her strategic plan for leading the Tar Heels to victory, the players on the bench have their plan for how best to celebrate when everything works well, as it did in the third quarter.
“We had a plan for multiple different celebrations to do,” Hull said. “Blanca just volunteered to get resuscitated because I think Lexi’s three just brought her back to life.”
Hull and Barker said they had never been part of a team that celebrated on the sidelines like this before arriving in Chapel Hill.
“We love just celebrating each other,” Barker said. “If we’re not in the game at that moment, even if we’re down, we want people to get hot and have really good games. We love celebrating that. I think that shows our collectiveness. We all need to be together, whether you’re out there, whether we’re in the huddle, whether we’re on the bench. We love doing that.”
Indya Nivar said it shows the bond that Tar Heels have.
“I feel like that just shows the personality of our team,” she said. “We love each other so much and want to see everyone be successful, and I think what they were doing [Saturday] was just showing their personality and celebrating Lexi.”
If a Tar Heel hits a big shot on Monday night when UNC faces West Virginia in a second-round game, look over to the Carolina bench. You might just be entertained and amused.
Birmingham Regional 2
Thursday’s First Four result
No. 11 Columbia 63, No. 11 Washington 60
First round
Friday’s results
Columbia, S.C.
No. 9 Indiana 76, No. 8 Utah 68
No. 1 South Carolina 108, No. 16 Tennessee Tech 48
Durham
No. 10 Oregon 77, No. 7 Vanderbilt 73, OT
No. 2 Duke 86, No. 15 Lehigh 25
Saturday’s results
College Park, Md.
No. 5 Alabama 81, No. 12 Green Bay 67
No. 4 Maryland 82, No. 13 Norfolk St. 69
Chapel Hill
No. 6 West Virginia 78, No. 11 Columbia 59
No. 3 North Carolina 70, No. 14 Oregon St. 49
Second round
Sunday’s results
Durham
No. 2 Duke 59, No. 10 Oregon 53
Columbia, S.C.
No. 1 South Carolina 64, vs. No. 9 Indiana 53
Monday’s games
College Park, Md.
No. 4 Maryland 111, No. 5 Alabama 108, 2 OTs
Chapel Hill
No. 3 North Carolina 58, No. 6 West Virginia 47
Birmingham, Ala.
Friday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 Duke (28–7) vs. No. 3 North Carolina (29–7), 2:30, ESPN
No. 1 South Carolina (32–3) vs. No. 4 Maryland (25–7), 5 p.m., ESPN
Sunday’s regional championship
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m., ABC
| Date | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent/event (current rank) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 18 | Sunday | W, 76–66 | vs. Davidson | — |
| 24 | Saturday | L, 72–68 | at No. 19 Maryland | — |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | Monday | L, 91–79 | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No. 14 Oklahoma | 0–1 |
| 8 | Sunday | L, 84–39 | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 0–2 |
| 11 | Wednesday | W, 109–40 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–2 |
| 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. 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. 9 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. 7 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. 13 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. 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
