It isn’t every game that the Carolina women’s basketball senior post duo of Anya Poole and Ali Zelaya is called upon in a key role. In fact, it’s often one or the other who might play big minutes down the stretch in a game. In the month of February alone, Zelaya played 29 minutes to Poole’s five against NC State and Virginia Tech, while Poole held a 16-2 minute edge in the Duke game this past Sunday.
 
But when they are called upon, they’re probably going to deliver. Take Zelaya against Virginia Tech: two threes and three rebounds in her 19 minutes – the bulk of which came in the fourth quarter. Or Poole against Duke, where she matched her season high in ACC play with eight rebounds. The steady veterans began their collegiate career as members of the highly-touted 2020 recruiting class, as names known to Carolina fans before they even stepped on campus.
 
And when they did arrive?
 
No fans. The pandemic restrictions prevented any semblance of normalcy for their freshman season. Both post players have seen not only the return of fans, but a slew of ups and downs through their college career. All the while, they’ve stayed consistent, an attribute that was a common talking point when they appeared as guests on this week’s Holding Court radio show.
 
Poole started 68 games as a Tar Heel between 2020 and 2023, yet has made all 21 of her appearances this season off the bench. For some players, that would be an ego hit. Not for Poole. How does she handle it?
 
“Knowing my role and knowing what I bring to the team,” she said.
 
The consistency in preparation, in a mental mastery of the game – one she did not grow up playing, preferring soccer until middle school – has motivated Poole.
 
“I’m going to give my all and give all I can do for this team every single time I step on the floor,” she told the Carolina fans assembled for Tuesday’s show at the Sheraton Chapel Hill.
 
Zelaya, who has gone long stretches of her career seeing limited action, returned to the same word: consistency.
 
“Honestly, it’s consistency,” she said when asked her key to staying ready. “I don’t face a lot of consistency with my playing time, so I have to make consistency in every moment outside of the game.”
 
The Arizona native pointed to extra work in practice, getting shots up, and taking pride in strength and conditioning as examples of that consistency. Even for a player who will be remembered for doing everything the right way and being the ultimate teammate, understanding that her college career would be defined by sporadic in-game moments wasn’t immediate.
 
“The acceptance part of ‘hey, that’s what my role is,’ that took a little bit,” Zelaya said.
 
Now, four years with the duo have seemingly flown by. They’ve gone from freshmen to seniors, and leaders on a team that has enjoyed success and fought adversity against a grueling schedule. Carolina is lucky to have Ali and Anya in the locker room as the Tar Heels battle down the stretch toward their fourth postseason and going a perfect 4-for-4 in qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.  
 
Here’s what else caught my eye this week …

Inward Focus
In this column last week, we focused on the Tar Heels’ ability to regroup and refocus during the bye week – a chance to break from the grind that had been ongoing for every team in college basketball since the Christmas break. For UNC coach Courtney Banghart, the largest benefit in practice for her team was the lack of needing to devote time in midweek practice for opponent preparation. Think of it this way – and these numbers are arbitrary: if practice is 25 percent skill work, 25 percent team drills, and 50 percent opponent preparation, using that entire half of practice for internal-focused work is a massive benefit.

“I have to say it was really nice to only have one opponent to focus on,” Banghart said prior to the Duke game. “We spent Tuesday and Wednesday really working on ourselves, and finally getting a chance to not have to game prep.”

Offensive Growth
A large part of that internal focus was centered on the offensive end, where the Tar Heels entered the bye week with a streak of two straight games of being unable to crack 60 points in regulation. While Sunday’s game at Duke still ended in disappointment, I asked Coach Banghart after the game about how she would evaluate her team’s offensive performance coming out of the bye.
“For the most part, better,” she said. “When the game got tight, we kind of went back. The ball stuck a little bit.”

Of Carolina’s seven assists, six came in the game’s first three quarters, and from four different players. The Tar Heels enjoyed a third quarter in which they not only shot 50 percent (6-for-12), but also earned eight trips to the foul line and knocked down seven of the eight free throws.

“We were changing our pace with the ball in our hands, separating better, attacking in transition – just more aggressive,” Banghart said of the first 10 minutes after halftime on Sunday.
Putting together more quarters like that one will be important for Carolina to find success down the stretch, and ultimately achieve its goals by winning games.
“Overall, better, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t find a way to win through it,” Banghart said.

Walk-On No More
In case you missed it on social media on Friday, the Tar Heels’ practice session at Carmichael Arena featured one of the most meaningful moments of the entire season. Carolina walk-on guard Sydney Barker, a Durham native and lifelong Tar Heel fan, was preparing to partake in her first ever Duke game. To help set the tone for the matchup on Sunday, Coach Banghart called upon Sydney’s father, Brian, to speak to the team about how significant the Carolina-Duke rivalry is for Tar Heels everywhere and for basketball lovers across North Carolina. However, as Banghart introduced Brian and referenced the financial sacrifice the Barker family makes for Sydney to walk on, she soon mentioned that sacrifice wouldn’t be necessary any longer: Sydney was on scholarship.

It’s the second time in Banghart’s Carolina tenure that she’s given a walk-on a scholarship, with both going to Durham natives and lifelong Tar Heels. Current program General Manager Liz Roberts, who walked on before Banghart came to Chapel Hill, was the recipient of Banghart’s first scholarship, awarded in 2019.

Check out the moment the Barkers received the news below.
 

This Tar Heel turned her dreams into reality … congrats @sydneybarker_5!

Scholarship earned ✅#GoHeels | #InPursuit pic.twitter.com/ub1oKhc18s

— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) February 9, 2024

Up Next
Carolina will try to get back to its winning ways this week with two more games that don’t require the team to leave the state. On Thursday, Carolina’s second home game since Jan. 26 takes place as the Tar Heels welcome Pitt to Carmichael Arena. The Panthers are in the midst of a rebuild under first-year head coach Tory Verdi, who came to the Steel City from UMass. While his team has only won one ACC game, it was against a Virginia team that owns a win against Carolina. Coach Banghart is 4-0 against Pitt in her Tar Heel career, with Carolina taking a tied game at the end of the third quarter last season and turning into a 15-point road win. Thursday’s tip is set for 6:00 p.m., with our Tar Heel Sports Network Coverage set to begin at 5:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. As always, hear the broadcast worldwide for free on the Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app. The game will air locally in the Triangle on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL, the flagship station of Carolina women’s basketball. WCHL’s Thursday coverage will begin right at game time at 6:00.

Then on Sunday, the Tar Heels will complete the Tobacco Road triumvirate with the every-other-year trip to Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem to play Wake Forest. Carolina will search for a third straight win over the Demon Deacons and fourth in the last five meetings. Second-year head coach Megan Gebbia is in the midst of putting her own stamp on the program, but with limited success this season. Sunday’s tip is set for 6:00 p.m., with a 5:30 p.m. airtime for the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. As always, hear the broadcast worldwide for free on the Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app. The game will air locally in the Triangle on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL, the flagship station of Carolina women’s basketball.

Additionally, the next Holding Court with Courtney Banghart tapes on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at Noon at the Sheraton Chapel Hill. As a reminder, the show is open to the public, and we hope to see you there! If you can’t make it, catch the show on the Tar Heel Voices Podcast Channel or on Wednesday night, Feb. 21, at 7:00 p.m. on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.

That’s all for now. Go Heels!
-Matt