Hatchell spreads the playing time in WNIT victories

After racing past Western Carolina and Virginia Commonwealth in the opening rounds of the Preseason WNIT, North Carolina looks poised for a collision with No. 4 Oklahoma in the tournament’s final, two games down the road.

The Tar Heels (2-0) looked fully worthy of their preseason No. 6 ranking as they cruised past Western Carolina in a 90-56 win Friday and outran VCU on Sunday for a 77-65 victory.

Despite showing that they could handle and dribble through UNC’s full-court press, the VCU Rams (1-1) couldn’t match the Tar Heels’ scoring pace. UNC took control of the game with a 14-4 run before halftime, and the Rams couldn’t cut the lead to single digits in the second half.

“This is a great team, it wasn’t gonna be easy. And so we just had to get that fire under ourselves, and I think we finally did in that last little run at the half,” senior Heather Claytor said.

Coach Sylvia Hatchell continued to spread the minutes around at every position, both to keep the team fresh and to give everyone court experience as freshmen and reserves settle into their roles.

But in both games, she wanted her team to be more focused in the second half.

“We can’t just go on cruise control like that,” Hatchell said. “We‘ve got to keep playing, and as I substitute, we’ve got to be able to keep the intensity level.”

Eleven different Tar Heels played in the first half Sunday, and only two players — point guard Cetera DeGraffenreid and forward Rashanda McCants — played more than 20 minutes in either game on the weekend.

DeGraffenreid, who converted steals into wide-open layups about three times per game, set the tone for the Tar Heels’ defense this season with a monster eight steals Friday and five more Sunday.

Even with the constant rotation, both the Tar Heels’ starting post players fouled out as VCU took the ball inside early and often.

That kind of loss could leave the Tar Heels in a bind in a postseason tournament game, but Hatchell was confident it was a problem that could be fixed — and UNC’s depth made it easy to compensate.

“They’re in there trying to block shots and all that stuff, and we just need to keep our feet on the ground and take charges,” Hatchell said.

In the season opener Friday, UNC buried Western Carolina (0-1) with outside shooting early. By the time the Lady Catamounts called their first timeout, less than five minutes in, the score was already 21-2, and UNC had made four 3-pointers.

The team finished 10-for-16 from behind the arc from an array of different shooters. Four guards made two from long range, and UNC stayed hot on jump shots for the rest of the game as the Tar Heels cruised to a 90-56 victory.

“I’m not crazy about us taking that many threes, but, you know, we’ve been making ’em,” Hatchell said. “This is a very good shooting team, maybe one of the best we’ve ever had. I knew that from practices.”

The game was also the opening round of the WNIT, which features Oklahoma as the top team on the other side of the 16-squad bracket.

The Tar Heels need to beat Xavier to make the finals, but even if they don’t reach the high-profile matchup with the Sooners, there’s  still plenty of tournament experience to be gained for the team’s freshmen.



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