Brown Delivers in Tar Heels' Blowout Win

Everyone wanted to know if sophomore Coretta Brown could be an effective point guard.

Brown's answer? A resounding yes. She scored 17 points and handed out a school-record 16 assists in the Tar Heels' 101-33 home-opening victory against North Carolina A&T on Tuesday night.

"I've been telling people all along that Coretta is a great player," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "Our unproven point guard has proven herself now. She did a good job there."

Brown, who registered 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists against Syracuse on Sunday, narrowly missed a triple-double again. She pulled down eight rebounds in 29 minutes.

Aside from Brown's heroics, the game was short on drama. UNC (2-1) sprinted out on a 12-0 run in the game's first 2 minutes, 34 seconds and never looked back. The Tar Heels scored on 19 of their first 24 possessions and carried a 63-6 lead into the locker room.

"It was one of those halves where everything went well for us," said guard Juana Brown, who was 6-for-6 from the floor on her way to 13 points.

The Aggies, who finished 1-18 last season, were overmatched.

They shot

3-for-28 from the field in the first half, with all three conversions and all six points coming from center Malveata Johnson.

"I was a little upset with our team," said Johnson, who finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. "We were out there, but we weren't fighting at all."

That changed some in the second half, as the Aggies put 27 points on the board. Still, they shot just 22 percent (13-for-59) as a team and 7 percent (3-for-43) aside from Johnson's 10-for-16 effort. With its defensive effort, UNC barley missed breaking school records for fewest points allowed (31) and largest margin of victory (71).

Offensively, the Tar Heels got scoring from LaQuanda Barksdale (21 points in 16 minutes) and solid play from their bench, which accounted for 38 points.

Freshman Chrystal Baptist notched her first career double-double, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 11 minutes. Sophomore Courtney Chambers posted a career-high nine points.

But it was Coretta Brown who stole the show. She'll look to continue her breakout season Saturday, when the Tar Heels host Old Dominion at 2 p.m.

"It makes me feel great," Brown said. "When I'm playing with players like Juana and Q (Barksdale), it makes my job easier. I just go out there and do my thing, and it comes easy for me."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.