The Demon Deacons hit eight straight shots, including three 3-pointers and two just inside the arc, after missing their first attempt of the game. The early success caused Wake to settle for outside shots for much of the game, but it couldn't connect with the same proficiency.
North Carolina, which started the game 7-of-9 from the field itself, didn't cool off quite as much, as it pulled away from Wake Forest for a 72-60 win Sunday afternoon.
"When you hit jump shots early, you tend to go that way," Curtis said. "At halftime we talked about that, and yet we came back in the second half, and I thought we were pulling the trigger a little early."
The Deacons (11-11, 3-8 in the ACC) shot 32 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from 3-point territory in the second half. They finished the game with 38.6 and 33.3 marks, respectively.
Meanwhile, North Carolina tied a season-high for 3-pointers made with nine, and four Tar Heels racked up impressive individual performances.
Guards Juana Brown and Coretta Brown notched 20 points apiece and dished out 17 combined assists. LaQuanda Barksdale (12 points, 14 rebounds) and Candace Sutton (18 points, 11 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles. Sutton's double-double was the first of the freshman's career.
"They're not a team that you can say, 'OK, we're going to do this with this person and this with that person (defensively)," Curtis said. "They've got five really good players on the floor with their starting lineup, and when they sub, they've still got five really good players on the floor."
UNC (12-9, 6-5), loser of three of its last four games coming into Sunday, was able to put all the pieces together against WFU. The Tar Heels committed a season-low 11 turnovers while assisting on 22 of their 26 buckets.
"I feel like there are some little things we're doing one or two or three percent better than we were doing two or three weeks ago," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said.
