With leading scorer Nikki Teasley playing in pain with an ailing back and assists leader Leah Metcalf trying to go full-speed with a pair of tendinitis-riddled knees, Wake Forest looked like it had a shot at pulling off the improbable against the No. 18 Tar Heels on Wednesday.
But thanks to a game-high 23 points from guard Coretta Brown, which highlighted double-digit scoring nights from five Tar Heels, and a late 20-2 run, UNC was able to deck the halls of Carmichael Auditorium with a 90-68 win before 1,614.
Forward Chrystal Baptist finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds -- both career highs -- and Teasley, despite shooting 7 of 20 for the game, dropped 13 of her 18 points in the first half and added seven assists.
"They just have a lot of weapons," said Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis.
After going up by as many as 16 points in the first half, the Tar Heels (8-1 overall, 1-0 in the ACC) saw their lead slip away as their shooting went cold and their defense got sloppy. The Demon Deacons (2-4, 0-1) started to find open looks at the basket and frequently got to the free-throw line, where they were 13 of 25 on the night.
"We'd do some good things, and we'd get them out of their offense," said UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell. "And it would be where they would have to go one-on-one or try to take it to the basket, and we'd get a foul call. So we've got to learn to have that intensity and that pressure and not end it with a foul."
Leading 66-60 in the middle of the second half, the Tar Heels went on their huge run to clinch the win.
Brown hit a free throw and a 3-pointer to boost the lead to 10 with 8:48 left in the game. Forward Kenya McBee, center Candace Sutton, Baptist, Brown and Teasley then combined for the Tar Heels' next 16 points as UNC increased its lead to 86-62 with 3:07 to play.
Teasley, who rode a stationary bike on the sidelines at the beginning of the second half and had ice wrapped around her back at the end of the game, played 30 minutes despite her injury and expects to be fine for Saturday's game against Richmond.
