UNC Women Get Defensive, Rally

During the first half of the North Carolina women's basketball team's ACC Tournament semifinal against N.C. State, the Tar Heels attempted 39 shots. They also grabbed 14 offensive rebounds.

But UNC made just seven baskets. Seven of 39, or a shade under 18-percent shooting from the floor.

And those offensive boards? They resulted in four second-chance points.

Luckily for North Carolina, eventually would follow halftime.

Despite a nine-point first-half deficit, the second-seeded Tar Heels outscored the sixth-seeded Wolfpack by 15 after the break to beat State 58-52 before 5,960 at the Greensboro Coliseum on Sunday.

North Carolina (24-7), which defeated Maryland 78-53 on Saturday, advanced to the tournament's championship game today against Duke at 7:30 p.m. The top-seeded Blue Devils beat Virginia 71-67 earlier Sunday.

But in the first half of their game against State (14-15), the Tar Heels couldn't afford the forethought of the ACC title game.

"We were short-arming shots and missing shots that normally we would make," said UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell, who earned her 600th career win.

Neither team could knock down open shots early, and the score was tied at six 11:13 before halftime.

But with UNC center Candace Sutton saddled with two quick fouls, the Tar Heels were unable to stop the Wolfpack's inside play. State went on a 9-0 run and would eventually extend its lead to 23-10 with 2:51 left in the half.

North Carolina managed six points to bring the score to 24-16 at the break, UNC's worst first-half total this season.

No Tar Heel suffered more through the first-half slump than guard Coretta Brown, who missed all nine of her field-goal attempts, including four treys.

"We came in at halftime and talked about it, that we were shooting poorly," Brown said. "We knew that it wasn't going to be like that in the second half."

With its collective shooting touch off, North Carolina mounted its second-half comeback with its defense.

UNC came out of halftime and primarily played its "22" defense, an aggressive, trapping set that looks like a 2-3 zone. In "22," the Tar Heels trap after the first pass is made by the opposing offense in an effort to force turnovers and quicken the pace of the game.

"We knew they had trouble with ballhandling," said UNC guard Nikki Teasley, who led the team with 14 points.

North Carolina's halfcourt pressure especially worked as the game progressed. After falling behind 36-24, UNC reeled off a 17-0 run to grab a five-point lead with 9:45 to go in the game.

During that stretch and the rest of the second half, the Wolfpack was unable to get the ball inside consistently. Forward Carisse Moody took just one shot in the second half, and center Kaayla Chones finished with eight shots for the game.

And as N.C. State's perimeter players couldn't get the ball inside, they had trouble holding onto the ball in the face of UNC's pressure. The Tar Heels scored 10 points off 12 second-half State turnovers.

"We got cautious, we were hesitant, and we just moved out of a real attack mode," said State coach Kay Yow.

At the same time, UNC's offense began to find some semblance of the rhythm it has had for most of the season. The Tar Heels made 13 of their 29 shots after halftime, and they made 14 of 16 second-half free throws.

State drew within two with 5:31 to play, but Brown nailed her only 3 of the game from the top of the key to give UNC a cushion it would maintain the rest of the way.

Next comes Duke, which has twice beaten the Tar Heels this year.

"We're ready and excited for tomorrow's game," Brown said. "We're ready to get our rings."

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