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The Daily Tar Heel

Tar Heels Throttle Hapless Deacons

Two minutes into Thursday's women's basketball game between Wake Forest and No. 10 North Carolina, Wake's Tonia Brown drained a 3-pointer to give the Deacs a 5-2 lead.

But UNC forward Jennifer Thomas hit layups on successive trips down the floor that kickstarted a 10-minute stretch during which the Tar Heels outscored Wake 28-6.

"We didn't really notice," said UNC point guard Leah Metcalf of Wake's offensive futility. "We were just out there trying to play defense, trying to score."

By the time the Deacs found any sort of rhythm, the Tar Heels had built an almost insurmountable lead, and cruised to an 86-56 win at Carmichael Auditorium.

"I thought we came out strong," said UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell. "We jumped on Wake Forest pretty early. The first eight or 10 minutes, I thought we played pretty good. Then we got a lead and we relaxed; got a little sloppy after that."

Although her team held a 42-20 lead at the break, the Tar Heels (13-1, 3-0 in the ACC) turned the ball over 24 times, and allowed Wake Forest to nab 14 offensive rebounds.

Fortunately for Hatchell, Wake (10-3, 1-2) couldn't take advantage of those second chances. The Deacs finished the first half shooting 8 of 42.

"Did they have a camera on the (backboard)?" Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis asked rhetorically. "This wasn't a televised game, so there was no camera. I wish we had a camera to see if our eyes were closed or not."

The Deacs finished the night shooting 20-of-79 (25.3 percent).

"I was very disappointed in the way we started the game," Curtis said. "We played like deer caught in the headlights.

"We didn't play with a whole lot of confidence early, and we should be a pretty confident team right now with the way we've played. That didn't happen tonight, and we got beat."

Metcalf, one of 12 Tar Heels to see action Thursday, led the way with 14 points and nine assists, while freshman La'Tangela Atkinson chipped in 14 points off the bench and grabbed seven rebounds.

"I just came out ready to play tonight," Metcalf said. "We were going to work it around, look inside a lot. And we had a height advantage with (6-foot-6 center) Candace (Sutton), so I found her a couple of times."

If Wake Forest exposed any weakness in UNC, it was free throw shooting. The Tar Heels attempted 44 freebies, but hit only 26 (59.1 percent)

When asked what the team could do to improve on free throws, all Hatchell could say was, "Practice."

And although UNC came away with a convincing win against a solid Wake Forest team, Metcalf said the Tar Heels still must find a way to be more consistent.

"We broke down a little bit out there, and that's what we're working on, trying to get that consistency," Metcalf said. "That's one of our goals for making it far."

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

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