Added experience aids UNC

RALEIGH - North Carolina's Camille Little quickly responded when asked if she's ever had a bigger win than the Tar Heels' victory against Connecticut on Sunday.

"Nope," Little said. "Not even close."

Sophomore guard Ivory Latta giggled and interrupted, "Me either."

The starting sophomores could hardly restrain their excitement after an exuberant final-five-minute effort sealed the 71-65 victory against the defending national champions.

"I've won so many championships, high school championships, AAU championships, nothing like this one," Little said, shaking her head.

UNC didn't have too many games last season that could compare to Sunday's.

The now fitter, faster and more mature Tar Heels faced the reigning champions in only their second game of the season.

"There were times out there today where we were down 10 points, and we could have fallen apart and laid down and died, but we didn't," said UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell.

UNC was prepared for the powerhouse Huskies. The starting duo of Latta and Little have their freshman seasons behind them. Seniors Leah Metcalf and Nikita Bell have demonstrated improved speed. Freshman Erlana Larkins' size and shooting accuracy are icing on North Carolina's cake.

"Down the stretch, our conditioning paid off for us," Hatchell said.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma cited UNC's quickness and athleticism as a determining factor.

"We couldn't speed up the pace of the game," Auriemma said. "I was OK with us playing a real fast game going up and down, because I didn't think their big guys would be able to play like that with us."

Last season, UNC played three games against ranked opponents, two against Duke and one against Penn State. The Tar Heels were only victorious versus the Nittany Lions.

"We made a commitment last year to Ivory and Camille," Hatchell said. "We played them, let them get lots of games under their belt. We were real inconsistent. I thought it would pay off for us down the road. Last year we'd of probably folded."

Hatchell continued to compliment Metcalf and Bell, who each grabbed a team-high three steals.

The seniors last faced UConn their freshman year in the preseason WNIT semifinals, where Metcalf led UNC with 25 points - still her career-high. UNC lost that contest 94-74.

But the Tar Heels have renewed energy this season.

"The feelings that I have for this team - my body's not big enough for my heart," Hatchell said.

UNC has more ranked opponents in its future. Penn State, Maryland and Duke are in the top 25.

"It means a lot to us," Latta said. "A lot of teams are going to be pointing on us, but I think we can handle the pressure."

Hatchell said she thinks the team will improve on Sunday's performance. She added that the win doesn't mean much in terms of predicting March standings, as teams have plenty of time to change.

Latta isn't letting the victory go to her head either.

"I really don't think it's going to affect us," she said. "Like Coach said, we've got to keep a level head. We can't just go off of this one thing."

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.