Confident players get boost on court

DURHAM -- The North Carolina women's basketball team might be taking its own form of injections -- the legal kind, of course.

The Tar Heels now sit atop the ACC rankings and hover at the high end of national polls, and UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said it's thanks to a booster shot of confidence and self-esteem.

"We beat the defending national champions -- Connecticut. We beat Duke when they were No. 1 at our place, we've had a couple of real close, tight games," Hatchell said. "I just think (it's) confidence. There's just a special bond and chemistry about this group. They're like that off the court like they are on the court."

Take senior Nikita Bell. She finished the regular season Sunday with 83 steals as compared to last season's 74, swiping a career-high nine from the Blue Devils.

"Right place at the right time, I guess," said Bell of her steals.

"I just start playing within the system and getting shots when they're open and just trying to be more aggressive," Bell said.

The senior, who ranks second in the ACC in steals, said she studies scouting reports more closely and has become a more physical player. She added that the referees have come to know her as one of the more aggressive players on the team.

Hatchell has talked up sophomore Ivory Latta's marked improvements since the preseason. The coach drew on Latta's experience at Dena Evans' point guard camp once again after the final game of the season.

"Over the summer she really studied the game and worked on her skill and also on her knowledge of the game," Hatchell said. "This year she's confident out there."

Latta, who went 4-for-9 from beyond the arc and added seven key free throws out of eight attempts from the line Sunday, acknowledged that her summer camp and the past season have aided her development.

"My main focus was shot selection," Latta said. "That's what I'm trying to get better at."

But Latta isn't cocky about her 3-point shooting.

"I don't think too many 3s I've taken and looked over there and (Hatchell's) said 'No,'" Latta said.

Highly recruited freshman Erlana Larkins finished the season averaging 15.3 points and seven rebounds per game.

Larkins has mostly adjusted to the atmosphere of college basketball, particularly the crowd at Duke.

"This is the first hostile environment I've played in," Larkins said.

The crowd couldn't have been too influential, as Larkins put up 19 points.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be ready for an ACC crowd, but an NCAA crowd, it depends on the team we play," Larkins said. "I might have the jitters, but after a while I'll shake it off."

The game against the Blue Devils is far from the end of the road for the Tar Heels, and Hatchell said there is still work to be done.

"Sometimes we shot too quick and we didn't reverse the ball enough," Hatchell said. "Defensively, down the stretch we weren't mixing up our defenses enough. (Duke) had some people wide open, and thank goodness they didn't find them."

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.