In the press conference after North Carolina’s 75-72 victory against N.C. State on Sunday, a reporter asked UNC’s Ivory Latta if she got hit in the face during the game.
Forward Camille Little, sitting across the table from the sophomore point guard, interrupted the interrogator. “Which time?” she asked.
Latta, who had averaged 21 points in the Tar Heels’ last three games, certainly took a pounding from the Wolfpack’s physical defense. She made just three of her 15 field goal attempts during the game, but it was her resilience attacking the basket that ultimately gave UNC the overtime win.
With the score tied at 72 with less than 30 seconds to play in the extra period, Latta received a pass from Little at the top of the key. As the shot clock wound down to single digits, she penetrated the left side of the lane, drawing a double team as she jumped up in an attempt to hoist a floater toward the basket.
“Only thing was going (through my mind) was just get to the hole, and hopefully I can get a foul,” Latta said. “And that’s what happened. Just try to drive hard and get the foul, and they called it.”
The shot ultimately proved unsuccessful, but a blocking foul was called on NCSU’s Khadijah Whittington, drawing elation from the Tar Heel bench and disbelief from the Wolfpack’s.
“Nobody can guard really great players on either team just one-on-one all the time,” said NCSU coach Kay Yow. “I thought we gave pretty good help, but everything about the blocking-charge sometimes can be from angles and where you’re standing and how you see it. It just happened that it went a block against us and put her on the line.”
Then, with chants of “Latta Nothing” resonating from the N.C. State student section on the opposite side of the Smith Center, the sophomore calmly drained the two free throws, giving UNC a lead that it would not relinquish.
For the first 44 minutes of the game, however, not much seemed to go against N.C. State when Latta had the ball. Her first field goal didn’t come until 12:35 remained in regulation.
