UNC cruises in ugly game

It’s doubtful that the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame will ask for a tape of Tuesday’s North Carolina-George Washington matchup to preserve the game for posterity.

Yet, despite the foul- and turnover-filled 40 minutes, the top-seeded Tar Heels took care of business against the ninth-seeded Colonials, winning the NCAA second-round game 71-47 and earning the team’s first berth in the Sweet 16 since 2002.

Ivory Latta led UNC with 17 points, including a 3-pointer that gave the UNC the lead for good in the middle of the first half. But for the second straight game, it was the Tar Heels’ defense that ignited a first-half scoring run.

Instead of the swarming trap that caused 16th-seeded Coppin State so many problems Sunday, the Colonials struggled against UNC’s half-court defense.

That effort was led by Erlana Larkins and Camille Little, who primarily kept the Colonials’ post duo of Jessica Simmonds and Anna Montañana in check. The two players, who entered the game averaging 31 points between them, managed just 13 points Tuesday on combined 3-for-26 shooting.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL UNC 71 George Washington 47

“Camille played great defense on (Montañana),” said senior Nikita Bell. “We knew what to expect; we knew that she was the go-to player from watching film. I just give credit to Camille, and the help-side defense was there. We just tried to limit her touches.”

That defensive effort helped the Tar Heels recover from a sluggish start.

After George Washington took an early four-point lead, UNC outscored the Colonials 18-4 during the next eight minutes. The Tar Heels took a commanding 35-22 lead into halftime.

A quick four points out of the locker room for GW forced UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell to call a timeout, but her team scored the next eight to build the lead to a game-high 17.

“I remember seeing we were up 17, and I still felt like we were only up four points,” said Bell, who finished the game with 16 points, nine rebounds and six steals. “It’s not good enough in the NCAAs. It’s easy to come back from being 17 down.”

The team executed to balloon the lead to as much as 30 points, but the enthusiasm of the crowd was dampened by an injury to Larkins.

After scoring six points and accumulating four steals in the first 20 minutes, Larkins left the game with cramps early in the second half — a similar injury to the one that forced her to stay overnight at a hospital in Tallahassee, Fla., after a game Jan. 20.

And though Larkins re-entered Tuesday’s game several minutes later, it took just a minute for her to fall over in pain at center court, needing the support of a trainer to hobble into the locker room. After being treated with stretching and ice fluids, she will be able to play in the team’s Sweet 16 matchup against Arizona State on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. — on the Sun Devils’ home court.

A more upbeat moment for the Tar Heels in the waning moments was senior guard Leah Metcalf scoring her 1,000th career point. She reached the honor on a 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 45 seconds remaining, causing the UNC bench right behind her to erupt in celebration.

“It’s pretty exciting, especially in the last game that I’ll ever play in Chapel Hill with the Carolina uniform on,” Metcalf said.

UNC’s next game, however, will be far from the friendly confines of the Smith Center.

And while the Tar Heels emerged victorious with a subpar performance Tuesday, they know a similar performance Saturday could cut their stay in Tempe shorter than they’d like.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.