CHATTANOOGA Tenn. — With 1:31 remaining in the first half of North Carolina's first-round NCAA contest coach Sylvia Hatchell signaled for a timeout.
Her third-seeded Tar Heels led the 14th-seeded Knights of Central Florida by just five points.
The hordes of UCF faithful in attendance were rocking as the young Knights looked to keep the deficit to single digits — perhaps a single possession — against the nation's No. 11 team after 20 minutes of play.
But North Carolina took advantage of the final 91 seconds racking up five unanswered points to take a much more imposing 10-point lead into halftime.
Those five points proved to be crucial and UNC wound up defeating the Knights 85-80.
That type of end-of-half spurt has become a trademark of Hatchell's teams during her 23 years at UNC" and that's not by coincidence.
Hatchell knows how crucial those minutes can be and makes sure to get fresh legs in to compete against more fatigued opponents.
""We're going to be aggressive" and a lot of times the other team's a little bit tired Hatchell said.
They're just like ‘OK we only have so much time left" and then we get to go rest a little bit.'""
Foul trouble plagued both teams early. UCF forward Emma Cannon headed into the game averaging 15.5 points and 11.6 rebounds.
But two quick whistles in the first seven minutes had her on the bench — her place of residency for most of the first period — able only to cheer on her seemingly outmatched teammates.
Cannon's first-half line: Three points" one rebound.
But despite playing without their leading scorer and rebounder for most of the opening period the Knights never let the Tar Heels pull away" thanks to a balanced attack on the offensive end and strong pressure from their defense.
""Seems like every time we'd get a little bit of a lead … they'd come right back at us"" Hatchell said.
I felt like we relaxed and lost our intensity at times out there.""
Central Florida was not alone in its foul trouble. UNC's Jessica Breland picked up her second with 11:35 remaining in the first half.
But that did not stop her from bringing her typical" aggressive defense for the rest of the half.
Breland went on to play all but three minutes and 32 seconds for North Carolina" blocking two shots and staying foul-free in the process.
""It is important for Jessica to get going"" Hatchell said. She establishes such a presence for us inside.""
And Breland is conscious of the need for her to become that force for UNC.
""(Staying aggressive) is very important because my team needed me on defense" she said. But it was very hard because I'm not used to the officials" so I'm not sure what I can do and what I can't do.""
Soon enough" though she figured it out ending the contest with a team-high nine rebounds (three offensive) and five blocks.
Offensively Breland was one of three Tar Heels to score a team-high 17 points joined by teammates Italee Lucas and Heather Claytor.
Long-range buckets weren't falling for the Tar Heels in the first half as UNC shot 4-for-13 from distance.
But Lucas and Claytor continuously tickled the twine in the second sinking all five of their 3-point attempts after halftime.
Cannon and UCF's Chelsie Wiley kept the Knights in the game.
After her limited first-half action Cannon picked it up and scored 15 second-half points while grabbing 13 rebounds.
But that performance together with Wiley's game-high 22 points" wasn't quite enough to power the underdog Knights past North Carolina.
The Tar Heels will face six-seed Purdue at 7 p.m. Monday for the right to play in the Sweet 16 in Oklahoma City.
""They are very good. They are very athletic"" Hatchell said. I don't see any weakness. … It's going to be a good game.""
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
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Time: 7 p.m. today
TV/Radio: ESPN2/WCHL 1360 AM
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