Women's Basketball
UNC 121, Carson-Newman 52
In a matchup filled with obvious size discrepancies, Chay Shegog next to everyone else was the most striking.
Shegog had six inches on the tallest Carson-Newman player, and it did not take her long to take advantage of that in UNC’s shellacking of the Eagles on Tuesday.
Shegog had a put-back, an assist and a block during a 14-0 stretch that saw No. 5 UNC’s lead balloon from 12-10 and helped build a 34-point halftime deficit for Carson-Newman.
Shegog contributed to the Tar Heels’ domination of the boards. Every time she was on the court, she controlled play.
Carson-Newman pulled within two points behind a three-pointer from Katlin Moore, but the Tar Heels unleashed a half-court trap that forced 20 Eagle turnovers in the first half alone.
But when Carson-Newman was able to break the trap, it usually led directly to layups. The Eagles scored 14 of their 30 first-half points in the paint.
“A lot of my points came from getting steals,” Cetera DeGraffenreid said. “I know a lot of players on our team tonight had four and five steals, so it was us getting steals and then being able to get the ball out.”
Of UNC’s newcomers, Krista Gross stood out, leading all scorers with 16 points on 6-11 shooting, including 2-4 from deep.
She took no shot more impressive than a step-back three over a Carson-Newman defender, who seemed frozen in shock that Gross would attempt the shot.
Waltiea Rolle also flashed tremendous athleticism from her 6-foot-6-inch frame, blocking 2 shots and altering countless others.
“She can shoot the three,” head coach Sylvia Hatchell said about Gross. “She’s deadly inside of 15 feet, but she can shoot the three, as well. She’s a really smart player.”
UNC owned the boards, as its size advantage led to a 66-33 rebounding advantage. To put it in perspective, the Tar Heels had almost as many offensive rebounds (29) as Carson-Newman had total boards (33).
“When we lose the boards? We don’t want to practice after we lose the boards,” Shegog said. “It’s like torture. We make sure we win the boards every time and get inside position.”
Laura Broomfield looked comfortable in her newfound starting spot, as she flew around the court and forced Eagles turnovers, most of which led directly to fast-break Tar Heel baskets at the other end.
The 121-point total tied for the most points ever for UNC in a single game.
DeGraffenreid continued her one-woman fast break act from last season, dishing out six assists to go with 15 points. Fellow returning starter Italee Lucas also had a solid game, totaling 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists — including a beautiful pass through traffic to She’la White for a layup.
She did not start, because she missed class Monday morning.
The Tar Heels opened the second half on a 22-0 run to turn a rout into a laugher.
“I told the supervisor of referees, ‘You might have to send two crews, one for first half and one for second half,’” Hatchell said. “Some of them that we’ve had in the past struggled to keep up the pace for 40 minutes.”
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
