Tar Heels exhibit their youth, speed

With the clock dwindling, North Carolina junior guard Cetera DeGraffenreid waited behind half-court for the opposing double team — then she split it like string cheese en route to a layup.

The remainder of No. 5 UNC’s 105-64 exhibition win against Francis Marion played out in similar fashion.

“The tempo was good,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “I saw some good things that we did, but again, this is going to be a fun thing to coach and we’re just going to keep getting better.”

In the first minutes of play, neither team established an edge.  Both teams turned the ball over, but after eight minutes of play, UNC was up 21-14.

Then the Tar Heels exploded.

UNC went on a 23-0 run for a  44-14 lead with just fewer than six minutes left in the half.

“I think we just settled in a little bit and sort of saw what they were doing and what was open,” Hatchell said. “We started being more aggressive.”

In the first half North Carolina was paced by freshman guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt.

“I think you can see why (Ruffin-Pratt) was picked preseason Rookie of the Year in the ACC,” Hatchell said. “And I actually held her out a lot the second half, because she only played 18 minutes.”

North Carolina ended the first half with a 54-21 lead. UNC forced a total of 34 turnovers in the game.

The second half commenced in a similar fashion. Five UNC players finished in double digits. UNC built and carried its lead throughout the game with consistent scoring and suffocating defensive traps.

“We try to get after people, and we try to take people out of their comfort zone and create havoc,” Hatchell said. “We gamble, but I like the intensity level.”

Hatchell attributed much of UNC’s success to the Tar Heels’ height advantage.

North Carolina out-rebounded the Patriots 68-41, pulling down 27 offensive rebounds.

“They just kept coming after us and after us,” Hatchell said. “The only thing they don’t have is as much size as we have, and I think that was a big difference.”

DeGraffenreid and Ruffin-Pratt led North Carolina throughout the game. Ruffin-Pratt scored 18 points accompanied with seven rebounds and three assists, and  DeGraffenreid tallied 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Against Francis Marion, UNC played five freshmen, who combined for 36 of the team’s 105 points.

“We clearly scored 105 points with five freshmen being in and out of there, so they did well tonight,” DeGraffenreid said.

The game was littered with fast-break layups by both teams. A North Carolina basket often became a transition opportunity for Francis Marion.

Regardless of the defensive miscues, Hatchell was happy the team got a chance to run their up-tempo style.

“Oh yeah, I love that,” Hatchell said. “I knew there was going to be a lot of possessions in this game. They’re going to beat a lot of teams they play like we beat them tonight. I mean, they scored 64 points on us. That’s pretty good, really. That’s a lot more than a lot of teams score on us.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.