Women's basketball sinks Bulldogs

A well-placed stoppage in play can sometimes be the most important moment in a basketball game.

The UNC women's basketball team seemed to be cruising to another easy win, this time against Gardner-Webb, when the Bulldogs decided to make it interesting. The Bulldogs reeled off a 14-2 run to cut the Tar Heel advantage all the way down to six points, leaving the Tar Heels gasping for breath.

Head coach Sylvia Hatchell called timeout, hoping to quell Gardner-Webb's momentum.

"We just needed to slow down and make better decisions," Hatchell said. "We needed to get the ball inside, and set good screens on our sets, just to settle down. Also defensively, we made a change and just again, this group is so young. let them focus a little bit and talk about what we need to do."

UNC responded, blitzing Gardner-Webb for a 13-2 run of their own in just 3:17, to give themselves a once-more comfortable advantage.

The senior Cetera DeGraffenreid scored five of those points on back to back layups. The most notable was an acrobatic fast-break layup in which she absorbed the foul from Meranda Burnett and threw in a tricky lay-up, to earn a three point play. She led the Tar Heels with 19 points on the evening.

After the run, which put the Tar Heels up 17, the UNC lead never sank below 16 points for the remainder of the game.

That can largely be attributed to Italee Lucas, who notched assists on three straight buckets to help swell the lead to 21 points.

"It's definitely exciting," Lucas said. "The game is so much more fun when you're paying with passion and enthusiasm. I try to bring that to every game."

Lucas turned in one of her most complete games of the season, notching a season-high in assists, steals, and rebounds. She also chipped in 18 points.

The Tar Heel freshmen struggled with foul trouble all game, as Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, Waltiea Rolle, and Cierra Roberston-Warren all ended the game with four personal fouls.

"It's just being young and trying to block shots," Hatchell said. "You can't do things in college against skilled players that you got by in high school. We're learning that about going to get steals. Some things you could do in high school, but when you do that in college, they're going to make you pay for it."

With UNC's forwards mired in foul trouble, often the guards had to rebound for themselves, as DeGraffenreid and Lucas grabbed 17 rebounds between them. While part of it was the forwards' foul trouble, there were also a lot of long rebounds off of missed threes, which always seemed to find the hands of DeGraffenreid.

"I honestly don't know where they came from," DeGraffenreid said. "I remember my two offensive rebounds, i don't remember eight."

The first half was haunted by sloppy play, as both teams combined for 35 turnovers. Neither team could seem to get any rhythm offensively. UNC shot 34.3% in the first frame, and the Bulldogs shot 23.3%.

The Tar Heels' next home game will be on Dec. 29, which will mark their first trip inside the newly-renovated Carmichael Auditorium, and the end of their tenant stay in the Smith Center.

"When you drive down the road you can see through the windows," Lucas said. "I'll sometimes be driving and I'm trying to peek inside. I'm excited to be back."