Coming off the highest scoring game of her career, Italee Lucas was held to a season-low 13 against East Tennessee State but added five assists without a turnover to lead North Carolina to an 87-47 victory Wednesday night.
Lucas’ fellow senior Jessica Breland added nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals to her 11 points. They were joined in double figures by sophomores Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and Krista Gross, who scored 11 and a career-high 10 points, respectively.
“Some of the younger ones are really starting to come around,” UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said.
Most of the UNC scoring came in the paint, dominating the Bucs with 48 points in the post.
ETSU stayed within striking distance of the 12th-ranked team in the country through the game’s first 25 minutes, but a Breland 3-pointer sparked a 26-0 run for UNC that lasted just fewer than seven minutes.
“Our depth definitely made a difference,” Lucas said.
That depth allowed North Carolina to stay fresh throughout the game with nine players playing at least 15 minutes.
Their suffocating defense kept pressure on the Bucs’ ball handlers all night long as the Tar Heels swiped a season-high 22 steals on 31 ETSU turnovers.
Defensive pressure was a key part of North Carolina’s success all night long, scoring 27 points off Bucs turnovers. Pressure that was never more evident than on a Ruffin-Pratt five-point possession with 13 minutes remaining in the game.
