After North Carolina missed all nine of its 3-point attempts Sunday against N.C. State, women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell said she might as well put the ball in the hands of her 6-foot-6 center, Waltiea Rolle, on the perimeter.
“She can really shoot the ball, she can shoot the three,” Hatchell said after Sunday’s game. “Nobody else made one, so maybe we need to bring Waltiea out and let her shoot a couple. And I’m serious, she can shoot. That may be our next strategy.”
She chuckled as she spoke, but Hatchell apparently wasn’t kidding.
“She tells me every day in practice that it’s okay to shoot the three, so I just took the chance in this game,” Rolle said.
With just under 10 minutes to play in UNC’s 85-57 Senior Night steamrolling of Boston College, Rolle squared up on the right wing behind a screen and lofted her first-ever 3-point attempt as a Tar Heel. It dropped for three of her 21 points, and the Carmichael crowd leapt to its feet.
“In practice, she stands out there and she can make them as good as Brittany (Rountree) or Megan (Buckland) or any of them,” Hatchell said. “I’m telling you, she can shoot it. I’ve actually thought about doing that as we get down to tournament time — pulling her out some and letting her shoot out there. I mean, really. I’ll do about anything.”
So will Rolle. She blocked three shots and pulled down six rebounds in addition to her eight-for-12 shooting performance from the field and four-of-five clip from the foul line.
But her centrality in the offensive scheme is a relatively new dimension to UNC’s game. She averaged single figures during her freshman and sophomore years.
Then Rolle missed the beginning of her junior season to give birth to her daughter. She rejoined the team after the Christmas break and averaged just under four points in 20 games. Her return was impressive in itself, but her level of play this season has been nothing short of astonishing.
