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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC women's basketball wins third game in three days

Behind 3-point proficiency, the North Carolina women’s basketball team claimed its third victory in three days.

UNC (3-2) closed out the weekend with a 70-63 win over Yale (3-1) in Carmichael Arena in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge.

The Tar Heels’ early shooting prowess allowed the team to dominate in the first half. An early 3-pointer by sophomore guard Jamie Cherry gave UNC a 5-0 lead, one it held for the rest of the half. By intermission, 12 of the Tar Heels’ 33 points came from beyond the arc, where they shot at a 50 percent clip.

With aggressive first half play, UNC was able to go into the locker room with a comfortable lead – but the game was far from over.

The second half saw ripened intensity from the Bulldogs. And in less than two minutes, Yale narrowed the lead to a 3-point deficit.

Halfway through the second half, a 3-pointer by Meghan McIntyre puts the Bulldogs two points away from tying the game.

Then the Tar Heels buckled down for battle and Cherry came up big.

Following two sunken foul shots by senior forward Xylina McDaniel, Cherry got a jumper and drew the foul, giving the Tar Heels a five-point lead, and turning the tide back in their favor. With a jumper by senior guard N'Dea Bryant and an additional two-pointer for Cherry, the Tar Heels took an 11-point lead.

But UNC was not fully in the clear.

As the battle continued in the fourth period, Yale chipped away the Tar Heel lead until the Bulldogs were down by five points with just under two minutes to play.

Here, Bryant pulled critical stops.

The Bulldogs found a fast break to shoot and potentially further tighten the lead, but Bryant was able to block the shot, returning the possession to North Carolina.

When Yale found another chance to shoot in the final minute, Bryant came up big once again. She got the rebound off the shot and drew the foul, sinking both free throws to propel the Tar Heels to a 63-56 lead with 48 seconds remaining.

Following Bryant’s strong defense, North Carolina was able to maintain this lead over Yale for the final seconds. The final buzzer sounded and the Tar Heels walked away undefeated in tournament play.

Quotable

“It’s amazing how we’ve improved as a team in the last eight days. I thought they fought hard. it was very physical. A lot of them didn’t get any rest at all… so they were tough.” – Coach Sylvia Hatchell on her team’s performance.

Notable

North Carolina held a lead over Yale the entire game.

Three Numbers that matter

13: Bryant tallied 13 rebounds, more than any other player on the court

24: Cherry, broken nose and all, scored 24 points in the game, more than any other player on the court.

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36: North Carolina held Yale to a field goal percentage 36% for the game

What’s next?

The Tar Heels will take on Pacific on Wednesday at 2 pm in Carmichael Arena.