University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Miami
Tar Heels Top Hurricanes To Advance To ACC Semifinals
March 5, 2005 | Women's Basketball
March 5, 2005
Game Notes on Sunday's Matchup with Virginia (in PDF Format)
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By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Fourth-ranked North Carolina barely avoided a stunning end to its pursuit of an Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
After trailing nearly the entire game, the Tar Heels went ahead to stay on a late 3-pointer from Ivory Latta and held on for a 64-57 win against Miami in the ACC tournament quarterfinals Saturday.
Latta finished with 19 points for the top-seeded Tar Heels (25-3), while Nikita Bell added 13 points and eight rebounds to help North Carolina earn its 11th straight win despite shooting a season-low 29 percent.
North Carolina advanced to Sunday's semifinals to play the winner of the Florida State-Virginia game.
The Tar Heels - the No. 1 seed for the first time in eight years - have high hopes of winning their first tournament title since 1998. But they struggled mightily against a team they beat by 31 points in the regular season.
North Carolina shot just 18-for-28 from the free-throw line and had 24 turnovers. The Tar Heels trailed by 10 points in the first half and by three in the final 2{ minutes before making a late run.
The Tar Heels had a 57-43 rebounding advantage and held the Hurricanes (13-16) to one field goal in the final 5 minutes.
Tamara James had 13 points and 14 rebounds to lead Miami, which shot just 32 percent - including 2-for-20 from 3-point range.
"I thought at the beginning we were too lackadaisical with our defense," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We did not play this game with a sense of urgency except for the last three or four minutes. We have got to play every game like that."
North Carolina came into the game averaging 80 points, but never could get its transition game going and had trouble finishing baskets in the paint. The Tar Heels didn't lead for the first 30 minutes, and needed Latta and Bell to spark a 9-0 run to go ahead for good.
Trailing 55-52, Latta hit two free throws, then hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Bell for a 57-55 lead with 2:08 left.
Bell then came up with two big plays. With North Carolina struggling much of the day against Miami's zone defense, Bell flashed to the top of the key to catch the ball, then made a spinning move to the basket for a 59-55 lead with 1:33 left.
After a Miami timeout, Bell stole a pass near midcourt for a breakaway attempt. She missed the layup, but Camille Little got the rebound and picked up the fifth foul on James with 1:19 left.
Little closed the run with two free throws, giving the Tar Heels a 61-55 edge.
Miami, which left the Big East for the ACC this season, had a memorable first trip to the league tournament. The Hurricanes beat Georgia Tech 60-58 in Friday's first round when James caught a halfcourt heave and banked in a shot at the buzzer, then put a scare into the top seed.
"I just think we kind of fell through what we needed to do (late)," said Katie Hayek, who scored eight points for Miami. "There were these little things - like a foul or a turnover - that really hurt us in the end."
Miami led 16-6 behind a zone defense that shut down the Tar Heels' inside game and Erlana Larkins, who 11 points. North Carolina missed its first 10 shots and had 10 turnovers in the first 8 minutes.
The Tar Heels didn't take their first lead until Larkins completed a three-point play to make it 46-45 with 9:26 left.
