University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
6-1
Wisconsin
2-6
Carolina Cruises Past Wisconsin
December 2, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Watts, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, registered her fourth double-double of the season by grabbing 10 rebounds to go with her game-high 23 points. Destinee Walker added 17 points, while Paris Kea chipped in with 14 and six steals.
North Carolina (6-1) improved to 7-3 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Walker converted three buckets in the opening moments and Watts knocked down a corner three-pointer to give Carolina an early edge over the Badgers. The run continued with the Tar Heels scoring 11 points in a row for a 17-4 lead.
Wisconsin (2-6) closed within nine points, 18-9, but a mid court steal and break away layup from Kea put Carolina up 23-11 after one quarter.
The Tar Heels scored the first six points of the second stanza. A fast-break layup by Alyssa Okoene off an open-court feed from Kea had UNC up 29-11, forcing the Badgers to call a timeout.
Watts later made her third shot from beyond the arc in the half to grow the lead to 45-22. A balanced first-half attack of a dozen points each from both Kea and Watts and 11 more from Walker pushed Carolina ahead 47-25 at intermission.
After shooting 55.8 percent in the first half, the Tar Heels struggled in the third quarter with just 10 points, but still maintained a comfortable 57-40 lead going to the fourth quarter.
The Badgers hung around in the fourth, but a late three-pointer from Walker iced the victory for the Tar Heels.
Cayla McMorris and Suzanne Gilreath scored 11 points each to lead the Badgers.
Carolina hosts Elon on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
