University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Tennessee State
Women's Basketball Wins Fifth Straight
June 21, 1999 | Women's Basketball
December 13, 1998
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - No. 7 North Carolina showed no mercy for injury-riddled Tennessee State on Sunday, out-shooting and out-rebounding the shorter Tigers in a 95-63 rout.
North Carolina (11-1) led from start to finish for its fifth straight win.
Five players scored in double figures, led by Chanel Wright's 18 points, while two Tar Heels had double-doubles. LaQuanda Barksdale had 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Jackie Higgins came off the bench for 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Nikki Teasley added 14 points and LaQuanda Dawkins 11 for the Tar Heels.
"North Carolina can hurt you in so many different ways," Tennessee State coach Teresa Phillips said as she scanned the final boxscore. "They just have so much speed and athleticism. They can play imperfectly and still beat a lot of people."
The Tar Heels showed some of their flaws early, committing 15 first-half turnovers and making just 16 of their first 33 shots from the field.
"In the first half, I was upset with our passing, very upset," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "I was not at all pleased, and it was something we talked about at halftime."
Leading 44-27 at halftime, North Carolina worked the ball inside and hit 15 of its first 23 shots of the second half to push the margin to 79-48. Only one of those baskets, a 3-pointer by Teasley, came from outside the paint.
"We're still not where I want us to be," Hatchell said. "We've got to be more aggressive. Our players are still fading away on shots. I want them to put it on the floor and go to the basket."
With three post players injured, Tennessee State (4-4) still tried to drive inside on North Carolina. With a roster averaging 5-foot-9 in height, the Tigers still drew 24 fouls, but made just 13 of 31 free throws.
"We knew North Carolina was going to dominate us on the boards, and they did," Phillips said. "The one thing we could have done was hit our free throws."
Schronda Moore and Cari Hassell each scored 18 points for Tennessee State, which was held to 23-for-59 shooting from the floor and got outrebounded 49-30 by the Tar Heels.
In the first half, North Carolina shot a lackluster 16-for-33 but still managed a 17-point lead at the break, helped by 10 points from Wright.
North Carolina hit six of its first nine shots of the second half to pull away. The Tar Heels cleared their bench with 5:15 left to play and took their biggest lead at 96-60 just before the finish on two free throws by Jessica Gaspar.
