University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
No. 7 North Carolina Holds Off No. 19 Virgina, 79-68
June 21, 1999 | Women's Basketball
January 18, 1999
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Juana Brown was shooting poorly. Leading scorer Nikki Teasley was in foul trouble. And No. 7 North Carolina was down by three in the second half.
When Brown saw Teasley walk to the bench, "I knew I had to step up. I had to relax and let my shot come to me."
It came, in a flood.
Brown scored 10 of the North Carolina's 12 points in a key second-half spurt to lead the Tar Heels to a 79-68 victory Monday over No. 19 Virginia.
Brown did a little dance and broke into a huge smile after she hit a 3-pointer with 4:25 remaining, giving her 20 points and stopping Virginia's final comeback attempt.
The victory by North Carolina (19-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) was the fifth in six games against Virginia (11-5, 5-2) and put them in sole possession of second place in the ACC.
What makes North Carolina so successful, Teasley said, "is that on any given night, anybody can score 30 points. That was a real key to see Juana step up."
The Tar Heels were behind 48-45 with 14:12 to play. A few minutes later, Teasley sat down with four fouls.
But Brown, who went 2-8 from the floor in the first half, then found her touch. She made four straight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers and a short jumper with 11:05 remaining that put North Carolina ahead 57-49.
"That was the key to the game," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said of Brown's baskets. "She really got hot at the end. Then we turned the ball over. It was almost like we self-destructed."
North Carolina led 39-33 at halftime after beating Virginia on the boards and getting 18 second-chance points. But the Cavaliers went on a 15-6 run to start the second half to pull ahead by three on a driving layup by Erin Stovall, who finished with 24 points.
Ryan said her team began getting tentative after taking the lead and kept getting caught in North Carolina's defensive traps.
The Cavaliers lost the ball 24 times compared to 14 for the Tar Heels, who have the best turnover margin in the ACC. Virginia also was outrebounded 50-44 despite being much taller up front.
"I don't get caught up in the size," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. She then patted LaQuanda Barksdale on the shoulder and praised her rebounding ability.
"I think I can out jump anybody," said the 5-11 Barksdale.
Barksdale had 15 rebounds, five more than Virginia's top rebounder, DeMya Walker, who is four inches taller.
"We flat out didn't rebound, and that was all there was to it," Ryan said.
Chanel Wright also scored 17 points for North Carolina, and Teasley, who came in averaging 15.7 points per game, finished with 11.
