North Carolina
Wake Forest
Tar Heel Women Hang On To Defeat Wake, 75-69
February 17, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The University of North Carolina women's basketball team defeated visiting Wake Forest 75-69 Thursday evening at Carmichael Auditorium to improve to 14-11 on the season, 6-8 in the ACC. Wake fell to 6-18 overall, 2-11 in the conference with the loss, its eighth straight. The Demon Deacons have not won since beating UNC 69-56 in Winston-Salem on Jan. 16 in the teams' first meeting of the season.
"What a hard-fought game," Wake coach Charlene Curtis said. "I'm really proud of our team. It's tough to lose so many games in a row and still come to play. I'm pleased that we stayed in the game and gave ourselves a chance to win. Carolina made some big shots down the stretch and got some loose balls, but I'm really proud of our effort."
Carolina led by as many as 13 in the first half and held a 38-29 advantage at halftime. Wake closed the gap quickly in the second half, however, and took a 51-50 lead with 9:05 to play on a lay-up by Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick that capped a 14-3 run.
The teams exchanged the lead several times and Wake Forest led by three with 3:11 to play, but UNC outscored the visitors 15-6 down the stretch. During that span, Carolina got three-pointers from junior guard Juana Brown and junior center Jackie Higgins, whose three with 43 seconds to play was just her second of the season.
"I'm happy we won, but I'm not happy with the way we played," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "I am thankful that Jackie made that last three.
"Our team did not play very smart. In the first half, we got a 13-point lead and lost our killer instinct."
Junior forward LaQuanda Barksdale led UNC with 20 points despite playing just 22 minutes because of foul trouble. She picked up her fifth with 3:59 remaining in the game. The leading scorer in the ACC, Barksdale hit the 20-point mark for the 10th time this season. Higgins had 15 points and led the Tar Heels in rebounds with nine, and Brown added 14 points.
Junoir forward Kristen Shaffer led Wake with a career-high 17 points. Kirkpatrick, a junior forward, and senior guard Alisha Mosley each added 15 points.
UNC's next game is on Tuesday, when the Tar Heels will take on Florida State in Tallahassee. Wake Forest plays at Maryland on Sunday.
