University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Lehigh
UNC Women's Hoops Earns Win Over Lehigh
January 5, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2002
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--The University of North Carolina women's basketball team stepped outside the Atlantic Coast Conference Saturday night to earn a 76-47 win over visiting Lehigh at Carmichael Auditorium. The Tar Heels, ranked 19th in the Associated Press poll and 18th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, improved to 12-2 on the season. Lehigh fell to 4-9.
The Mountain Hawks, members of the Patriot League, led 16-14 after a lay-up by sophomore guard Carli Toliver with 12:18 remaining in the first half. Carolina responded with an 18-0 run to go up 32-16 6:07 before the break. After that, Lehigh never got within 14.
Senior guard Nikki Teasley led all scorers with 21 points in 26 minutes of play. She came off the bench to hit 8 of 11 attempts, four of six three-pointers, and tied her career high with six steals. Also scoring in double figures were sophomore center Candace Sutton (16 points on 7-of-11 shooting) and junior guard Coretta Brown (14 points, including three three-pointers). Sutton also had a season-high four blocks.
Sophomore forward Chrystal Baptist led UNC in rebounding with eight and freshman Leah Metcalf handed out nine assists. For the game, Carolina totaled 20 assists and committed just 13 turnovers.
Toliver led Lehigh in scoring with 17 points, one short of her season high. She was 7-for-13 from the field, 3-for-8 from three-point range. Junior center Anne Tierney added 15 points and six rebounds. Chantal St. Laurent, a 5-6 freshman guard, led the Mountain Hawks on the boards with a career-high nine rebounds.
"For us, this was a good game," Lehigh coach Sue Troyan said. "For the most part, we did a good job of controlling the tempo. Player for player, Carolina is just quicker and more athletic than we are."
UNC's 76 points marked the team's lowest total in a win this season. The Tar Heels, who came into the game averaging 89.1 points per game, shot 39.5 in the first half but boosted that to 55.2 in the second, 46.3 for the game.
"In the first half, we weren't making our outside shoots," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We did a better job in the second half. Our shot selection improved and our ball movement was better."
Saturday's game was the first meeting between the two schools.
Up next for Carolina is another nonconference game, against Tennessee-Martin on Monday. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium. The Tar Heels, 3-0 in league play, return to their ACC schedule on Thursday evening with a 7 p.m. game against NC State at the Dean E. Smith Center.
Lehigh now heads into Patriot League play with a 5:30 p.m. game on Wednesday at Army.
