North Carolina
Exhibition (Premier Players)
Tar Heels Earn Win In First Exhibition
November 3, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 3, 2002
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The North Carolina women's basketball team took the court against outsite competition Sunday for the first time this season and came away with a win, 87-74 against Premier Players. Junior center Candace Sutton led four Tar Heels in double figures with 20 points. Sophomore forward Nikita Bell was UNC's top rebounder with 12.
"We got to play a lot of people today and let them start to develop their roles," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We missed a lot of easy shots, but our rebounding was good. I thought Nikita Bell, in particular, did a really good job on the boards. Overall, we had a lot of people contribute to this win."
The Tar Heels got points from 10 and rebounds from 11 of the 12 players who saw time on the court. Joining Sutton in double figures were three other starters: freshman forward La'Tangela Atkinson (12 points), senior guard Coretta Brown (11 points) and sophomore guard Leah Metcalf (10 points). Also in the starting lineup for UNC was senior forward Jennifer Thomas, who had five points.
The Premier Players were led by former Tar Heel Juana Brown's 17 points, 10 of which came in the first half when she was the only player to reach double figures. Former Georgia standout La'Keshia Frett, now with the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs, scored 14 points. Another former UNC player, Nikki Teasley, came off the bench to add 10 points. Teasley, the only senior on last year's Carolina squad, now plays for the Los Angeles Sparks and hit the winning shot in the 2002 WNBA Championship. Joining Frett and Brown in the starting lineup for Premier Players were former NC State player Tynesha Lewis, former Maryland player Marche Strickland and former South Carolina player Teresa Geter.
Premier Players jumped out to an early advantage and led by nine points after just three minutes of play. Carolina closed the gap and took the lead with a 13-4 run that included two field goals by Atkinson and two - one a three-pointer - by freshman guard Jessica Sell.
Premier Players never led again by more than two and the teams were tied 41-41 at halftime. UNC opened the second half with an 11-2 run and didn't trail again, although Premier Players pulled within a point on several occasions. The 13-point final margin was Carolina's biggest lead of the game.
Premier Players will play in the Triangle the next two nights, at NC State on Monday and at Duke on Tuesday.
North Carolina plays its second preseason exhibition game on Wednesday, hosting Athletes in Action at Carmichael Auditorium. Tipoff is 7 p.m. and there is no charge for admission. The Tar Heels open the 2002-03 season on Nov. 22 against in-state rival Davidson.
