University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Prelims Over, Time For The Sequel
February 16, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2003
By Adam Lucas
It's finally time for Duke-Carolina II.
The Tar Heels finished up their final preliminary game Sunday night by beating Clemson in front of a Carmichael Auditorium crowd of 321, all of whom deserved some sort of fan medal for braving Chapel Hill roads that were essentially a sheet of ice. The Heels, as has been their custom of late, didn't put together an especially artistic performance, but they played enough second-half defense to hold on for a 70-66 victory.
The most shocking thing about the victory was the way the Tigers controlled the glass. Clemson hauled down 48 rebounds, including 20 offensive boards, to just 35 (and eight offensive) for Carolina.
"I lied to the players," Tiger head coach Jim Davis said after the game. "I told them that if we won the offensive rebounding battle, we'd win the game."
It didn't work out quite that way. Clemson held a three-point lead with 14 minutes left in the second half, but Carolina got a second-half spurt when Nikita Bell pickpocketed Julie Talley and swooped in for a layup. Bell, who went down twice in the closing minutes with a turned ankle, would eventually reel off eight straight points in about a minute of play, and the Tar Heels never trailed again.
They eventually stretched their advantage to 11 points, which turned out to be fortunate, because the Heels were able to notch just one point over the final 6:54 of the game.
That drought and the rebounding problems will provide Sylvia Hatchell--who in case you're wondering, did get a handshake from Davis after the game--with plenty of ammunition for her players as they get ready for the Blue Devils Thursday night at 7:00 (you can still order tickets for what should be a terrific game by clicking here or by calling 919-681-BLUE) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It was after the last clash with Duke, a 78-67 overtime defeat that may have been the best basketball game played on campus this year, that the Heels seemed to hit a valley. Wins over Western Michigan, Maryland, Georgia Tech, NC State, Wake Forest, FSU, and Clemson haven't been especially beautiful to watch, as were some of the early-season blowouts. But it's very difficult to argue with 23-2 and 12-1 in the league, Carolina's current marks. Ugly wins are always better than pretty losses.
It's just that to provide fans with another Duke-Carolina classic, the Heels are going to have to ratchet up their play a couple of notches. Although the overall performance didn't leave Hatchell smiling, there were signs of a return to form against the Tigers. Candace Sutton was a force in the paint early and had one of her best games of the season, chipping in 18 points, good for second on the team behind the reliable Coretta Brown, who finished with 19. Carolina forced 25 Tiger turnovers and was more consistent from the foul line.
Due to the ice, which dampened an expected crowd of more than 5,000 that was to include Senator Elizabeth Dole, it wasn't a particularly easy game to generate any sort of rhythm. Not even a single cheerleader could be found, so most instructions yelled by Davis and Hatchell could be easily heard across the court.
That won't be the case on Thursday night, when Cameron may--after the new polls are released this week--be hosting two top-five teams.
And now, with all the preliminaries out of the way, we can finally talk about it without fear of being accused of looking ahead. The first was a classic. Bring on the sequel.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
