University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
No. 10 North Carolina Sinks Virginia 75-70
January 29, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan 29, 2004
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By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - At just 5-foot-6, North Carolina freshman point guard Ivory Latta can slip off the radar without much trouble.
She also can get back on it real quick, and showed it Thursday night by scoring 20 of her 22 points in the second half to help No. 10 North Carolina hold off Virginia 75-70.
"I wasn't looking for the shot in the first half. I was just looking to get my teammates into it," Latta said. "Then I realized, `I've just got to get going,' and when I get going, my teammates feed off of it."
Latta was 7-for-11 from the field in the second half, including 3-pointers 24 seconds apart to give the Tar Heels a 69-62 lead with 3:47 left, and then a baseline 10-footer with 39.6 seconds remaining.
That gave North Carolina a 71-68 lead, and when Kate Kreager's layup pulled Virginia within a point with 20.1 seconds left, Nikita Bell's easy layup off an inbounds play restored the margin to three with 16 seconds left.
Latta then sealed it, stripping the ball from Anna Crosswhite near the free throw line and driving for the layup that produced the final score.
"In the open court, she creates a lot of havoc," Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell said, adding that teams have already come to know to beware her fearless drives into the lane, or her 3-point ability.
"She can make it just across halfcourt, really," Hatchell said.
La'Tangela Atkinson added a career-high 22 points for the Tar Heels (16-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who host Florida State on Saturday for only their second home game since Jan. 4.
Virginia (9-10, 3-5) stayed in it with defense until the late breakdown against Latta, coach Debbie Ryan said.
"You cannot not guard a 3-point shooter," Ryan said. "You've got to have hands up, do something better than what happened tonight.
"That was ridiculous."
Siedah Williams led Virginia with 18 points in just 21 minutes and LaTonya lue had 11. Virginia's bench accounted for 42 points. The Cavaliers had 22 turnovers and went 3-of-16 from 3-point range.
Latta, meanwhile, was 3-for-7 and Atkinson was 2-for-2.
Virginia's Brandi Teamer, playing for the first time in six games, became the 21st Cavaliers player to score 1,000 career points. She had five, all in the first half, and was limited to nine minutes of action.
The Tar Heels led by as many as eight in the first half, then went scoreless for the final four minutes as Virginia put together a 10-0 run, taking a 30-28 lead on Deidra Chatman's 8-footer.
The Cavaliers had 14 turnovers in the half, but outrebounded North Carolina 22-14. Virginia's reserves accounted for 26 of its 30 first-half points, led by Williams with 10 and Chatman with six.
