University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
EA Sports (Exhib.)
Tar Heels Triumph In First Exhibition
November 4, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Senior Nikita Bell led the way with 21 points and four other players joined her in double figures as the North Carolina women's basketball team beat EA Sports 101-69 Thursday night at Carmichael Auditorium in the first exhibition game of the 2004-05 season.
Freshman forward Erlana Larkins, playing in a Tar Heel uniform for the first time, hit all six of her shots from the field and both of her free throws to score 14 points in 18 minutes on the court. Senior guard Leah Metcalf had 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Ivory Latta scored 15 points and had nine assists. Sophomore forward Camille Little turned in a double-double with 11 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Bell had nine rebounds to go with her team-best scoring total.
Former Arkansas guard India Lewis led EA Sports, a traveling team made up of former collegiate players, with 13 points off the bench. Katie Bulger (West Virginia) and Mary Cofield (Iowa State) scored 12 points each and Max Nhassago (Old Dominion) had 10.
"I saw a lot of good things out there," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "The tempo was good and we had a lot of assists. I was very pleased with Erlana. She's going to be a force - tonight she showed just a little of what she can do.
"Some of our shots were not as good as I wanted and our defense broke down a few times, but it's good to have a game under our belt." With a starting lineup of Bell, Latta, Little, Metcalf and senior forward Kenya McBee, the Tar Heels didn't trail after the first three minutes of the game. UNC led 49-33 at halftime and had outrebounded EA Sports 30-16.
All 12 healthy players saw action for UNC. (Freshman Laydrillia Grant did not dress because of an injury.) Carolina's biggest lead of the game was 36 points (101-65) after a field goal by junior Tiffany Tucker with 53 seconds to play.
UNC finished the game with 24 assists, 18 of them by guards Latta and Metcalf, and 15 steals, six by Little. The Tar Heels shot 50 percent from the field to EA Sports's 36.8 and outrebounded the visitors 52-38.
Carolina hosts Athletes in Action on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. for a final exhibition game. The Tar Heels open the season on Nov. 19 at Carmichael Auditorium against Elon.
