University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NC State (ACC Tournament)
No. 1 Tar Heels To Play For ACC Championship
March 4, 2006 | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2006
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GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - No early struggles this time. Top-ranked North Carolina had its 'A' game from the start.
Ivory Latta scored 11 of her 17 points in the first half and the Tar Heels cruised to a 90-69 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
La'Tangela Atkinson made all six of her shots and finished with 13 points for the Tar Heels (28-1), who will play No. 4 Maryland in Sunday's final.
"It doesn't matter who we play," Atkinson said. "We're just going to go out and play Carolina basketball. If it's Maryland, we play Maryland. If it's Duke, we play Duke. It doesn't matter."
The Tar Heels extended their record for tournament victories to 43 before the largest semifinal crowd in the 29-year history of the event (10,019). Erlana Larkins had 13 points, Camille Little added 11 and LaToya Pringle scored 10 for North Carolina.
"At times we looked pretty good out there, at times we were a little ragged," coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We had five kids in double figures, and that balance is a strength of our team."
Billie McDowell had 17 points in her final game for the Wolfpack (19-11), who already wrapped up their likely NCAA tournament bid by winning four of their final five regular-season games. Two more victories in the ACC tournament should have improved their seeding.
Ashley Key scored 16 points before fouling out.
While North Carolina shot 54 percent, it was defense that carried this victory. The Wolfpack struggled almost from the start to put the ball in the basket, and only a spurt after the outcome was decided allowed them to finish with more baskets than made free throws.
At least they avoided their worst loss ever in the ACC tournament - that 99-76 route came courtesy of North Carolina in 1984.
"It was a very disappointing performance for us," N.C. State coach Kay Yow said. "I just don't feel that we were prepared as well as we needed to be for this game."
The first half was all Tar Heels, with Latta leading the way. Unlike a day earlier, when she missed nine of her first 10 shots, she swished a jumper on her first attempt in this one and never slowed down.
"I just tried to focus on whatever coach Hatchell wanted me to do," Latta said. "I can get the ball down inside to my post players, and if they can score, I don't need to score. But they were finding me on the wing, and I was getting open. I kind of felt pretty good."
The final three points were vintage Latta. The ACC player of the year patiently waited in the backcourt for the clock to wind down, then brought the ball up quickly to set up a screen from LaToya Pringle. That took care of Key, leaving Latta open well beyond the top of the arc.
Her 3-pointer went through right before the buzzer to give North Carolina a 46-27 lead at the break, and there would be no comeback by N.C. State. Larkins opened the second half with a putback and Jessica Sell added a 3 to increase the margin to 23, putting the finishing touches on their sixth straight victory over the Wolfpack.
"We just got in a deep hole, and then we're just fighting for our lives," Yow said. "We couldn't overcome that. I don't think we can overcome that against any team of that caliber when that happens."
Latta worked inside for a layup, Erlana Larkins whirled in the lane to score over Sasha Reaves and Atkinson converted a three-point play. At that point, the lead was 63-35, and Hatchell could afford to look ahead to her next matchup.
She is looking for her second consecutive tournament title and sixth overall.
"This is the 11th time in the last 13 years we've played for an ACC championship," Hatchell said. "I wish we'd won all those, but just being there is an honor."
