University of North Carolina Athletics
Brownlow: A Different Deja Vu
January 27, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2008
By Lauren Brownlow
When Carolina saw an 11-point first-half lead evaporate and turn into a seven-point edge for the visiting Terrapins, a frustrated Coach Hatchell called timeout to talk things over. One of the Maryland faithful behind the Terps' bench picked up a sign for the first time in the game and waved it enthusiastically. It read: "One Week Later: Déjà vu."
It was obviously referring to the Carolina men going down at the hands of Maryland last Saturday. But for the women's team, it felt more like déjà vu from Monday night's game against Connecticut. Carolina played well in the first half against Connecticut only to score a season-low 27 points in the second half and lose by 11 points, turning it over five times in its last six possessions.
Carolina has been "close" in both of its two losses. In one, the Tar Heels played well from the jump and could not sustain it for 40 minutes. In the Tennessee game, Carolina struggled for much of the game, only to mount a comeback that was too little, too late.
"After the Connecticut loss, a lot of us came into practice with a different mentality. We took it upon ourselves, especially me and Erlana (Larkins), to be harder on our team, to make them compete, to make them better in practice so they could be better in games because we knew that we lost just because we didn't compete and we didn't play smart at the end. That's always kind of been a problem for us. So we didn't let a lot of things go in practice. We pushed our team. If we had to get them straight, we got them straight. I think that really helped us today against Maryland," LaToya Pringle said.
Today, Carolina maintained its high level of play for 50 minutes. And, finally, it was enough.
LaToya Pringle and Erlana Larkins were able to step outside themselves a bit and become the vocal leaders that Carolina has needed them to be. The seniors talked tough to their teammates this week but they backed it up on the court, especially in crunch time. Against a Maryland front line that is one of the best in the country, the two combined to score 56 points on 18-of-29 shooting (20-of-24 from the line) and pull down 27 rebounds (16 offensive).
Pringle carried the offensive load with a career-high 31 points, 14 in both overtimes. She did not miss a shot from the field or a free throw in the second overtime in which she had 12 points. After pulling down just four rebounds in regulation she had five in the two overtimes. Larkins scored eight points in the two overtimes but added five of her season-high 18 rebounds and four of her whopping 13 offensive rebounds in the overtime periods. Carolina out-rebounded Maryland 13-6 in the two overtimes, including six offensive rebounds. Pringle and Larkins combined for 10 rebounds (and all six offensive boards) in the two overtimes.
This epic rivalry game between what was the No. 3 and 4 teams in the polls this week (flip-flopped in the AP and Coaches' poll) has become just as important to the women's team as the Carolina-Duke game in recent years. Erlana Larkins once said that her most painful loss as a Tar Heel was the overtime loss to Maryland at home in 2006. Not an NCAA Tournament loss, she said, because those were not close games. But the Maryland loss in 2006, Carolina had chance after chance after chance to win and simply could not.
Pringle and Larkins were sophomores in the 2006 loss. Larkins was a starter and Pringle a reserve who played 22 minutes. But it was not only the desire to avenge one of Carolina's two home losses since 2006 that drove this team. It was the need for Larkins and Pringle to emerge and take this team on their backs. "Yeah, she's tough - broken hand and all. From when she was a freshman, I've called her a warrior and she is. She's just so tough. These two, I just don't want to let them graduate. I'm really proud of both of them. They really are the leaders of our team and that's the way it should be," Hatchell said.
"Warrior" is not a word that an observer would associate with the lean and lithe LaToya Pringle. But against girls that outweigh her by as many as 50-60 pounds, she just keeps hitting the boards and going for rebounds. At one point in the second half, she caught an elbow from Maryland's Jade Perry that cut her lip, causing her to change her now-bloody jersey.
The two have been together since 2006 and have always had different roles. But Larkins has always known that Pringle has always had this kind of performance in her. "Looking at her from freshman year up until now, she's grown a lot. I just think that she's also growing into that leadership role," Larkins said. "She was always in the right place at the right time, either getting a pass for a putback or she was getting a missed shot and putting it back. So I just think she played a great game today."
Carolina lost two of three to Maryland - including a Final Four loss - in the 2005-06 season. Since then, Carolina has won three straight. Carolina also defeated perennial powers Connecticut and Tennessee last season on its home court. Watching this young team gutting out a tough win over a national power, one can't help but get a little sense of déjà vu.
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
