University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maryland
Tar Heels Fall To Maryland, 83-77
March 4, 2010 | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2010
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Lynetta Kizer had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead ninth-seeded Maryland (19-11) to an 83-77 win over eighth-seeded North Carolina Thursday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. Tianna Hawkins added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the defending champion, while Cetera DeGraffenreid scored 23 points to lead the Tar Heels.
The Terrapins had lost eight of 12 games before Thursday to put their NCAA hopes in jeopardy, but they'll get another chance to bolster their resume Friday against the ninth-ranked and top-seeded Blue Devils.
"I thought our young guns just grew up today," Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. "... It was just tremendous passion and intensity in terms of what we wanted to do against UNC, and I think the biggest thing is we finished it and completed it for a 40-minute game."
Much of that started with Kizer, who went 9-for-12 from the field despite playing just 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
"My coaches always tell me when you get in foul trouble, you have to play that much harder," Kizer said. "Four of us had four fouls, and we just kept playing hard. We weren't really worried about the whistle."
But Maryland also got timely contributions from Jackie Nared and Kim Rodgers. Nared hit a driving shot and a 3-pointer after the Tar Heels got within four points with about 5 1/2 minutes left, then Rodgers drained two free throws with 10.1 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.
DeGraffenreid scored 23 points to lead the Tar Heels, who entered the tournament knowing a win would help their NCAA chances but ended up with their first opening-game exit in 14 years. That left coach Sylvia Hatchell to do some lobbying for an NCAA berth afterward, citing her team's RPI and strength of schedule.
Then again, it wouldn't have been necessary had her team played the entire game like it did during its frantic comeback attempt. North Carolina trailed 12-2 and 24-8 in the first 8 minutes, then 53-37 with about 13:26 left.
"(Maryland) played hard, and they started off like fire crackers," Hatchell said. "We started off very lackadaisical, but we finally got going. ... We just had some spells out there when we weren't a very good team, but sometimes we were a very good team."
It was an unusually early meeting spot for the two programs. North Carolina had won four straight tournament titles - beating Maryland in the 2006 final and '07 semifinals - before the Terrapins beat the Tar Heels in last season's semis on the way to their first championship in two decades.
At least the teams provided some late-game drama worthy of their rivalry.
With her team holding a 79-75 lead, Rodgers missed two free throws with 22.1 seconds left to give North Carolina some life. DeGraffenreid scored a lay-up to cut the deficit to two with 12.5 seconds left, then fouled out by sending Rodgers to the line.
This time, however, Rodgers buried both shots to make it 81-77 with 10.1 seconds left. She'la White pushed the ball ahead but threw it away, and Hawkins scored a punctuation-mark layup before the horn.
"I was thinking about the last two I missed," Rodgers said of the foul shots. "I don't know what happened with those first two. ... But I just tried to push them out of my mind and refocus."
The Tar Heels had lost seven of eight before Sunday's upset of Duke in a physical game that seemed to give them some positive momentum heading to Greensboro.
Laura Broomfield didn't play in the first half against Maryland but finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Chay Shegog also had a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds), but the Tar Heels shot just 37 percent.
