University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Kennesaw State
No. 16 Tar Heels Handle Kennesaw State, 76-62
November 27, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina started slowly and limped to the finish line, but the short-handed Tar Heels were good enough in between to win.
Chay Shegog scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help No. 16 North Carolina beat Kennesaw State 76-62 on Sunday.
She'la White added 20 points and Krista Gross had 13 points for the Tar Heels (5-0), who trailed most of the first half.
"We started off really sluggish," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We were a little out of sync. I like the five that we had out there, but we've got four or five kids sitting over there on the side who have at one time or another started for us."
The Tar Heels, who lost backup guard Latifah Coleman to a season-ending knee injury on Tuesday, had just eight players in uniform.
Laura Broomfield, the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading rebounder, sat out with a protective boot on her sore left foot. Reserve guard Shannon Smith was out with a sore hamstring.
Hatchell said both players would be healthy enough to play Wednesday when North Carolina travels to No. 17 Penn State. The Tar Heels, who completed their season-opening homestand with an average victory margin of 43 points, have won 55 consecutive games in November.
North Carolina missed Broomfield against the Owls (2-3), who dominated the glass against the taller Tar Heels in the early going. Kennesaw State grabbed six offensive rebounds in the first five minutes and attempted 13 shots during that span, compared with only three shots for North Carolina.
"North Carolina has a great reputation, and our players responded," Kennesaw State coach Colby Tilley said.
Ashley Holliday scored 26 points to lead the Owls, who led 14-8 midway through the first half. Sametria Gideon added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Kennesaw State.
North Carolina closed the first half with an 8-0 run in the final 1:30 to lead 37-30. White led the surge with a 3-pointer and another jumper.
The Tar Heels pulled away after outscoring Kennesaw State 20-4 in the first 6:44 of the second half.
"We had to get on the same page defensively, and we had to take care of the ball," White said. "We had to communicate. We weren't communicating at all defensively on 3s. We just have to focus and be on the same page."
Shegog made 9 of 15 shots from the field for the Tar Heels, who shot 50 percent (28 of 56) from the floor. After getting outrebounded 21-17 in the first half, North Carolina finished with a 37-36 edge on the glass.
The Tar Heels led by as many as 26 points midway through the second half, but they couldn't maintain it. The Owls answered immediately with a 17-2 run and drew within 72-62 with 1:57 to play.
"Our young players got a lot of experience," Hatchell said. "You've just got to be a little patient with them and tell them to just keep playing hard. We'll keep teaching them, and they'll keep getting better."
