University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
No. 25 Carolina Outlasts Virginia In Two OTs, 78-73
January 5, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. --- Krista Gross' driving layup with 40 seconds left in the second overtime period lifted No. 25 North Carolina to a 78-73 win over Virginia Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena. After Gross put the Tar Heels up 75-73, Carolina got defensive stops on back-to-back possessions and made 3 of 4 from the foul line to finally put it away.
Atlantic Coast Conference scoring leader Chay Shegog poured in 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 49 minutes to lead the Tar Heels (12-2), who improved to 2-0 in league play despite trailing at the half against both Miami and Virginia and turning the ball over 59 times in two games.
Virginia (12-4, 0-2 ACC) was led by Ataira Franklin's 29 points and nine rebounds.
UNC trailed by seven at halftime and by as many as 10 in the second half before mounting its second comeback in four days.
Franklin's uncontested layup after an Ariana Moorer steal at midcourt gave the Cavaliers a 45-38 lead with 12 1/2 minutes left in regulation before Carolina caught fire from the outside. After a Shegog bucket made it 45-40, Shannon Smith knocked down a long three to cut the UVa advantage to 2. Candace Wood then buried a pair of 3s on back-to-back possessions, giving UNC its first lead since early in the first half.
After the two squads traded the lead over the final 8 minutes of regulation, Carolina had the ball with a chance to win it in the final seconds but was unable to get a shot off.
Virginia looked more likely to win early in the first overtime period, racing out to a quick 5-point lead. But Wood's third three-pointer of the night cut the deficit to 62-60 and Shegog's 3-point play on the next possession put Carolina back in front with 2:46 to go.
The Wahoos got the lead back with five free throws over the final two minutes before Shegog tied it again at 69 with 15 seconds left. Moorer, who tied the game late in regulation with a driving layup, had a chance to win it but was off the mark and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt stripped Franklin in the dying moments to force a second overtime period.
Trailing by two with under 2 minutes left, Carolina got a coast-to-coast drive from Brittany Rountree to tie it at 73 and set up Gross' heroics. Virginia would miss its final five shots of the game and free throws from Rountree and Wood sealed the victory for UNC.
It was the second time in as many trips to JPJ Arena that the Tar Heels were forced to play extra time. Carolina skidded to a fifth-straight loss in 2010 when Virginia triumphed 82-78 in two overtimes.
This time is was the visitors who prevailed after 50 minutes and it's now five straight wins for the injury-ravaged Tar Heels, who got Ruffin-Pratt back after offseason shoulder surgery. The junior defensive ace played 32 minutes off the bench in her 2011-12 debut before succombing to a calf cramp early in the second extra period.
