University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NC State
Tar Heels Complete Season Sweep Of NC State, 68-59
February 19, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2012
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) --- Tierra Ruffin-Pratt had a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds to help North Carolina beat rival NC State 68-59 on Sunday.
Waltiea Rolle added 12 points and Laura Broomfield had 13 rebounds for the Tar Heels (19-8, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who led by 18 points with just under 5 minutes left.
Bonae Holston scored 15 points for the Wolfpack (15-13, 4-10), who shot a season-worst 26 percent. Leading scorer Marissa Kastanek finished with nine points on 2-for-8 shooting before re-aggravating a right ankle injury late.
NC State had split the season series by winning the second meeting with the Tar Heels in each of coach Kellie Harper's first two years, but the Wolfpack couldn't duplicate that success Sunday. North Carolina took its biggest lead, 61-43, on Ruffin-Pratt's layup with 4:57 left.
The Wolfpack hit three straight 3-pointers to pull within 61-52 with 3:09 left, but got no closer.
UNC Head Coach Sylvia Hatchell
Opening Statement:
"That was a big game for us, because NC State always plays so hard. We hadn't had a team get as many second chance points this year on us as they got. At halftime, all but six of their points were second chance points so we didn't do a good job there, but everything else we did pretty well. Pratt's shot is falling now and she has been in the gym shooting a lot. She has been taking more than 1,000 shots every week at least. I knew Waltiea could do everything that she did today, it's just a matter of getting her back into shape. She has been working really hard on that and we really needed her today, with Chay in foul trouble and she did a great job for us as well. Broomfield did a great job rebounding and you can't put a price tag on how important her rebounds are and her cuts and everything she does. We have had different people stepping up and doing a good job for us.
"We knew NC State was going to play really hard, because they always do. They made some big 3ss down the stretch there but it's really good to be at 19 wins now. We have two really tough games coming up but I said earlier that this team was going to continue to get better and better and we are.
"We have two tough games and we know that. But that's okay because it can do nothing but get us ready for tournament time and who knows, we may surprise some people."
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt
On returning to full strength:
"I just want to keep getting better and working on my shot. I need to continue to play good defense and continue to do anything that's going to help my team. I have been missing a lot of easy shots, so I have been getting into the gym and shooting those same shots that ill be shooting in the game is helping me make them."
Waltiea Rolle
On her conditioning and her return:
"It's been ok. Thanks to the coaches, I am in better shape now. I am getting better and I felt good today. This is the best I have felt since I have been back."
NC State Head Coach Kellie Harper
Opening Statement:
"It doesn't take a genius to pick up that stat sheet and figure out where the game was won and lost, between our offense and their defense. Our field goal percentage was too low to win games in the ACC, and I think that's two-fold. I think you have to credit their defense and their length and I think we didn't work as hard as we needed to in the first half to get good shots. I thought we were impatient and took some tough shots."
On NC State's effort:
"I think at times our effort was there. Sometimes effort and toughness look very similar and I'm not sure that we had the toughness that we needed. We will go back and pick it apart in the film and see what happened. We had a lot of kids that were playing hard and were trying. It was almost like we were running in quicksand."
Bonae Holston
On Carolina's frontcourt:
"Its very tough to play against them because you have to work to get in front of them and then work to box them out. Sometimes with their length, they can just tip the ball out of your hands. We just let them get the ball in easy spots and it killed us."
