University of North Carolina Athletics
Brownlow: Get It To Candace
February 4, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2012
By Lauren Brownlow
It wasn't too long ago - less than a year, in fact - when it looked like Candace Wood might never play meaningful minutes in a Carolina uniform. Multiple knee surgeries, numerous complications/infections and years of rehab later, she's a starter. And she's become kind like a closing pitcher in baseball.
"It feels good to be a part of it," the redshirt junior said after her free throws down the stretch helped secure a win over Virginia. "I never thought I would see this opportunity. It's been a great road and I'm just hopefully going to keep improving."
"Candace again, making foul shots - she's done that for us at several games," head coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "At the end, I was telling (the team), `Get it to Candace. Get it to Candace'."
And they did. She scored Carolina's final seven points of the game, four from the foul line. But it wasn't always easy: Chay Shegog was trying to get Wood the ball in the closing seconds but it ended up rolling down the court perilously before Tierra Ruffin-Pratt finally corralled it as the horn sounded. "I was running hard after that ball," Wood said with a grin.
Last year, she would have never been in for a late-game situation. The only time she could play at all was when the team went zone because she couldn't move laterally well enough in man-to-man. But that sweet shooting stroke, reminiscent of her father Al Wood's silky jumper, made her an asset so she saw some playing time, but not much. And her athletic limitations were obvious.
She still has those limitations. The Tar Heels, who in the past could generally out-athlete almost any other opponent in the country, haven't been that kind of a team this year. That's what makes Wood so valuable.
And it's probably what made Shegog bristle a bit when asked how big of a role Carolina's athleticism played in their win. "UVA is athletic, too," she said. "I think just when it came down to determination, I think we were determined to get it done and we did what we had to do."
Wood is a fighter, but she has been fueled by others' belief in her, especially her teammates. Before the last minute of the game, Wood had seven points and was just 2-of-8 from three and 1-of-2 from the foul line. Her first missed free throw of the year came in the first half, and she walked off the line in disgust after missing it before sinking her second.
But when She'la White had a chance at a wide open shot with a little under a minute to go and Carolina up just one point, she passed it up and found Wood wide open on the wing for a three-pointer. Wood drained it.
"My teammates kept me in it. They told me to keep shooting. That's what I was going to do," Wood said. "(Tierra Ruffin-Pratt) made a good pass to She'la, and She'la had a chance to shoot that and she passed it to me. She had confidence in me. I just let it fly."
There was never any doubt when she stepped to the line with 43 seconds left and again with 28 seconds left that she would sink all four foul shots. Her father Al sat watching silently with a hand over his mouth, nervous as any father would be. But he and Candace both know too well that she has overcome things a lot worse than missing a few shots.
