University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State Holds Off Tar Heels
December 15, 2015 | Women's Basketball
In just the second meeting between the two schools, an 18-2 run midway through the third quarter by Oklahoma State broke open a tight game that featured seven ties and seven lead changes before the Cowgirls took control.
Brittney Martin scored seven of her game-high 24 points in the decisive run for Oklahoma State (8-0). Mandy Coleman added 15 points for the Cowgirls.
Jamie Cherry nearly singlehandedly brought North Carolina (6-5) back by scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, but the Tar Heels could only cut their deficit to three points on two occasions, the latter on a fast-break layup from Cherry with 1:40 left.
Cherry finished with 22 points, while Hillary Summers had 17 points and nine rebounds. Stephanie Watts had 13 and Destinee Walker contributed 10 points.
The Cowgirls entered the game as one of the premier rebounding teams in the country, enjoying a +17 advantage on the boards per game. Tonight, led by Martin's season-high 17 rebounds, Oklahoma State held a 54-40 rebound edge over the Tar Heels.
Carolina only turned the ball over nine times all game long. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels forced 13 Cowgirl miscues and turned them into 23 points to keep this one close.
Oklahoma State capitalized on a Tar Heel scoring drought to take an early 16-6 lead midway through the first quarter. The Cowgirls drew six early fouls on an already short Carolina bench. Couple that with a four minute, 58 second stretch without a field goal and the visitors from Chapel Hill fell behind early.
But Summers put an end to the streak to jump start a quick 5-0 spurt for the Tar Heels, and Cherry closed the quarter with another of her now patent three-point bombs to make it just 22-17 Cowgirls at the first intermission.
A three-pointer from Watts and a jumper from Bryant tied the game up 24-24 in the opening moments of the second quarter, capping an 18-8 run after Carolina trailed by as many as 10 points.
Cherry converted a three-point play later in the quarter to send Carolina up 31-30 at halftime.
Carolina hosts USC Upstate on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Chapel Hill.
