University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maine
Watts Beats Buzzer, Black Bears With Last Second Shot
December 31, 2015 | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL - Stephanie Watts made a buzzer-beating three-pointer at then end of regulation to lift North Carolina to a 59-58 victory over Maine on Thursday from Carmichael Arena.
Watts paced North Carolina (10-5) with a game-high 18 points, but none were bigger than her final three points at the buzzer. Watts inbounded the ball to Xylina McDaniel, who immediately found a wide open Watts in the corner and she knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the half.
N'Dea Bryant and Hillary Summers each added 10 points for the Tar Heels. Summers hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds to notch her third double-double of the season.
Sigi Koizar had 21 points for Maine (9-6). She scored her teams last eight points, including a go-ahead layup with 5.7 seconds left, before Watts game-winning shot.
Sophie Weckstrom had 18 points for the Black Bears, while Mikaela Gustafsson added 10 points and 10 boards.
Carolina used the three-pointer to increase its 31-25 halftime lead in the early portion of the third quarter. Watts knocked down a pair from distance, and Destinee Walker did the same to give UNC a 43-30 edge over the Black Bears.
Maine, already with wins over Clemson and LSU this season, opened the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 47-47 with 5:26 to go. Watts put UNC ahead, but Weckstrom made her sixth 3-pointer of the game to give the Black Bears a 50-49 lead, their first since it was 3-2 in the opening 35 seconds of the game.
A balanced Carolina scoring attack and poor shooting by Maine saw the Tar Heels gain the early momentum in the first quarter. Five different players scored for the Heels, and the Black Bears shot 20.0 percent from the floor to give UNC a 15-8 lead after the first stanza.
Maine's shooting woes continued into the second quarter. Couple that with three jumpers consecutively from Bryant and the Heels were in control up 21-8 midway into the quarter.
The lead grew to 25-10, but Maine answered with a couple late three-pointers to cut UNC's lead down to 31-25 at the half. Summers led a balanced Tar Heel scoring attack with 10 points.
UNC opens ACC play on Sunday at home against Clemson at 2 p.m on ESPN3.
