University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Carson-Newman (exhibition)
Carolina Pulls Away In Second Half Over Carson-Newman
November 3, 2016 | Women's Basketball
North Carolina trailed for a good bit of the game as the new-look squad adjusted to playing together in their first exhibition of the season. But a convincing final 12 minutes, 22 seconds was too much for the Lady Eagles.
UNC scored 57 points in the second half alone, and outscored Carson-Newman by a 33-16 margin in the fourth quarter to break open the game.
Sophomore Stephanie Watts carved out a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while classmate Destinee Walker had 18 points and junior Jamie Cherry had 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Mika Wester and Kaitlyn Cupples led Carson-Newman with 11 points apiece.
The visitors from Jefferson City, Tennessee, led 13-8 in the first, but a three-pointer from Paris Kea and a steal and layup from Watts tied the game up, 13-13, and forced the visitors to call a timeout.
The Tar Heels' first lead, 18-16, came on a pair of free throws from Cherry. UNC remained in the lead until the final minute of the opening quarter, before a jumper from Cupples gave the Lady Eagles a 25-22 edge at the end of 10 minutes.
The game remained tight throughout most of the second quarter. Tied 32-32 midway though the stanza, Carson-Newman pieced together an 11-3 run to lead by as many as eight points, before settling for a 43-39 edge at halftime.
A mini 11-2 spurt from the Tar Heels turned a four-point deficit into a 59-54 lead with 1:31 left in the third quarter. Struggling as a team to make a three-pointer, Watts drained one from distance to give Carolina its largest lead to that point of the game.
Walker splashed another triple in the waining seconds of the third as Carolina pulled ahead 63-54 heading to the fourth quarter.
After making only two of its first 23 shots from beyond the arc, Watts opened the final quarter by making the third and fourth-straight three-pointers by the Tar Heels and never looked back.
Carolina hosts Elizabeth City State on Monday in its second and final exhibition. Tip off is at 6 p.m.
