University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Pittsburgh
Overtime Loss To Pitt Closes Out Season
March 2, 2016 | Women's Basketball
ACC Freshman of the Year Stephanie Watts led North Carolina (14-18) in scoring with 20 points, logging her sixth game this season scoring 20-plus points. Jamie Cherry had 18 points, followed by 14 and 12 points, respectively by Hillary Summers and Destinee Walker.
The win marks Pitt's first in ACC Tournament play since joining the conference in 2013-14. Pitt (13-17) moves on to play fifth-seeded Miami (22-7) at 11 a.m. on Thursday in the second round.
After a close first quarter, the Panthers took a 41-33 lead into halftime due to a 17-2 run in the final 5:07 of the first half. The Tar Heels stormed back in the third, tying the game at 47-47 with 56 seconds remaining in the quarter.
When it appeared that Pitt would move on to win in regulation with a 67-64 lead, Cherry drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, her second such last-second heave in as many years in the tournament.
Last year, Cherry's 40-footer sent a quarterfinal game against Louisville into overtime, a game the Cardinals would win 77-75.
Despite the momentum entering the overtime period, Carolina could not capitalize as Pitt outscored the Tar Heels 15-5 in the extra session.
Pitt freshman Brenna Wise led all scorers with 25 and added 10 rebounds to record her seventh double-double of the season, while Yacine Diop and Stasha Carey also recorded double-doubles for the Panthers. Aysia Bugg added 20 points and handed out six assists.
Watts' 76 three-pointers set a freshman record at North Carolina this season. Cherry's 161 free throws are the fourth most in a single season, matching LaToya Pringle in 2008.
Despite the loss, North Carolina still owns an ACC best 60-30 (.667) mark in the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels have won nine ACC titles, second most only to Maryland.
