North Carolina
13-9, 2-7ACC
NC State
16-6, 6-3ACC
Cherry And The Heels Shoot Down Wolfpack
January 29, 2017 | Women's Basketball
The Tar Heels (13-9, 2-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) shot a sizzling 62 percent in the second half on their way to snapping a five-game losing streak. Cherry scored all of her game-high 23 points in the second half.
Paris Kea flirted with a triple-double again with 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while Stephanie Watts had 19 points and eight rebounds. Destinee Walker chipped in 12.
Dominique Wilson paced NC State (16-6, 6-3) with 18 points, while Miah Spencer had 15 points, and both Jennifer Mathurin (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Chelsea Nelson (11 points, 10 rebounds) notched double-doubles in the loss.
Carolina closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 run and led 22-10 after shooting 53.3 percent from the field. The Tar Heels also turned five NCSU miscues into 10 points. Meanwhile, the Pack struggled from the opening tip, shooting a mere 19 percent in the opening period.
The lead increased to 16, 27-11, on a Kea jumper early in the second. The Wolfpack found its rhythm briefly in the period, but a three-pointer from Taylor Koenen and a foul shot from the rookie on the next possession increased the lead to 35-17 Tar Heels.
Fueled by a pair of triples by Ashley Williams, a 10-0 Wolfpack run got the visitors back in the game. Carolina led 35-27 at halftime despite going scoreless the final 5:01 of the second period.
Cherry did not score in the first half. That quickly changed in the third when she exploded for 12 points, all coming from distance as she knocked down four triples in the period. When the dust settled Carolina scored 26 points in the third and led 61-45 going to the fourth.
The Wolfpack made the crowd of just shy of 6,000 a little uneasy when Wilson got her club within 65-60, however, Cherry and her teammates had an answer at every turn down the stretch.
A Watts corner 3-pointer directly in front of her bench put Carolina up 74-64 with less than four minutes to go. The Wolfpack never threatened from that point forward.
Carolina has a week off before returning to the court next Sunday at Clemson for a 2 p.m. tip.
