10
Tuesday, January 18, 2(XK)
Tar Heels Find Unfamiliar Position Tough to Handle
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UNC's trapping defense was not enough to spark a comeback Sunday.
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Wake Forest 69, UNC 56
By Brei Strelow
Assistant Sports Editor
WINSTON-SALEM - LaQuanda
Barksdale sat on the North Carolina
bench with her face buried in a towel.
Two seats down, teammate Jasmyn
Huntington leaned back with her hands
behind her head as she stared at the ceil
ing of Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum.
Next to her, freshman Cherie Lea
couldn’t bear to look out at the court
because in 15.2 seconds her team would
walk away losers for the fifth time in a row.
But out on that court, the reality exist
ed: Wake Forest, picked to finish last in
the ACC, was almost finished handing
the preseason conference favorite a
(>9-56 loss.
Wake Forest and North Carolina had
lost a combined seven straight games
entering Sunday’s contest But die Demon
Deacons were the ones who stopped the
bleeding and picked up a victory.
“As far as were concerned, everv day
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
From Page 16
going 23 of 76 (30.3 percent) from the
field.
With North Carolina missing 53
shots, there were plenty of opportunities
to grab offensive rebounds. UNC center
Jackie Higgins did just that, snagging 10
offensive boards and 14 overall. Higgins
also posted career highs in points (17)
and steals (six).
W hile Higgins led the Tar Heels in
scoring, LaQuanda Barksdale, the
team’s leading scorer, was frustrated by
Wake’s 2-1-2 zone. The Deacs limited
Barksdale’s opportunities, and she suf
fered through an abysmal l -for-12 out
ing, finishing with only a deuce in the
scoring column.
“We knew that she was like the glue
to the team,” said Wake center LaChina
Robinson, who was one of the players
assigned to disrupt Barksdale under the
basket. “We knew that if we wanted to
.get into a good defensive flow and stop
what they wanted to do on offense, then
we had to get to her first. We tried to
deny her the ball, have somebody
there.”
With the Deacon ‘D’ collapsing in the
pivot, the Tar Heels were offered open
looks from beyond the 3-point line.
UNC attempted 26 treys - the most
since a season-opening loss to UCLA -
we walk in, and we try to get a little bit bet
ter,” said Wake coach Charlene Curtis,
who exchanged an exuberant two-handed
high-live with assistant coach Stephanie
Lawrence Yelton after the game.
“It’s hard when you are down, and
(UNC’s) not used to not winning. So I’m
sure it’s a struggle
for them, because
they’re not used to
being in that spot.”
While UNC
coach Sylvia
Hatchell said she
hoped the Tar
Heels could find a
way to win without
Nikki Teasley, the
formula for such a
“I think when we struggle and
get down on ourselves, we think
about Nikki when we shouldn’t
during the game. ”
Jackie Higgins
Junior Center
transformation has eluded UNC so far.
Teasley has missed the last four
games, and in her absence North
Carolina has connected on less than 30
percent of its shots.
“There’s not anything wrong with us
but hit just six.
Juana Brown
tossed up 24 shots
- only five of
which fell -and
missed all eight of
the 3-pointers she
tried.
“They’re just
standing out there
in a zone between
you and the bas
ket just saying
‘Shoot it,’”
Hatchell said.
“That’s why in
the first half we
UNC junior forward
Leah Sharp
came off the bench
and scored 15 points
on 5-for-9 shooting
from beyond the arc.
took 18 threes, because they were given
to us. I’m not saying Wake Forest didn’t
play any defense, but I guess that was
the strategy. Pack it back inside and
make us shoot from the outside.”
Guard Leah Sharp was about the
only far Heel who liked what the Deacs
pack-the-paint-zone gave her and rang
up five triples en route to 15 points.
Four of Sharp’s trifectas came in a four
minute span in the second half as UNC
trimmed Wake’s lead to six points three
different times.
The last came with 7:24 remaining
when I ,ea dished to Sharp, w'ho canned
a trey from the left wing to cut the Wake
lead to 50-44.
That w as as close as the Tar Heels
would get. The Deacons calmly
that putting the ball in the basket won’t
fix,” junior Leah Sharp said. “Look at
the stat sheet; we shot 30 percent. We
shot 24 percent last game. That’s ridicu
lously terrible.”
Since Teasley’s departure, Hatchell
has tinkered with her lineup in an effort
UNC’s players still have their minds on
Teasley, who led the team in assists and
ranked second in scoring before taking
her leave of absence.
“I think when we struggle and get
down on ourselves, we think about
responded to the UNC surges by mov
ing the ball around on offense, setting up
layups and open jumpers.
“We were pulling it close,” Sharp
said, “but then when we got back on
defense, we had a breakdown and
they’d score an easy bucket.”
Not Coping With Changes
North Carolina has not taken change
well this season.
When the clock struck midnight on
Dec. 31, the Tar Heels hit a snag. UNC
has failed to register a victory in five
games since the calendar turned over to
the year 2000.
North Carolina has also gone winless
in four tries since Teasley left the team.
The squad has averaged seven fewer
assists and one more turnover while try
ing to replace its playmaker.
And, finally, UNC has been unable to
scratch the ‘W’ column since it debuted
its new uniforms and shoes on Jan. 3.
It appears that juniors Barksdale and
Brown are pressing in an effort to end
these dubious streaks and right UNC’s
sinking ship.
“I feel like probably LaQuanda and
Juana are maybe trying too hard,”
Hatchell said. “I think maybe that’s why
they’re missing so many open shots.
Normally that wouldn’t happen.”
The Sports Editor can be reached at
sports@unc.edu.
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Nikki when we shouldn’t during the
game,” UNC junior Jackie Higgins said.
Thinking of Teasley at least temporari
ly takes the players’ minds off the frustra
tion that comes with such a rapid downfall.
The frustration was most evident
when Hatchell, with the game’s out
come already decided, picked up a tech
nical foul with 38 seconds left for criti
cizing the officials.
There wasn’t enough time left for
Hatchell’s efforts to have an effect
Sunday. But Hatchell showed that even
in the gravest of circumstances, she
wouldn’t quit fighting for her team.
“We will return,” Hatchell said. “Right
now we’re going through some tough
times, but it’s tough times like this that
make you appreciate all these (confer
ence and national title) rings we’ve got
on. You don’t take things for granted.
“We’ll be back.”
The Sports Editor can be reached at
sports@unc.edu.
to spark the strug
gling Tar Heels,
lea started Sunday
in place of Coretta
Brown, who had
been occupying
Teasley’s old spot.
Hatchell said
she was confident
in Lea and Brown,
who are freshmen.
But nonetheless,
Wake Forest 69, UNC 56
Box Score
UNC 22 34 56
Wake Forest 29 40 69
UNC (56)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Barksdale 30 M 2 00 5-6 3 4 2
Huntington 14 1-3 OO 0-3 1 33
Higgins 36 8-14 1-2 10-4 0 1 17
J. Brown 37 6-24 0-1 $-10 2 1 10
Lea 26 1-3 00 I*2 2 5 2
Thomas 10 0-2 2-3 2-2 1 1 2
Sharp 27 5-9 00 00 2 4 15
C. Brown 16 2-9 t-2 01 0 2 5
Allen 6 00 00 00 0 3 0
Total 200 23-76 4-8 25-42 11 25 56
Percentage* - FG 303. FT .600. 3-point goals 6-26 231
(Sharp 5-9. Huntington 1-3. J. Brown 0-8. C. Brown 0-3,
Barksdale 0-2. Higgins 0-1) Teem rebounds 2 Blocked
shots 2 (Higgins. lea) Turnovers - 14 (Barksdale 4.
Higgins 4. Sharp 2. C. Brown, J. Brown. Huntington. Thomas).
Steal* l2 (Higgins 6. Lea 2. C Brown. J. Brown, Huntington,
Thomas).
Waka Forest ($9)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o 4 a pf tp
Kirkpmnelc 31 3-4 OO 3-6 1 16
Whiteside 25 2-5 1-2 20 4 3 6
Robinson 29 4-9 1-3 2-6 1 4 9
Ktapfer 31 2-6 4-4 0-5 2 1 10
Mosley 29 6-9 11-13 t*7 3 2 24
Shaffer 13 1-3 0-10-2 1 2 2
Harris 16 2-7 2-2 00 4 1 6
Ustenbee 9 2-3 00 02 0 1 4
BfOfklund 10 00 00 00 1 0 G
Miller 5 1-1 00 1-2 0 0 2
Pearson 1 OO 00 OO 0 0 0
Rogers 1 00 0-2 00 0 0 0
Total 200 2347 19-27 1142 17 15 69
Percentages - FG ,489. FT .704. 3?oint goals - 4-11 .364
(Klopfer 24, Mosley 1-2. Whiteside 1-3. Harm 0-1). Team
rebounds - 7 Blocked shots - 1 (Bjorldund). Turnovers -
20 (Kirkpatrick 5. Robinson 3. Klopfer 2. Mosley 2. Milter 2.
Shaffer 2. Whiteside 2. Harris, team). Steals 6 (Robinson 2.
Bjorklurtd. Harris. Kirkpatrick. Mosley).
Technical foul* - UNC (berk*). Attendance - 4,031.
Utyp latlti (Tar Med