UNC women's basketball wins Play 4Kay game

Sylvia Hatchell has given her fair share of pep talks this year.

Last time North Carolina (25-4, 13-3 ACC) played N.C. State, the women’s basketball coach said she brought out a tape measurer at halftime to measure the size of her players’ hearts.

But with her team trailing with 12 minutes to play during No. 16 UNC’s 68-58 victory against the Wolfpack in Sunday’s Play 4Kay game, Hatchell’s message was more personal.

“I told them, ‘Guys, you are wearing pink uniforms today,’” she said, referring to the pink jerseys UNC wore in honor of the late N.C. State coach Kay Yow, who died of breast cancer. “‘Pink stands for passion. So look at each other, look at the color pink, and think of passion.’”

Passion, it seemed, carried the Tar Heels to a 10-point victory when other aspects of their game fell short.

Though Tierra Ruffin-Pratt tied a career high with 24 points, and Waltiea Rolle added 21 points and 11 rebounds, UNC missed all nine of its 3-point shots.

And despite getting out to a quick lead, North Carolina slowed down and trailed 33-32 after a first half in which it grabbed only three offensive rebounds. Just three Tar Heels recorded field goals before the break.

UNC began in a tight full-court press, which resulted in 16 points off of turnovers in the opening half.

But with her team still recovering from a late game at Virginia Tech Friday, Hatchell dropped UNC back into a more relaxed defensive scheme.

“In the first half, every 50-50 ball they were getting,” Hatchell said. “It’s not that we weren’t trying, but that’s when I thought maybe Friday night’s kicking in a little bit here.”

Early in the second half, hot-shooting guards Marissa Kastanek and Len’Nique Brown helped the Wolfpack (13-15, 5-11 ACC) extend its lead to as many as six points.

But UNC guard Danielle Butts’ three consecutive hard-nosed drives kept the lead from ballooning further. Ruffin-Pratt said her play eventually led the Tar Heels to victory.

“(Butts) is a spark for us when she gets hype and energized and she’s going for loose balls,” Ruffin-Pratt said. “Once one person on our team gets hype, the whole team gets hype.”

UNC finished on a 25-13 run after the 12-minute mark. Rolle and Ruffin-Pratt scored 20 of those points.

But N.C. State coach Kellie Harper said the passion with which both teams played carries its own risks.

“This is a tough one to lose,” she said. “When you pour your heart out there and you feel like you’ve got the team fighting hard and playing hard, those are harder games to bounce back from.
“When you put yourself out there, it hurts.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.