On North Carolina's first possession of its win against Miami on Thursday senior Iman McFarland found herself all alone on the right block.
Luckily for her fellow senior Rashanda McCants found her as well. And McCants whipped the ball to McFarland for the first two of the game.
Just like that. Nineteen seconds. Two seniors in the book.
And why not? It was after all" their night.
""That (first basket) was so sweet"" sophomore Cetera DeGraffenreid said. Knowing that they've been playing together for so long.""
In front of family and friends" the UNC class of 2009 took an impressive Senior Night win.
But none of the departing Tar Heels outperformed McCants.
The 6-foot-1-inch Asheville native scored 21 points" while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists.
""I was just going with it" McCants said. The ball kept coming to me" and it was a great way to end Senior Night.""
Not all the seniors saw game time. Fifth-year senior Alex Miller" who redshirted the 2007-08 season after suffering a torn patella tendon in the season's fourth game never fully recovered from the injury.
Though Miller played in 18 games in 2008-09 the injury — considered worse than a torn ACL — eventually forced her to the sidelines for good.
After the game nearly everyone mentioned how much seeing Miller on the bench — not on the court — hurt" even visiting coach Katie Meier.
""She's a super kid"" she said.
Oddly enough, this year's Senior Night was not UNC's farewell to games in Chapel Hill for the season. That distinction goes to the Tar Heels' March 15 game against South Dakota, which will be played between the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
With the win Thursday, the Tar Heel class of 2009 is just six victories shy of breaking the record for most wins by a single class of 130. That record was set last season by a group of seniors who never ended a season before the Elite Eight.
It would mean a lot"" McCants said. To show that we've had a lot of great players — it wasn't that we just had Ivory (Latta) and Erlana (Larkins).""
But this year's group is not focused on beating out UNC history. Instead"" the Tar Heels want to finish this season in a fashion not seen by a women's basketball team at North Carolina since 1994 — with a national championship banner.
""It would be great to end with a national championship" which would break all the records for me" McCants said. I'm expecting it.""
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
W. Basketball: Senior night triumph
Senior Alex Miller stands with her parents as the UNC seniors are honored before the Tar Heels? win against Miami. Miller" a fifth-year senior played in 18 games this season before sitting with an injury.
