3:40 p.m. SATURDAY March 21 CHATTANOOGA Tenn. — The North Carolina women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday" defeating a pesky Central Florida squad 85-80.
""Seems like every time we'd get a little bit of a lead … they'd come right back at us"" UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. I felt like we relaxed and lost our intensity at times out there.""
The first half saw UCF keep within striking distance. But UNC scored five unanswered points after a timeout at the 1:31 mark to take a 10-point lead into halftime.
The UNC advantage hovered around the 10-point mark for most of the second half" as the two teams essentially traded baskets for 20 minutes.
A late push by the Knights cut the lead to five but it was too little too late.
UNC's Jessica Breland Italee Lucas and Heather Claytor each scored 17 points to lead the way for the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels will play the winner of Purdue and Charlotte on Monday at 7 p.m.
