Miami 3-pointers bury No. 13 UNC

It was a game of threes Sunday in Carmichael Arena as the North Carolina women’s basketball team faced Miami.

But they weren’t exactly falling from the hands of the Tar Heels in their 78-66 loss to the Hurricanes.

No. 13 UNC (22-4, 8-3 ACC) failed to hit a single one of its nine 3-point attempts in the first half and sank just two in the second to shoot an abysmal 9.1 percent from beyond the arc.

“Good shooting cures a multitude of sins, and we’re 2-for-22 from the three and they’re 10-for-24,” UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “You gotta make your shots.”

Meanwhile, thanks to four 3-pointers apiece from guards Riquna Williams and Stefanie Yderstrom, No. 20 Miami (22-3, 8-2) had no trouble putting up big numbers to maintain a steady lead throughout the game.

“That had to surprise Carolina a little bit — that was big for us,” Miami coach Katie Meier said. “They swarm the ball so heavy. They’re so unbelievably hard to score in the paint against, you kind of have to get it in and kick it out and say a nice prayer and hope it goes in.”

Although junior Chay Shegog powered through three Hurricane defenders to tie the game at 44 less than five minutes into the second half, Miami’s shooters were there to once again widen the gap with a 10-0 run.

“I thought when we tied it up that we’d get things going,” Hatchell said. “And then we came down and didn’t match up a couple times on transition defense, and they got open and made a three.”

The Tar Heels’ woes certainly started from 3-point rage, but the team’s defensive approach provided nearly as many problems.

Miami outrebounded UNC, most notably in the offensive category, picking up 16 second-chance points to pull away — all while maintaining composure on transition plays to keep UNC from scoring.

“I think we’re one of the few teams in the league that is athletic enough to attack the offensive glass and still not get burned on transition,” Meier said.

Williams, the ACC’s leading scorer, had no problems escaping UNC’s defense to sink 25 points from 31 attempts.

Turning to a full-court press nearly from the start of play, UNC’s attempts at an aggressive stop weren’t enough to spur a run and even sent senior Cetera DeGraffenreid straight to the bench with three fouls in just more than 10 minutes of play.

With seniors Jessica Breland and Italee Lucas — who shot 1-for-9 from the 3-point range — kept nearly silent, it seemed like only Laura Broomfield could score to counter Miami’s growing lead.

The junior forward shone for North Carolina with a double-double for 15 rebounds and 18 points, but even she was disappointed with the Tar Heels’ effort.

“It was pretty frustrating, but more so on defense,” Broomfield said. “That was the most frustrating thing for me — the plays where they just kept getting easy layups.”

With a week off before playing N.C. State next Monday, UNC has time to regroup before attempting to work their way up the ACC standings as they drop behind Duke, Florida State and Miami.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.