Shegog, White lead UNC in win against Owls

The supporting cast is shrinking by the day for the No. 16 North Carolina women’s basketball team.

But its key players were still there to produce in Sunday’s 76-62 win against Kennesaw State.

With five of their 13 players sidelined, the injury-ravaged Tar Heels saw 12 lead changes in a see-saw first half.

But in the second half, strong performances by the team’s veterans tipped the scales firmly in UNC’s favor.

“They picked up the slack for us,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “Chay (Shegog) is playing well when we get her the ball. We just need to get it to her more frequently … And we ran a few things for She’la (White) to get some shots, and she shot the ball well.”

“Well” could be a bit of an understatement.

Both Shegog and White reached the 20-point plateau on Sunday, spearheading the Tar Heels’ second-half surge.

For Shegog, it was her second straight effort with more than 20 points, and with her 11 rebounds, she also notched her third double-double of the season — all while playing 38 of the game’s 40 minutes.

With 37 minutes of her own, White wasn’t far behind her.

“We have to play at a high level,” White said. “That goes without saying. The only difference is playing more minutes.”

Shegog drew first blood for the Tar Heels with a free throw in the opening minute.

But then the 6-foot-5 center hit a 10-minute dry spell — and so did the UNC offense.

In that time, the Owls dominated the boards, and junior guard Ashley Holliday found herself at home from behind the arc, tallying three 3-pointers to give KSU its largest lead of the game, 14-8.

“You got to give Kennesaw State a lot of credit. They were ready for us,” Hatchell said. “They’ve got some good shooters … And we started off real sluggish. We were a little out of sync.”

But with the first period more than halfway expired, Shegog started finding the basket, and the Tar Heels followed suit.

The center scored nine points in the final nine minutes, and White added 12 first-half points of her own to give the Tar Heels a 37-30 lead at the half.

With Laura Broomfield’s sore foot and Shannon Smith’s tender hamstring adding to an injury list that already rolled three deep, White and Shegog knew they would need to carry a larger burden than usual.

But then again, they’ve known that since the season began.

“Coach emphasized at the end of last season that She’la and I and Broomfield would have to step up in critical spots,” Shegog said.

“So that’s really our main focus. Our game plan never changed … We just have to have a stronger scoring mentality.”

And that mentality certainly reared its head as the game wore on.

The Tar Heels went on an 11-0 run between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. And by the midpoint of the second period, the Tar Heels established nearly 30 points of distance.

But despite the offensive prowess of her seniors, Hatchell knows her team still has work to do.

“Good shooting always carries a multitude of sins,” Hatchell said. “We see that from time to time from games on TV and our games, too, but we’re glad to come out with the win.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.