UNC women's basketball steamrolls Boston College 85-57 on Senior Night

Sitting beside North Carolina women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell, a content Tierra Ruffin-Pratt smiled as her coach talked guardedly about some of the conversations she has had with WNBA scouts about Ruffin-Pratt’s future.

“They’re all watching her,” Hatchell said. “They’ve been to games. I haven’t told her a lot of this stuff, because I just wanted her to play.”

And it was only fitting that Ruffin-Pratt —along with fellow seniors Waltiea Rolle and Krista Gross— led the Tar Heels to victory on Senior Night.

UNC defeated Boston College 85-57 — never looking back after the first media timeout, when it trailed by two, with Boston College leading 13-11.

In the ensuing five minutes, the Tar Heels went on a 12-0 run, setting the groundwork for their 40-21 halftime lead. The dominance would continue into the second half.

“We like the tempo. We were going up and down the floor, and even though we had missed some shots, we were getting some pretty good shots, and they were playing with us,” Hatchell said.

“After that first or second timeout we actually made more of a conscious effort to get the ball inside — not with the pass as much, but with the dribble, because on the pass they were doubling down really hard. We were trying to get a lot of movement.”

Rolle led all scorers with 21 points — three of which came from the only 3-point attempt of her career that erupted the 2,631 fans in Carmichael Arena.

“I couldn’t believe I made the shot,” she said.

Additionally, Rolle grabbed six rebounds and recorded three blocks and two steals.

Ruffin-Pratt followed closely behind, registering 20 points, four assists, six rebounds and three blocks. For a senior that has struggled with consistency from the free throw line, Ruffin-Pratt’s 10-12 performance from the line was a testament to the work she has put in.

“One game I’ll be 80-plus percent, one game I’ll be 50 percent. I don’t know why,” she said.

“We work on it, I work on my own — sometimes they just don’t go in.”

But for Ruffin-Pratt, Thursday’s victory was an opportunity to win on Senior Night, a task her team did not complete last season.

“It’s the last one. You gotta’ go out with a bang. I think we did that as seniors,” she said.

And for Hatchell, the best is yet to come.

“It was a great game for these two to finish their home series here,” she said.

“I was proud of both of them for playing well.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.