No. 4 Tennessee runs past young Tar Heels

The North Carolina women’s basketball team hadn’t faced tough competition this season.

They didn’t have time to. In their two exhibition games and season opener, the No. 12 Tar Heels outscored their opponents by an average of more than 51 points.

But Monday, in just the second game of the regular season, UNC faced No. 4 Tennessee, and the novelty of the highly competitive situation showed in the young Tar Heels, as they fell 81-65.

Though UNC (1-1) led the Lady Vols (2-0) early, a 3-pointer seven minutes into the game gave Tennessee a lead it did not relinquish.

Freshmen Diamond DeShields and Stephanie Mavunga, both of whom had outstanding preseasons and solid games against Air Force, struggled to find pace against the Lady Vols early in the game.

DeShields was scoreless through five shots and Mavunga had trouble on both ends of the court. The rookies settled into a rhythm by the close of the first half but both fouled out of the game with fewer than three minutes to play.

But coach Andrew Calder said his freshmen’s inexperience was not ample reason for UNC’s performance.

“As far as the young, we give no excuses,” he said.

Junior Brittany Rountree added playing a top-caliber team like Tennessee so early in their careers is beneficial to the freshmen.

“They’re very talented and they have the skills to play at this level,” she said. “I think playing Tennessee … helped them see areas they can work on. I think they’ll be fine after this.”

Freshman Allisha Gray led the Tar Heels with 15 points and snagged ten rebounds, but UNC’s leadership came from its familiar faces.

Rountree and sophomore Xylina McDaniel gave UNC its early lead and fueled the Tar Heels’ sporadic runs throughout the game.

“The veteran leadership is phenomenal,” Mavunga said. “Sometimes I get down on myself … and they’re there to pick you up automatically, whether it’s physically on the court or emotionally.”

UNC was doomed by its unwillingness to pass. North Carolina had only nine assists, compared to Tennessee’s 16.

When UNC played unselfishly, strong runs followed and the Tar Heels pulled close before losing composure. When North Carolina rushed its offense, it stalled. UNC went 6 minutes and 24 seconds without scoring to start the second half.

“We’re going to be very good in the end when it all clicks and we learn to play as a team,” Calder said. ”We’ll learn to play together and we’ll get that straightened out.”

sports@dailytarheel.com