UNC women scrape by Maryland for ACC tournament win

GREENSBORO — Brittany Rountree, 5-foot-9, scoreless and confident, toed the white line 12 feet from the basket.

Exactly 16 seconds were left in No. 6-seed North Carolina’s spirited 73-70 win against third-seeded Maryland in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament on Friday. UNC led by one, 71-70.

Rountree, a junior guard, hadn’t taken a shot since 8:34 in the first half. It was a 3-pointer, and she missed. It was her first and only field-goal attempt during the 10 minutes she played.

So here she was, UNC’s tournament in her hands, with two free throws to extend the Tar Heels’ lead and possibly season.

She made them both.

“We’re very comfortable in Brittany,” UNC coach Andrew Calder said after the game.
“Especially foul shots at the end of the game.”

The journey to there, of course, was far less calm and simple than Rountree’s game-clinching free throws.

The No. 13 Tar Heels (24-8, 10-6 ACC) directed the tempo during the game’s opening half, powered by junior guard Latifah Coleman. She was the team’s engine, piloting its offense and defense with energy, attacking the rim and creating points.

Meanwhile, UNC hounded and limited Maryland forward Alyssa Thomas, the conference’s player of the year and fourth-leading scorer.

“We did a very good job of shrinking the floor tonight, to not give (Thomas) as many driving holes as she normally gets,” Calder said, “and still be able to rotate back out to the 3-point shooters.”

Diamond DeShields, the conference’s freshman of the year and 10th-leading scorer, was tasked with one of the bigger challenges of her young career: guarding Thomas.

“My thoughts were just to stay strong,” DeShields said after the game, her lips glistening with gloss and eyes with seriousness. “She’s an extremely powerful player. For me that was…one of the hardest challenges I think I faced all season.”

In the first half, at least, DeShields, and UNC, succeeded. Thomas had six of Maryland’s 14 first-half turnovers, missed five of nine shots and scored just eight points. North Carolina led 37-26 at halftime.

“Carolina came at us really aggressive,” Maryland coach Brenda Freese said. “We were back on our heels, and you spot a great team like Carolina 11 points, you’re fighting the entire second half to come back.”

They nearly did.

Seconds before the second half began, Thomas, gum in her mouth and fire in her eyes, slapped her teammates’ hands.

“Aye,” she said, “let’s go.”

Every time she touched the ball, Thomas looked to score, and often did. Silky jumpers, slicing moves into the paint, strong finishes at the rim. She scored 16 of her 24 points in the half, pulled down 11 rebounds and ran the floor like a point guard.

DeShields matched her. The 19-year-old, who’s accomplished more than most freshmen, showed why she was named a finalist for the Wooden Award this week. She fired bullets to her teammates under the basket, moved around screens efficiently and navigated her way in the post with suavity and ease.

“You see the talent of Diamond DeShields going in the post and taking advantage of her outstanding skills (there),” Calder said. “She’s not showed a lot this year, but she showed a variety of moves tonight.”

DeShields finished with 22 points. The plan, with 16 seconds left and UNC up by one, was to put the ball in her hands.

“We thought Diamond would still get open, even though they had two people on her,” Calder said.

Instead, Rountree freed herself from her defender, and freshman Allisha Gray, who had 17 important points, found her near the right baseline. Rountree caught it, took a dribble and was fouled.

She walked to the line, scoreless and confident, and hit two free throws.