Once again, it wasn’t the fourth quarter that cost the North Carolina women’s basketball team an ACC win.
A 14-0 run by Boston College (9-16, 2-10) to end the first quarter put the Tar Heels (13-11, 2-9) behind the eight-ball early, and a strong second half couldn’t quite get UNC past the Eagles’ school-record performance from beyond the arc in an 88-77 win for Boston College in Carmichael Arena.
“They were getting points in transition,” head coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “They ran with us, and we were really surprised with that.”
UNC shot the ball poorly in the first quarter, hitting just 18.2 percent from the field and finishing 1-for-8 from three. Boston College shot 53.3 percent from the field and went 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. The Eagles were able to take advantage of their size in the post, both driving into the lane and posting up on the low block for easy buckets, while UNC was forced to settle for jumpers.
The first quarter, however, was only a microcosm of the problems that plagued North Carolina throughout the game.
With sophomore Destinee Walker out, UNC’s trio of returning guards struggled to pick up the slack. Jamie Cherry did her part, putting up 31 points thanks to four 3-pointers and seven free throws. Redshirt sophomore Paris Kea hoisted up 25 shots, but she only got 10 to fall and failed to get to the foul line once in a 22-point effort. And sophomore Stephanie Watts (12 points) went 5-for-17 from the field and shot only 20 percent from behind the arc.
“It can be frustrating,” Cherry said of shouldering a bigger load with Walker out. “But at the same time, we’ve got to get the job done.”
Watts and Kea both dealt with nagging injuries during the game, with Watts nursing a bruised knee and Kea dealing with muscle spasms during the game.
“The second one definitely got me,” Kea said of the spasms, which forced her to briefly leave the game. But she felt her shot just wasn’t falling before the injury, even though she was getting the looks she wanted.
