After winning its two exhibition games by 77 and 48 points, North Carolina began the regular season and the preseason WNIT against slightly stiffer competition.
Though UNC won 70-59, the Davidson Wildcats of the Southern Conference presented UNC with interior size and defensive tenacity that prevented UNC from dominating in the fashion it had against its exhibition opponents.
“They’re without a doubt an NCAA tournament team,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “We knew that they had played some really good games last year, and they’re probably even better this year than they were last year.”
In fact, UNC fell behind twice in the first half, allowing Davidson streaks of five to seven points at a time. Freshman Xylina McDaniel was whistled for three traveling violations, and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt picked up two early fouls.
“I was extremely nervous in the beginning of the game, and when i get nervous i tend t o overthink things,” McDaniel said. “So instead of playing the game i was thinking about it.”
But UNC pulled ahead toward the end of the half as it founds ways to make its superior athleticism count, both on fast-breaks and by creating turnovers with its full-court press. At the half, the Tar Heels led 33-24.
McDaniel scored 10 second-half points, including a stretch of three straight layups. But the freshman drew a technical foul on the way back down the court after Latifah Coleman hit a big 3-point shot.
UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said that she thought McDaniel had been pushed around by Davidson players before the technical.
“She was getting hit too,” Hatchell said. “She did something, but she was retaliating.”
The Wildcats ended on a 9-0 run of their own — notably after Hatchell pulled Ruffin-Pratt. While UNC’s largest second-half lead of 70-50 was a wide enough margin to keep the final result from being seriously threatened, the Tar Heels gave up several late-game turnovers and fast breaks to the Wildcats, who exited the court to rousing applause from the Davidson fans.
McDaniel led the Tar Heels with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while center Waltiea Rolle added another double-double with 11 of each.
Ruffin-Pratt’s 11 points came on 6-16 shooting, but the 5-foot-11 guard contributed on defense with her physical presence.
“The more physical it got, the more fired up our players got,” Hatchell said. “They love that. They picked up their aggressiveness and intensity and everything. But that’s good, we’ve got to learn to play like that.”
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