Lacrosse practice ends as players huddle at midfield, with arms raised and a shout on three.“Family.”One man stands in the middle of it all — a historic resurgence, a turning point and a huddle of 44 brothers.In coach Joe Breschi’s second season, North Carolina is ranked No. 3 nationally heading into this weekend’s ACC Tournament.That success may serve as proof of one family rebuilt.
SEATTLE — Senior guard Tiffanie Shives ignited 7-seeded Gonzaga’s offense with a baseline jumper, ending a scoring drought of nearly seven minutes.And for three subsequent minutes, that offense needed only to be composed of her.
Despite dropping an unexpected number of games this season, North Carolina managed to get a postseason bid.The 10th-seeded North Carolina women’s basketball team will open NCAA tournament play against No. 7-seed Gonzaga at 10:30 p.m. Saturday in the Sacramento region.
GREENSBORO — With four players on the floor with four fouls, Maryland coach Brenda Frese did not panic.Although North Carolina had rallied from a 10-point deficit to within four points on a timely 3-pointer from UNC junior guard Cetera DeGraffenreid with 1:20 remaining, she stayed steady.Largely because there was one player on the floor who had proven to do the same.
Life in the Bahamas never fostered Waltiea Rolle’s ambitions of becoming a basketball star. In fact, it never even introduced her the game. But that could not deter the scouts who recruited her to come play high school ball in the United States in 2005. “They had a vision that this kid can be a great basketball player,” her high school coach Reed Sutton said. “Before she ever did.”
North Carolina faced No. 6 Duke, ready to close out a regular season characterized by losses of historic proportion.What the team earned Sunday was a chance to rewrite its legacy.“We’re not finished up this year,” UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “This team’s got a lot of great days ahead of them.”North Carolina (18-10, 6-8 ACC) beat Duke 64-54 after the Blue Devils clinched the ACC regular season title Friday.
When N.C. State forward Bonae Holston arrived at Chapel Hill, she brought one memory from the rivals’ last meeting.“When they won at our house, they stayed on the court and sang,” Holston said. “We didn’t like that.”As North Carolina junior guard Cetera DeGraffenreid left the court, she took one glance back at the scoreboard indicating a 74-63 loss.
In the midst of her team’s longest losing streak since 2000, coach Sylvia Hatchell thought she had run out of solutions.She approached her struggling veteran point guard Cetera DeGraffenreid with a proposition.Don’t worry about leadership anymore. Just play like you used to.In a 65-59 overtime win against Wake Forest, the veteran point guard proved she could do both.
After a recent loss against Florida State, coach Sylvia Hatchell jokingly invited all in attendance to her team’s 6 a.m rebounding practices.There was no joking Thursday night after a 69-62 loss to Boston College.
Italee Lucas never needed more than one word to measure her success.“My dad always told me to be undeniable,” the junior guard said. “It means don’t let anyone question your work ethic, whether you’re a leader.”Lucas has continued to fight for that recognition this season alongside junior guard Cetera DeGraffenreid.
