Game Blog: UConn at UNC
Jan 19, 2009
Sam Rosenthal is in Chapel Hill writing live from Monday's game between North Carolina and Connecticut.
8:57 p.m. - For a team that has not lost all season, Carolina will suffer defeat number one with a bullet. UConn entered the Smith Center tonight and outplayed UNC the entire game - a sobering result for the Tar Heels in a "where do they stand against the nation's best?" kind of game. The answer: Not where they need to.
Final Score: UConn - 88, UNC - 58.
8:49 p.m. - She'la White's runner brings the Heels back within 20, but a Montgomery three makes the score 79-56 with 5:03 to play. Now, UNC teeters on the verge of falling into too deep of a hole.
As Kalana Greene hits another bucket for UConn, and the Heels come up empty on offense, this one looks out of reach ... and many Tar Heel fans look, well, out of here.
8:42 p.m. - Time and time again, the Huskies slip behind the Carolina defense for lay-ups. Perhaps UNC's over-playing the perimeter shot - whatever the case, the Heels seem unable to stop the Huskies from cutting to the tin.
8:40 p.m. - UConn's Charles scores four straight points, and the Huskies' lead re-surges to 21 points (70-49) with 9:13 left.
8: 36 p.m. - Rashanda McCants makes her best play of the game, showing patience in the post, hitting a fall-away jumper and an "and-one" foul shot. With the score 64-48 and 10 minutes to go, the Smith Center is amped up. Underneath both baskets, rough play reigns.
8:33 p.m. - That record crowd reacts strongly to a foul called on UNC's Chay Shegog, her third.
8:31 p.m. - It's official: The assembled crowd of over 12,000 fans sets an all-time UNC women's basketball attendance record.
8:28 p.m. - Maybe the makings of said run for the Heels? UNC has stopped UConn on three straight possessions and scored on three straight of its own to shave six points off the Connecticut lead.
8:24 p.m. - Another easy bucket for UConn, which leads, 60-36, with 13:27 remaining. UNC needs a run soon to salvage a chance at winning this game. If much more time elapses, the clock becomes UNC's enemy.
8:20 p.m. - Breland picks up her fourth foul as she tries in vain to cover Moore on a drive to the hoop.
Story of the game so far: UConn taking high-percentage shots within its offensive game plan, as opposed to UNC forcing shots, not finding opportunities it wants on the offensive end of the floor. And when shots miss, the Huskies own the backboards.
8:12 p.m. - DeGraffenreid provides these fans something to cheer about, as she weaves her way among three or four Huskies en route to a lay-up. Moore answers with her second made three-pointer in as many UConn possessions. After Breland makes a lay-up and misses a free throw, the forward commits her third foul - an issue for UNC.
The score reads 54-34, UConn, with 15:54 to play.
8:10 p.m. - UConn's Maya Moore careens off the court, into and through the Tar Heel bench. Two possessions later, Moore puts one through the net from three-point land, giving her team a 21-point, 51-30 lead.
8:09 p.m. - Second Half Action. We'll see if the game's frantic pace continues - 76 combined points in the first half is a lot for a women's college hoops game.
8:02 p.m. - Italee Lucas and Jessica Breland represent the first-half bright spots for UNC. Lucas leads the Heels with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Breland has eight points (4-of-6 from the field) and four blocked shots.
Montgomery leads all scorers with 14 points, and Charles has nine points and eight rebounds (four on the offensive glass).
7:58 p.m. - We just received the half time stats, and WOW: UConn holds a 30-15 advantage in rebounds, with almost as many offensive boards (13) as UNC has total!
Carolina also sent UConn players to the foul line for 10 shots, while the Heels only attempted two free throws in the half. UNC turned the ball over 10 times in the half while registering only six assists, and the Heels shot 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from three-point range.
7:50 p.m. - Half time: UConn 46, UNC 30.
7:48 p.m. - UConn's Lorin Dixon has what sports fans call "wheels." She's zipped through the Tar Heel defense on more than one occasion.
7:41 p.m. - Despite the 40-26 score, the Dean Dome fans sound enthusiastic. Chants of "Tar ... Heels" ring out, and this crowd hasn't lost its fight. As for the Tar Heels ... time will tell.
7:38 p.m. - On the sidelines, the expressions of two of college basketball's most revered coaches tell the story of this game's early going: UConn's Geno Auriemma seems relaxed and confident - his blazer's off, but his team's on. Sylvia Hatchell, on the other hand, looks stern and not at all pleased with her team's play. When Heather Claytor hits a three for UNC, Hatchell's face remains rigid.
7:35 p.m. - If Carolina wants to win this game, it must start protecting the ball better and denying penetration by the Huskies' guards. As Montgomery makes a simple backdoor cut and scores, UNC trails, 37-23, and looks in danger of being run out of the gym.
7:30 p.m. - In Montgomery, Moore, and center Tina Charles, UConn's roster features three pre-season first team All-Americas, and UNC is struggling so far to contain the Huskies' stars. Moore and Montgomery have shot well, and Charles' physical post game scares me - luckily I'm not guarding her.
7:24 p.m. - This game might become a shootout, as Montgomery answers a Lucas two with another nothing-but-net threeball, which Lucas responds to with a three of her own. Adding fuel to the Lucas/Montgomery fire, both make another pair of shots in a row.
Right now, UConn keads 28-19 during a time out with 9:03 remaining in the first half.
7:18 p.m. - Power problem fixed! Here's a re-cap of the last few minutes of action:
After trailing 15-4, UNC went on a 8-3 run. Italee Lucas hit a pair of lay-ups - the second off a smooth hand-off at the left block courtesy of Chay Shegog. UConn had lay-up opportunities on successive possessions and couldn't make either.
The most exciting play of the run occurred when DeGraffenreid grabbed a defensive rebound, blazed up the court and hit a jumpshot as she fell to the ground that made the score 15-12 and ignited the crowd.
On UConn's next possession, however, Renee Montgomery knocked down a three to make the score 18-12.
7:10 p.m. - Due to a Dean Dome electronic malfunction, my laptop battery runs out of power. Call it a defensive breakdown.
7:08 p.m. - So far, the Tar Heels look as sloppy as a dorm room during finals week. They're turning the ball over, getting shots blocked, and losing their defensive assignments in transition.
As Cetera DeGraffenreid loses the handle and Moore takes it coast-to-coast for a lay-up, UConn holds a 15-4 lead at the 15:46 mark in the first half.
7:02 p.m. - Tip-off! Now, most of the lower bowl of the Dean Dome looks blue and sounds red. Carolina wins the opening tip, but Italee Lucas misses a three pointer. Maya Moore hits a two for the Huskies, which elicits a surprisingly large cheer from the UConn suporters in the crowd.
6:52 p.m. - With about six minutes until tip-off, the Smith Center is far from filling up. It'll be interesting what type of "home court" advantage UNC has, if any, as the Tar Heels have been displaced from their usual Carmichael Auditorium home, as that smaller but louder venue is undergoing renovations this season.
6:47 p.m. - This marks the fifth straight year in which these two juggernauts have met. Carolina leads the all-time series 5-3, and Connecticut is 0-2 when visiting Chapel Hill. But Carolina has only ever beaten the nation's top-ranked team twice in 26 chances (2-24 all-time against the No. 1-ranked team in the A.P. poll).
6:41 p.m. - I'm here at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, awaiting tonight's terrific women's basketball match-up of No. 2 North Carolina and No. 1 UConn - both teams enter the game at 17-0 on the season, so only one will remain unbeaten after this contest.
