Women's showdown not a work of art
Feb 10, 2009
CHAPEL HILL - It's not often you see a college basketball team commit 20 -- 10 -- turnovers in one half. It's even less common to see that team come back to win.
And yet, that's exactly what Sylvia Hatchell's team did Monday night.
It was no work of art, this Duke-UNC women's basketball game. Carolina looked downright dreadful for the game's first 17 minutes, a stretch of basketball futility Sylvia Hatchell referred to as a "nightmare."
But with the Tar Heels offering up the game on a silver platter, Duke never closed the deal. A late first half run got Carolina back in the game. Then Duke -- a team that prides itself on defense -- allowed UNC to shoot a blistering 64 percent from the floor in the second half.
Duke senior guard Abby Waner says her team has a tendency to let leads slip away, a trait she calls "absurd." And she's right. Duke had every chance to put Carolina away in the second half, and the Devils just didn't get it done.
And while Carolina has every reason to celebrate after a convincing comeback, the Tar Heel women still have a lot of work to do themselves. This marks their fourth consecutive game with at least 20 turnovers. At some point, that has to stop.
In the end, both teams leave with as many question marks as they have answers.
