North Carolina Tar Heels
ACC (20-11, 9-7)
It has been a bit of an up and down season for Sylvia Hatchell’s North Carolina women’s basketball squad. They battled Duke to the wire in their last regular season game in a tough loss. The Tar Heels still found a way to finish ACC play with a winning record, which could arguably be one of Coach Hatchell’s best jobs in her 26 years at North Carolina.
Big Wins: 1/2 Miami (65-63), 1/5 at Virginia (78-73), 2/15 at Florida State (71-66)
Bad Losses: 12/18 vs South Carolina (48-79), 1/12 Clemson (47-52), 2/12 Georgia Tech (54-56)
Coach: Sylvia Hatchell (26 seasons at North Carolina)
Why They Can Surprise:
The Tar Heels have as much athletic talent as anyone when they are on their game. Chay Shegog has been a tremendous force down in the low blocks fighting off double teams to still lead North Carolina in scoring and rebounding. She should be a good match-up against teams early in the tournament, especially if the Tar Heels get in say a 7-10 or 8-9 match-up in the opening round. Brittany Rountree has been a nice addition in the backcourt. She made the All-ACC Freshman team and has the ability to keep the paint open for Shegog and Laura Broomfield if she can dial it in from three point range to extend defenses out so they can’t pack it in. Also, the veteran leadership of Head Coach Sylvia Hatchell is always a plus come tournament time in being able to keep her team focused when adversity strikes.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The propensity to turn the basketball over at just over 20 turnovers per game is something that could very easily contribute to an early exit for the Tar Heels. Also, North Carolina tends to, at times, play to the level of their competition as demonstrated by their win over Miami at home and then losing to last place Clemson at home on January 12. The lack of continuity at times in the starting lineup has also hurt. Only Chay Shegog and Krista Gross have started every game for the Lady Tar Heels. In addition, the inability to flourish offensively against elite teams like Miami, Uconn and Duke on the road, where North Carolina scored only 37, 35 and 56 points respectively, is a problem.
Probable Starters:
She’la White, Senior, Guard, 6.8 ppg, 2.9 apg
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt , Junior, Guard, 8.5 ppg, 2.8 apg, 5.1 rpg
Krista Gross, Junior, Forward, 8.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg
Laura Broomfield, Senior, Forward, 9.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg
Chay Shegog, Senior, Center, 15.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.3 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Brittany Rountree, Freshman, Guard, 8.7 ppg, 2.3 apg
Candace Wood, Junior, Guard, 5.7 ppg, 1.3 apg
Danielle Butts, Freshman, Guard, 5.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 69.9 (43rd in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 60.1 (135, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 41.6 (61, 6)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.3 (55, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.8 (160, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.7 (102, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 63.7 (294, 10)
Rebound Margin: 4.2 (61, 6)
Assists Per Game: 15.0 (39, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 20.1 (301, 10)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
North Carolina 2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Fresno State
North Carolina 2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Kentucky
North Carolina 2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Stanford
North Carolina 2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Gonzaga
North Carolina 2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Central Florida
North Carolina 2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Purdue
North Carolina 2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Bucknell
North Carolina 2008 NCAA Round of 32 win over Georgia
North Carolina 2008 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Louisville
North Carolina 2008 NCAA Regional Final loss to LSU
North Carolina 2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Prairie View
North Carolina 2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Notre Dame
North Carolina 2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over George Washington
North Carolina 2007 NCAA Regional Final win over Purdue
North Carolina 2007 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Tennessee
*all team stats through 3/1
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
