Feb. 10, 2008

No. 3 Carolina Too Much for Georgia Tech, 75-61

ATLANTA (AP) - It was a less than perfect game by a North Carolina team that has made a habit of blowing out opponents this season. But for the No. 3 Tar Heels, less than perfect is still often good enough.

Rashanda McCants had 19 points, Erlana Larkins had 18 points and 14 rebounds and North Carolina coasted to a 75-61 victory over Georgia Tech on Sunday.

The Tar Heels were sloppy with the ball at times, committing 27 turnovers. But with just five regular-season games remaining, they played well enough to keep building momentum as they set their sights on March.

The Tar Heels (22-2, 9-0 ACC) extended their winning streak against the Yellow Jackets to 12, dating back to 2002. And after losing at No. 1 Connecticut on Jan. 21, they've won five in a row.

Georgia Tech (18-6, 5-5), off to its best start in 30 years, lost for the third time in five games and for the fifth time in five tries against ranked opponents. But it stayed within striking distance against a North Carolina team that had previously outscored opponents by an average of more than 26 points.

Wearing pink uniforms to raise breast cancer awareness, the Yellow Jackets gave the Tar Heels a tougher time than they did in a 21-point loss in Chapel Hill on Jan. 5. Janie Mitchell had a team-high 22 points.

The Yellow Jackets led by six midway through the first half, but the Tar Heels responded with a 16-2 run and led 42-38 at halftime.

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Zoll Dishes Out 700th Career Assist In 77-58 Victory Over FSU

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CHARLOTTESVILLE - Senior point guard Sharneé Zoll dished out nine assists, including the 700th of her career, to lead the Cavaliers to victory over Florida State, 77-58, Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena.

Zoll, who is chasing the all-time Virginia and Atlantic Coast Conference record for career assists, became just the third league player in history to surpass the 700-assist mark. With 707, she is now 22 helpers away from tying former UVa great Dawn Staley's record of 729.

Lyndra Littles (23 points), Monica Wright (14 points) and Aisha Mohammed (10 points) all benefited from Zoll's direction of the Cavalier offense. Littles was impressive in transition, while Mohammed took care of the boards - hauling down a game-high 10 for her 10th double-double of the season.

The Cavaliers (18-6, 6-2 ACC) were forced to play catch-up early, as Florida State (15-9, 5-4) jumped out to an early 9-0 lead. Virginia eventually settled down and took its first lead of the game on a layup by Littles at the 6:28 mark. From there, the teams traded baskets and FSU held a slim 32-31 advantage at halftime.

Virginia's offense clicked on all cylinders in the second half, as it opened the stanza on a 7-0 run and never looked back. The lead swelled to as many as 21 points on the strength of solid contributions from the entire roster.

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Gay Scores 15 As No. 11 Duke Tops Wake Forest, 71-36

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Carrem Gay scored a game-high 15 points, and No. 11 Duke opened with a 12-0 run on the way to a 71-36 victory over Wake Forest on Sunday.

The Blue Devils (18-6, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) held Wake Forest scoreless for more than 7 minutes. Gay had two baskets and an assist on Abby Waner's 3-pointer to spark the run.

The Demon Deacons (14-12, 1-10) turned over the ball on three of their first four possessions and missed their first 10 shots from the floor before Courteney Morris ended the drought with a 3-pointer with 12:42 remaining in the first half.

Wake Forest shot just 22.8 percent in compiling their lowest total of the year.

Joy Cheek scored 13 points for the Blue Devils, who registered their 31st consecutive victory over the Demon Deacons dating to the 1992-93 season.

Waner, who scored 12 points, topped the 1,000 career points mark midway through the first half on a fastbreak layup after one of Wake Forest's 24 turnovers.

No one for Wake Forest scored in double figures. Mekia Valentine's eight points led the Demon Deacons, who have lost at least 10 ACC games for the 17th consecutive season.

Players on both teams wore pink warmup tops and pink shoelaces to help raise awareness of breast cancer.

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http://www.gopack.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9200&ATCLID=1387018Fields' Career Day Lends Hoops for Hope Win

RALEIGH, N.C. - Shayla Fields scored a career-high 24 points to lead NC State to a 60-41 victory over Boston College during the third annual "Hoops for Hope" game on Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum.

With all of NC State's players donning pink jerseys and the name "Yow" on the back of their specially made Nike uniforms, the Wolfpack mustered a dominating defensive effort to snap a two-game skid.

Fields, who scored a then career-high 20 points last season at BC and scored 16 in a 60-59 setback earlier in the year at Chestnut Hill, converted 10 of 16 shots in the game, including 3 3-points in her ninth 40-minute effort of the season.

Khadijah Whittington added 13 points and eight rebounds for NC State (15-9, 3-6 ACC).

The freshmen duo of Carolyn Swords and Stefanie Murphy combined for 26 points and 20 boards for Boston College (17-7, 5-4 ACC), who have now dropped two straight in the league.

The top-ranked defense in the ACC held the Eagles scoreless for a 9:28 stretch that spanned both halves. The Pack broke open a 19-all game with 10 straight to close the first half. Fields and Amber White ignited the late run to give NC State some breathing room at the intermission.

NC State head coach Kay Yow and the Susan G. Komen Foundation teamed up again for the third edition of the "Hoops For Hope" game. The event is a breast cancer awareness event, in addition to a fund raising opportunity for the foundation. Hoops for Hope is a basketball game centered around hope - hope for early detection, hope for increased survival and hope for a cure.

NC State and Boston College were among over 900 schools that are participating in "Think Pink" week (Feb. 8-17). "Think Pink" is the WBCA's global, unified effort to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Of course each NC State game is played with special meaning as Coach Yow has battled the disease since 1987.

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