February 28, 1999

CHARLOTTE (AP) - Five minutes, 10 seconds isn't long enough for many people to take a shower or eat a quick meal. For North Carolina's Tar Heels, it was all they needed to erase a 19-point deficit.

"It showed a lot of heart and a lot of character," coach Sylvia Hatchell said after the 13th-ranked Tar Heels converted the comeback into an 83-70 victory over No. 19 Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals Sunday.

Nikki Teasley, Chanel Wright and Juana Brown powered the first-half rally that helped third-seeded North Carolina (26-6) earn a chance at its fifth ACC title in six years.

Teasley said she and her teammates were merely taking a cue from their coach, who told them not to panic because there was plenty of time left.

"Even though we got down so far, we never fell apart. We never argued with each other," Teasley said. "Every time somebody made a mistake, the next person came up to them and said, That's OK. We'll get it back on defense.' Everybody was talking to each other and everybody was communicating, and when we're working like that, it's going to be very tough to beat Carolina."

Second-seeded Virginia (20-8) had its ACC tournament run ended by the Tar Heels for the third time in six years. The Cavaliers made just 11 of 39 field-goal attempts (28 percent) over the final 25 minutes.

"I just don't have any excuses," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "They got good shots. They just weren't able to knock them down. The confidence just wasn't there."

The Tar Heels reversed their fortunes with a 33-7 run bridging the first and second halves. North Carolina closed the first half with a 23-4 surge, including eight points by Teasley, seven by Wright and six by Brown.

"It's demoralizing, definitely," Virginia's Monick Foote said. "But we should have been able to pick ourselves up and get it together."

As Ryan noted, this is far from the first time the Cavaliers have had trouble maintaining big leads.

"For me right now, it's kind of a puzzle with my team," Ryan said. "It just seems like we've got to find some players who can come off the bench and pick us up."

Wright finished with 27 points, Teasley had 25 and Brown added 11 for the Tar Heels, whose opponent in Monday night's championship game will be 16th-ranked and fourth-seeded Clemson, a 76-71 winner over No. 8 and top-seeded Duke.

Foote and Erin Stovall each had 13 points to lead Virginia. DeMya Walker had 10.

Lesley Brown's baseline jumper pushed Virginia's lead to 36-17 with six minutes left before halftime, but the Cavaliers made just one field goal the rest of the half. When Teasley hit two free throws with 50 seconds remaining, it was 40-40, and the Tar Heels weren't finished.

North Carolina scored 10 of the first 13 points in the second half to go up 50-43 with 17:35 left.

Virginia led just once the rest of the way, at 58-57 on Walker's three-point play at the 13:44 mark. Wright answered with a foul-line jumper, and the Tar Heels gradually pulled away to defeat the Cavaliers for the seventh time in eight games.

"The momentum just shifted temporarily," Ryan said, "and we couldn't seem to ever get it back."