March 3, 2002

2002 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament
Box Score | Quotes

By AARON BEARD
Associated Press Writer

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Nikki Teasley scored 14 points and Candace Sutton added 12 as No. 19 North Carolina rallied to beat North Carolina State 58-52 in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Sunday.

The Tar Heels (24-7) advanced to Monday's championship where they will face top-seeded and fourth-ranked Duke in a rematch of the 2000 final. Duke, which went 16-0 in league play, advanced after holding off fourth-seeded Virginia 71-67 earlier Sunday.

The sixth-seeded Wolfpack (14-15), who upset third-seeded Clemson on Saturday, struggled once the Tar Heels upped their defensive pressure and increased their tempo early in the second half.

A 3-pointer by Amy Simpson gave the Wolfpack a 36-24 lead with 15:35 to play. From there, North Carolina held the Wolfpack scoreless for the next 6:17.

The Tar Heels' offense roared to life, hitting five straight shots - including a 3-pointer from Teasley - to take a 37-36 lead on a jumper from Coretta Brown with 11:52 to play.

The Wolfpack ended the scoring drought with a three-point play by Kaayla Chones with 9:08, cutting the lead to 41-39.

The Tar Heels eventually pushed the lead to 46-41 on a 3-pointer from Brown with about five minutes left. The lead would not dip below four after that.

Chrystal Baptist had eight second-half points, while Brown finished with seven on 3-for-17 shooting.

Simpson and Chones each finished with 13 to lead N.C. State.

North Carolina shot 18 percent in the first half (7-for-39) and missed all eight attempts from 3-point range. The Tar Heels grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the first half, but they converted them into only four second-chance points.

The Wolfpack, meanwhile, shot 44 percent to lead 25-16 at halftime.