The No. 13 UNC women’s basketball team snuck into the third round with a 69-65 defeat of Wake Forest Wednesday night in Greensboro.
The Demon Deacons opened the contest with a 7-0 run shooting 3-3 from the field, including 1-1 from behind the arc. The Tar Heels answered with a 5-2 run, but then with the help of Dearica Hamby’s 19 first-half points shooting 9-11 from the field, the Deacs pulled away again and jumped out to a double-digit lead.
At halftime, Carolina was down 12 shooting 32 percent from the field in the first half, while Wake Forest connected on 59 percent of its attempts.
The Tar Heels hit the final basket of the first half and scored the next 14 points unanswered to take the lead at 41-39. In the middle of that run, though, there was a nearly 25-minute break in the action as all the lights went out in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Wake Forest stormed back to take the lead again, but finally play settled with Carolina in the lead. UNC was 3-4 in free throws in the final 30 seconds to fend off Wake and hold on for the four-point win.
Hamby only had ten points in the second half finishing with 29, but she still led all players. Wake’s Chelsea Douglas also tallied 20 points in her final contest as a Deac.
Diamond Deshields led the Heels with 17 points She also pulled down eight rebounds. No other Tar Heels hit double-figure scoring.
Each team turned the ball over more times than the number of field goals it hit. Carolina turned the ball over 22 times; Wake Forest had 26 TOs.
With the win, the Tar Heels improved to 23-8; the Demon Deacons finished their season 15-16.
Carolina faces No. 3 seed Maryland in the quarterfinals Friday with a scheduled tip time of 8:00 p.m. Maryland got first- and second-round byes with its 24-5, 12-4 regular season finish. The Tar Heels lost to the Terrapins 79-70 in Chapel Hill on January 9.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/unc-womens-basketball-survives-advances-def-wfu-69-65/CHAPEL HILL– The 2014 Tar Heel football schedule will feature six home games in Kenan Stadium and UNC’s first-ever ESPN Thursday night game at Duke on Nov. 20.
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The ACC released the schedule on Thursday, and the Tar Heels face a tough slate that includes nine teams that played in bowl games last season and five squads that won at least nine games.
Conference matchups in Chapel Hill against Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and a season ender against N.C. State on Nov. 29 should provide an entertaining home menu for Tar Heel fans.
The Tar Heel Sports Network’s Lee Pace says he thinks it’s one of the most exciting schedules he’s seen in a while.
“I think it’s one of the most interesting schedules the Tar Heels have had in some time. Clemson is a cross-divisional game for the ACC. Any time you got Clemson, Florida State or Wake Forest, I think that amps up the schedule a little bit when you’re going across divisions. And then a great end to the season with the Thursday night game at Duke. I think there’s a lot of interesting stuff. It’s going to be a terrific fall for Carolina,” Pace says.
Also of note, Carolina will travel to South Bend, Ind. to face Notre Dame on Oct. 11 for the first time since 2006. The Tar Heels have failed to capture a victory in 11 previous tries at Notre Dame.
But all eyes will certainly be on Wallace Wade Stadium for the nationally televised showdown against Duke right before Thanksgiving. And this year, Pace says Carolina will be extra hungry to reclaim the Victory Bell.
“I think there’s a lot of excitement around the Duke rivalry the last two years. It was sort of dead in the water for about two decades, and then Duke has won the last two years. Carolina will have the emotional edge I would hope that night. It will be interesting to see what sort of atmosphere we generate for a week night game like that,” Pace says.
Carolina returns 17 starters from last year’s team that finished with a flurry to win six out of the last seven games and capture the Belk Bowl trophy. And it won’t be long before the 2014 team will be back in action in Chapel Hill.
Spring practice begins March 5 and the Spring Football ‘Blue & White’ Game is scheduled for Saturday, April 12 at 3 p.m.
The Tar Heel football season kicks off Aug. 30 with a home opener against the Liberty Flames.
You can view the complete 2014 schedule here.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/2014-tar-heel-football-schedule-provides-challenges-excitement/CHAPEL HILL– The UNC women’s basketball team is now ranked No. 9 in the nation in the latest AP poll released Monday and freshman sensation Diamond DeShields was named ACC Rookie of the Week.
Carolina moved up four sports from No. 13 in last week’s rankings thanks to a pair of impressive wins over No. 20 N.C. State and No. 17 Florida State.
DeShields earned the honor for the second time this season by averaging 23 points and eight rebounds in Tar Heel victories against the Wolfpack and Seminoles.
The freshman was a key factor in turning around the game at FSU for Carolina. She scored 18 of her game-high 25 points in the second half and was 4-for-6 on three-point attempts.
DeShields and the Tar Heels next take to the court Thursday when they host the Clemson Tigers at 6 p.m. in Carmichael Arena.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/9-tar-heels-turning-heads-thanks-dazzling-diamond/CHAPEL HILL – UNC Basketball scored a 15-point win over Northern Kentucky on Saturday, but head coach Roy Williams wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance—especially after a lackluster first half.
“My staff did a great job, because what I wanted to do was stay out at halftime and run sprints the entire frickin’ half,” he said after the game. “They thought it was not the right thing to do, but God, I wanted to do that so badly…
“I’m going to do that one of these days. I know, by God, we’ll make SportsCenter then.”
Williams changed 80 percent of his starting lineup between the first and second halves on Saturday in order to send his players a message. It paid off, as the second team pulled away in the first few minutes of the half—but Carolina still had to settle for an unimpressive victory over an unheralded opponent, with ACC play now just a week away.
At his postgame press conference Saturday, Williams singled out a few players—including Brice Johnson, who scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting against Northern Kentucky but has struggled since he led the Heels in scoring three weeks ago against UNC-G.
“I (was) just straightforward: I told him, you’ve got to get playing basketball again,” he said. “Brice is another one that’s going to be a really good player–he’s just got to get the mojo going.”
But with ACC opponents just around the corner, Williams is ready to move on. (And he’s also ready to move on from the PJ Hairston debacle, as evidenced by his response to a reporter who asked if Hairston would remain on the Carolina bench. “Guys, I’m trying to coach the guys I have,” he said. “Jesus Christ, he’s not on our team. I love him to death, but he’s not on our team.”)
ACC play begins for Carolina on January 5 at Wake Forest, but the Tar Heels have one more non-conference opponent to face before then, as UNC-Wilmington comes to town on New Year’s Eve. That game tips off at 5:00 in the Smith Center; coverage on WCHL begins with Countdown to Tipoff at 3:30.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/acc-approaching-williams-happy-heels-play/CHAPEL HILL – Sources close to the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn say the two parties have agreed to stage a future ACC Basketball Tournament at the brand new home of the Brooklyn Nets.
The ACC will vote on holding the tournament in New York Tuesday, but the sources say that the agreement has been made and the vote is a mere formality. Due to the addition of former Big East schools Notre Dame, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, the ACC is anxious to play a tournament in the northeast.
The Barclays Center selected the ACC over the Big Ten, which has added Maryland and Rutgers to its conference membership. Both conferences may hold later tournaments in Brooklyn, but the ACC will come first.
The exact year the ACC Tournament will be played in Brooklyn has not been determined, but it will be at the Barclays Center and not Madison Square Garden. The 2014 and 2015 ACC Tournaments will be played in Greensboro. The 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament will be held at Washington, D.C.’s Verizon Center, the ACC announced November 14.
The 2017-21 tournament sites have not been determined, but one of those years it will be New York and the Barclays Center.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/acc/acc-tournament-going-new-york/GREENSBORO– Leading UNC women’s basketball scorer Diamond DeShields was selected ACC Rookie of the Week Monday on the heels of her superb play in the Cancun Challenge.
Carolina has now won the honor three consecutive weeks. Allisha Gray snagged the award on Nov. 18 and Stephanie Mavunga took the honor on Nov. 25.
DeShields averaged 23.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals during her three games at the early season tournament. The Tar Heels posted a 2-1 record at the event.
The freshman shot 49.1 percent from the floor and served as a catalyst for the Carolina offense that put up big points.
No. 18 UNC hosts No. 15 Nebraska in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 97.9 FM, WCHL.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/carolinas-diamond-deshields-named-acc-rookie-week/
GREENSBORO– Can you believe it? The Tar Heels won’t be playing a noon or 12:30 p.m. game Oct. 26 against Boston College.
The kickoff in Kenan Stadium is set for a rare 3:30 p.m. time slot. Chapel Hill folks will likely be excited for a little more time to tailgate and enjoy the game day atmosphere before making their way into Kenan.
Announced Monday by the ACC, other notable game times for Oct. 26 include a noon kick for Wake Forest at Miami and 3:30 start times in both Tallahassee and Blacksburg for NC State at Florida State and Duke at Virginia Tech.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/acc-schedule-shocker-no-noon-game-on-the-hill-for-bc-vs-unc/CHAPEL HILL – UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham told a concerned UNC supporter in an email that “keeping the ACC strong is our number one choice.”
The News and Observer reported Thursday that emails from the AD showed doubt in the ACC. Cunningham told the supporter “we are looking at all options.”
In another email conversation, Cunningham told former UNC tennis player and assistant tennis coach who is currently a financial adviser from Athens, Georgia that it really concerns him whether or not the ACC will be able to continue to compete financially. Their correspondence included conversation about how the SEC currently pays $20 million per team and could get up to $35 million per team after the next TV contract is negotiated.
The N&O made the records requests in February for emails and other documents regarding Maryland’s departure from the ACC.
Cunningham continued to express his concern earlier this week he’s “concerned about the disparity in revenues of various conferences.” The SEC has announced it will launch the SEC Television Network in August 2014. Cunningham is a member of the ACC’s TV subcommittee; the group is reportedly also looking into a similar channel, a possible revenue producer.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/unc-ad-expressed-doubt-in-acc/GREENSBORO– The stage is now fully set for the next Tar Heel football game day in Chapel Hill.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that 12:30 p.m. will be the kickoff inside Kenan Stadium when Carolina takes on East Carolina. The Tar Heels will be gunning for their sixth straight victory over the Pirates on Saturday, Sept. 28.
In other league action, Virginia Tech will be facing Georgia Tech at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26 on ESPN. In addition, Wake Forest will be traveling to Clemson to face the third-ranked Tigers at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28.
UNC’s non-conference tilt against ECU will be broadcast by the ACC Network, and WCHL will have you covered with Countdown to Kickoff with Ron Stutts presented by UNC Health Care live at Ram’s Plaza at 9:00 a.m.
http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/1230-p-m-kickoff-for-ecu-unc-contest/GREENSBORO–Tar Heel football fans got a double dose of excitement Monday.
First off, the ACC released its Football Players of the Week and Carolina’s own standout senior James Hurt was named Offensive Lineman of the Week.
Hurst played 80 snaps and totaled a 92 percent grade in Carolina’s 40-20 triumph over Middle Tennessee Saturday. UNC gained 511 total yards of offense and eclipsed 40 points for the sixth time in Coach Larry Fedora’s tenure.
Hurst racked up 12 knockdown blocks and did not allow a single sack or quarterback pressure.
The other news coming out of the ACC is the release of the game times and TV networks for Saturday, Sept. 21.
The Tar Heels will be taking on Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and the pivotal contest will be kicking off at high noon. The game will be broadcast on one of the ESPN networks-ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU. The specific network will be selected by Sept. 15.
Another marquee ACC match-up to look out for that week will see the third-ranked Clemson Tigers play at NC State in the Thursday night feature Sept. 19 on ESPN.
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