UNC women's basketball finds new sources of production in win over Marshall

The University of North Carolina women’s basketball team played their last game before final exams, on Wednesday night – a 75-53 win over Marshall University.

A different dynamic duo took over the game, as junior guard Jamie Cherry and sophomore guard Destinee Walker offensively led the team.

Cherry scored a game-high 19 points, while Walker added 15.

Shayna Gore’s 10 points and Talequia Hamilton’s nine points and 10 rebounds led Marshall.

Stephanie Watts, a sophomore guard, contributed nine points and 10 rebounds for UNC, as redshirt sophomore guard, Paris Kea, added seven points, seven assists and four steals.

Though the pair usually scores at a higher rate, where they combined for 37 points in the team’s last game, Hatchell was pleased with how the two contributed in other ways when their shots weren’t falling.

Cherry said her own role in Wednesday’s game included helping to keep the Watts and Kea in the game.

“Coach did a great job of letting them know it’s not all about scoring,” she said. “You have assists and rebounds where you can help our team in other ways and I think they did a great job with that tonight.”

She’s proud of how Walker stepped up to find offensive opportunities of her own. Cherry believes if the team can piece together its scoring, while also racking up numbers in other categories, the team will be a true force.

“Des(tinee) did a great job, she shot the ball really well tonight, so hopefully we can all put that all together and when we do, we’re going to be unstoppable.”

Marshall kept the game close after the first quarter, trailing only 20-16, as North Carolina held onto a four-point lead.

However, the Tar Heels stifled Marshall in the second period, holding the team to seven points. UNC entered halftime leading 41-27 after shooting at a 46 percent clip for field goals in the first half.

UNC added 22 points in the third period, surmounting a lead that Marshall would never come close to equalizing.

Though Marshall held the Tar Heels to only 12 points in the fourth quarter, UNC again outscored their opponents, as they held the visitors to nine points.

Notably, UNC was out-rebounded again; a consistent problem for the team, however, this time the opposing team had only one extra board. Head coach Sylvia Hatchell said she sees this as a potential sign of progress.

“We work on it every day, and we do all kinds of rebounding drills,” Hatchell said. “There’s hardly a minute that goes by where they don’t hear me say something about rebounding because we’re last in the league in rebounding. But we’ll continue to work on it, and we’ll get better.”

The Tar Heels next play on Dec. 18 at three o’clock in Myrtle Beach against LSU.

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