The University of Maine had to realize it was fortunate to be within six points at halftime of Friday night’s Carolinas Classic game against the University of North Carolina.
If not, it became abundantly clear during the second half.
The sixth-ranked Tar Heels outscored the Black Bears 41-18 in the second half while pulling away for a 65-36 women’s basketball victory at the Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) Convention Center.
North Carolina (10-1) went on a 20-3 binge during a span of 5:09 early in the second half, hitting four 3-pointers to fuel the game-changing surge that gave the Tar Heels a 44-24 lead with 11:41 remaining.
The setback snapped a six-game winning streak for coach Richard Barron’s Black Bears (7-4), who play Sunday afternoon at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Allisha Gray finished with a game-high 17 points to propel North Carolina, which went 5-for-12 from the 3-point arc in the second half and outrebounded UMaine 26-13 in the period.
Latifah Coleman scored 10 points and dished out four assists while Xylina McDaniel just missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and a game-leading 12 rebounds. UNC outscored the Bears 16-8 from the foul line.
Sophomore guard Sigi Koizar paced UMaine with nine points and four rebounds, but committed seven of the team’s 26 turnovers. Bella Swan scored seven points, while Liz Wood wound up with four points and a team-best 10 rebounds but also committed seven turnovers.
“Our defensive rebounding, our intensity, was outstanding,” Barron told Don Shields of the Black Bear Sports Network. “I thought Liz was battling in there. She was a warrior. She was tough.”
Chantel Charles chipped in with six rebounds and had six turnovers.
Down only six points at halftime, UMaine drew within 24-21 on two Koizar foul shots at the 17:50 mark. That came despite missing three consecutive 3-point attempts.
“We dominated the start of the second half and we just didn’t make shots,” Barron said. “If we’re not going to make shots that are wide-open shots, we can’t beat anybody.”
The Tar Heels responded with their 20-3 run.
Coleman kicked it off with a 3-pointer and Gray made a free throw, before Anna Heise hit a foul shot for UMaine. Coleman followed with a conventional three-point play, before Gray and Brittany Rountree sandwiched 3-pointers around a jumper by the Bears’ Mikaela Gustafsson.
Gray then added a three-point play and Jamie Cherry drained a 3-pointer that extended the advantage to 44-24 with 11:41 left and sent North Carolina well on its way.
The Black Bears had survived a shaky start to the game and clawed back to within 24-18 at halftime.
UMaine committed 17 turnovers in the first half, but North Carolina was able to convert them into only seven points. The Bears also rallied to outrebound the Tar Heels 21-17 to severely limit their second-chance opportunities.
The Black Bears missed their first six shots and committed eight turnovers during the same span. The result was a 14-0 lead for North Carolina on Jessica Washington’s jumper with 12:27 left in the half.
UMaine trailed by as many as 15 points (19-4) before going on a 14-5 run over the last 10:39 to keep it close.