Tar Heels Quiet the Terps

Latta-Led North Carolina Takes Big Lead, Holds On To Win at Comcast Center

Kristi Toliver has 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but Maryland can't withstand Ivory Latta's late surge to lead North Carolina to victory. (Preston Keres - The Washington Post)

North Carolina guard Ivory Latta spent much of last night holding her right arm in the air as she savored the sight of three-point baskets passing smoothly through the net.

On her fifth three-pointer, the one that gave the No. 2 Tar Heels a 15-point lead over No. 3 Maryland early in the second half, Latta let her emotions out, bobbing her head and screaming wildly as she jogged past the jeering student section.

Much like the Terrapins on the court, all the students could do was watch and seethe as Latta led the Tar Heels to an 84-71 victory in front of an ACC women's record crowd of 17,950 that crammed into Comcast Center hoping to see the Terrapins knock off a bitter ACC rival.

Instead, they watched Latta hit big shots at critical times and saw the Terrapins overcome a 20-point second-half deficit with a furious rally, only to fall short.

"It's nothing personal at all," said Latta, who scored a game-high 32 points behind a career-high six threes to help the Tar Heels avenge last year's Final Four loss to the Terrapins.

For the second time this season, the Terrapins (21-2, 5-2) played the role of the stunned champion in a battle of heavyweights. Senior guard Shay Doron played an inspired second half, pouring in six straight points. She cut the Tar Heels' lead to 67-66 with 3 minutes 14 seconds left and during one timeout volunteered to guard Latta.

"I was just trying to keep everyone's heads up and keep us in the game," said Doron, who scored 13 of her 19 points in the second half. "There was a lot of time on the clock. We had to play better eventually. We just played so bad in the first half. I was just trying to do everything I could possibly do to give us energy."

But as it did all night, North Carolina (23-0, 7-0) answered.

Forward Erlana Larkins responded with a strong inside basket -- two of her 20 points -- and Latta followed with a floater in the lane that served as a knockout punch with 1:59 left.

"We've got to find a way to get our swagger back," Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. "I think sometimes this team, they want to perform and they want to play so well. And sometimes I think they put pressure on themselves that they don't need."

The Terrapins outrebounded the Tar Heels 50-38 but North Carolina forced Maryland to pay for 21 turnovers, many of which were the dropped passes and mental mistakes. The Terrapins' carelessness with the basketball, combined with a 38.6 percent shooting night, rendered the big rebounding edge a moot point.

"It really was a dangerous combination," Frese said.

Much like their battle in the Final Four last season, the game featured flying bodies and physical skirmishes for the ball. For the majority of the game, the Tar Heels won those battles. The Terrapins' slow start didn't help either.

Maryland opened the game 3 of 18 from the field, going more than five minutes without a basket, and the Tar Heels opened a double-digit lead. Frese picked up a technical foul just before halftime, upset that referees didn't call a foul when Kristi Toliver absorbed two hard shots after pulling down an offensive rebound.

After the North Carolina lead swelled to 20 early in the second half, the Terrapins started the process of clawing back, embarking on a 12-2 run in just three minutes. With 8:32 left, Doron made her third straight jumper to cut the lead to 61-53, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"For that 10-minute stretch, we really showed a lot about our character because we really could have folded at that point," Frese said. "It took a lot of courage to step up and play the way we did in the last 10 minutes."

The final push was enough to wipe out the daunting deficit but not enough to save the Terrapins, who grasped for positives after the game.

Forward Laura Harper hopes the loss serves as a wake-up call. Maryland still has a home game remaining against No. 1 Duke on Feb. 18.

"I think losing this early, in the grand scheme of things, might help us a little bit, honestly," Harper said. "Because the feeling we have in the locker room is horrendous. It still is January and we have a good month to prepare, but this hurts."