Cetera DeGraffenreid tied the game with seven seconds left in regulation and Cierra Roberston-Warren scored five key points in overtime as North Carolina broke a five-game losing streak with a 65-59 win over Wake Forest last night at Joel Coliseum.
Secily Ray had 23 points to lead the Deacons, who led by as many as 16 points in the first half.
DeGraffenreid had a team-high 15 points to go with nine rebounds, six assists and no turnovers for UNC, which got its first win since beating N.C. State on Jan. 25. Roberston-Warren had her best game against an ACC foe, with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Wake Forest (15-11, 6-6 ACC) started quickly, making seven of its first 10 field-goal attempts to build a double-digit lead seven minutes into the game. Behind Ray and three 3-pointers from Courteney Morris, Wake Forest extended its lead to 30-14 with 10:23 left in the half.
The Deacons then went cold, but the struggling Tar Heels (17-8, 5-6 ACC) couldn't take full advantage.
The score remained 30-15 for almost five minutes before DeGraffenreid finally sparked North Carolina with a steal and a pass to Trinity Bursey. Bursey proceeded to score seven straight points, with a 3-pointer and a layup bringing UNC to 30-22.
Wake Forest built its lead back to 10 at 39-29 with 13:51 left in regulation before UNC rallied again.
DeGraffenreid scored nine of the next 11 points for the Tar Heels, including four straight free throws, the last of which tied the game at 40 with 7:54 to play in regulation.
The Deacons battled back, with two free throws by Ray giving them a three-point lead with 2:06 left in the game. After a miss by Waltiea Rolle, Brooke Thomas made one of two foul shots to give Wake Forest a 56-52 lead with 1:18 left.
But the Tar Heels' Rolle scored the next time downcourt off a pass from DeGraffenreid, and a missed shot by the Deacons set up the game-tying play.
After a North Carolina timeout, DeGraffenreid dribbled near the top of the key until 10 seconds remained before driving for the tying basket with seven seconds left. Thomas took a shot as the clock ran down, but Italee Lucas got the rebound to send the game into overtime.
North Carolina scored the first six points of overtime -- four by Roberston-Warren -- to take a lead 62-56 with 3:14 to go. The teams traded turnovers before a Morris 3-pointer with 57 seconds left pulled Wake Forest to within three.
After a UNC miss, Camille Collier had a shot to tie the game with nine seconds left, but Robertson-Warren pulled in the loose ball, drew a foul and made one of two free throws to seal the win.
Wake Forest will leave conference action and play host N.C. Central at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement