Jan. 25, 2012
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -
Chay Shegog scored 16 points to lead No. 25 North Carolina to a 77-46 victory over Boston College on Wednesday night.
Krista Gross and She'la White added 11 points apiece for the Tar Heels (15-5, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Shayra Brown scored 17 points to lead Boston College (5-15, 0-7) and Keri Shields added 12.
After North Carolina jumped to a 14-0 lead, Boston College cut the margin to nine points on four separate occasions, but White's 3-pointer stretched the Tar Heels lead to 23-11. It also started a 9-0 run and North Carolina led by double digits the rest of the way.
"I thought this thing was a little fast and little physical for our players," said Boston College coach Sylvia Crawley. "We have to get tougher. They triggered their offense off their defense early, (and) they're very good in transition."
The Tar Heels were up 36-16 at halftime and cruised down the stretch, emptying their bench and having 11 players score. Boston College had 15 turnovers at intermission and shot only 5 of 26 from the field.
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt had four blocks in the first half in only her seventh game of the season following offseason shoulder surgery.
"I'm not 100 percent yet," Ruffin-Pratt says. "I'm having pain, but it's pain I can play through. My shoulder's fixed. It's not going to come out."
"I call her my secretary of defense," said North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell. "She's setting a tone on defense, doing a lot of things and we're picking up on that."
North Carolina refused to let Boston College back in the game in the second half, never allowing the lead to drop below 20 points. The largest lead was 68-35.
Brown provided a bit of a spark for Boston College, scoring 10 points in the final 6 minutes.
North Carolina forced 25 turnovers, with 14 steals and nine blocks and held Boston College to 26-percent shooting, while making 44 percent of their field goals. Ruffin-Pratt ended the game with five blocks and four steals.
North Carolina dominated inside, outrebounding Boston College 53-36, although the Tar Heels did commit 19 turnovers and shot only 11 of 26 from the foul line.
Shegog said the defensive effort, led by Ruffin-Pratt, was just what UNC was looking for.
"Tierra's a defensive master. She really pushes everyone to do better on defense. We've worked a lot on our defense (and) that's our focus. Defense wins games."
Hatchell feels good about her injury-plagued team, which has won three straight, all in the ACC.
"We're getting better. We've got people out there, finally got these folks healthy. We're having time to work on things, and they're learning to play together."
