Liberty University
26-7
No. 4 seed North Carolina
25-8
No. 4 North Carolina Withstands No. 13 Liberty, 71-65
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
No. 4 seed North Carolina used a 14-0 run midway through the first half to take the lead for good during Saturday's 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship first-round tilt at Carmichael Arena. The Tar Heels then withstood numerous comeback attempts by No. 13 seed Liberty to claim a hard-fought 71-65 victory.
After trailing by 14 points (39-25) at halftime, the Lady Flames battled back to within six on four different occasions. However, they could not get over the hump as Allisha Gray (17 points), Latifah Coleman (15 points), Stephanie Mavunga (12 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks) and N'Dea Bryant (scored six of her eight points during the final 4:49) took turns making key plays for victorious North Carolina.
The Tar Heels (25-8) shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the field, the highest percentage by a Liberty opponent this season. As a result, they move on to the second round to host the winner between No. 5 seed Ohio State and No. 12 seed James Madison, Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Carmichael Arena.
Liberty's 2014-15 season comes to a close at 26-7 after seeing its 14-game winning streak halted on Saturday. Paced by Ashley Rininger (19 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals), the Lady Flames enjoyed a 52-35 rebounding advantage but shot just 34.8 percent (24-of-69) from the field and 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from beyond the three-point arc.
The Lady Flames are still seeking their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2005, despite stellar efforts from all three seniors who took the court for the final time on Saturday. Karly Buer tallied 14 points and five assists, Jasmine Gardner contributed eight points and nine rebounds and Emily Frazier's gritty NCAA Tournament debut resulted in seven points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Buer scored six points in the first 5:41, including a pair of free throws at the 14:19 mark that gave the Lady Flames a 10-7 advantage.
Shortly thereafter, Jessica Washington tallied five points during a 14-0 North Carolina run. Danielle Butts' fast break layup at 8:58 capped off the surge with the Tar Heels on top, 23-12.
Rininger accounted for six consecutive Liberty points, helping the Lady Flames battle back to within six on four occasions.
However, North Carolina opened up a bit more breathing room by closing out the half with a 7-0 burst. Jamie Cherry's triple just before the halftime buzzer sent the Tar Heels into the locker room with a 39-25 advantage.
Liberty struggled shooting the basketball during the first 20 minutes, making 25 percent (8-of-32) from the field and misfiring on all seven of its three-point tries. Conversely, North Carolina made 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field during the opening half.
The Lady Flames were able to keep the game within striking distance by racking up a 26-20 rebounding advantage and getting to the foul line 13 times (making nine for 69.2 percent).
Individually, Liberty was led by the duo of Buer (9 points) and Rininger (8 points, 6 rebounds) before halftime. Coleman paced the Tar Heels' balanced scoring attack.
The Lady Flames, who had won five straight games when trailing at halftime, showed that they would not go down quietly. Head coach Carey Green's squad scored four quick points within in the first minute of the second half.
Rininger hoops bookended a 6-0 Liberty surge which cut a 12-point deficit in half, making the score 48-42 with 11:23 to play and excited the large portion of the 2,233 in attendance wearing Liberty red.
After the Lady Flames misfired on 13 straight three-pointers to start the game, Buer made the team's first trifecta with 4:31 remaining.
Jaymee Fisher-Davis came off the bench to swish two triples in the final 1:05, cutting the gap to six both times. Both times, the Tar Heels had an immediate answer, in the form of a Coleman layup at the 39-second mark and a Gray putback of a missed free throw with 10 seconds to play.
North Carolina, which converted Liberty's 16 turnovers into 18 points, has now won 50 consecutive games against Big South opponents, including all three meetings with the Lady Flames.
Liberty used its size advantage to record 24 offensive rebounds, 22 second-chance points and 38 points in the paint. It marked the 22nd straight game that the Lady Flames won the rebounding battle and outscored their opponent inside the paint.
Liberty also scored more bench points than its foe for the 13th straight outing, ending up with a 22-14 advantage.
Rininger's double-double was her fourth in a row, 14th this season and the 33rd of her career. She has now grabbed 13 rebounds in each of her two career NCAA Tournament tilts.
Buer made a successful NCAA Tournament debut with her 14 points in a season-high 39 minutes played. She finishes the year with the fifth-best single-season free throw percentage (.819) in program history and wraps up her collegiate career with 1,133 points.
Despite shooting just 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the foul line on the day, the Lady Flames set a program single-season record for free throw percentage at 74.5, eclipsing the mark of 72.8 percent set in 2007-08.
Gardner ends her career ranked 11th in Lady Flames history with 604 rebounds.
Frazier, whose eight rebounds on Saturday marked a season high, closes out her 123-game tenure as a Lady Flame ranked highly on several program lists. She is tied for 35th with 669 points, 49th with 348 boards, fifth with 423 assists and tied for 15th with 77 three-pointers made.
