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Rolle's 17 leads No. 4 North Carolina to 92-37 win

Nov 25, 2009 - 11:27 PM CHAPEL HILL, N.C.(AP) -- Waltiea Rolle finally made the most of her opportunity.

Rolle scored 17 points off the bench to help No. 4 North Carolina defeat Presbyterian 92-37 on Wednesday.

"I feel pretty comfortable now," said Rolle, a 6-foot-6 freshman who had scored a total of 12 points in her first three games. "At first when I started, I had a little fright problem. But now I'm pretty good."

Cierra Robertson-Warren added a career-high 15 points for the Tar Heels (4-0), who won by more than 30 points for the third time this season. Italee Lucas and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt scored 12 points apiece as North Carolina shot 51.6 percent from the field, and Cetera DeGraffenreid added 11 points for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina played without leading rebounder Laura Broomfield, who was out for disciplinary reasons, and reserve forward Krista Gross missed the game after breaking a bone in her left hand during Tuesday's practice.

Their absences left extra minutes for Rolle and Robertson-Warren, who grabbed seven rebounds each and combined to make 12 of 15 shots from the field.

"The freshmen are coming along," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "Cierra is starting to play really well, and so is Waltiea. They're starting to feel comfortable and play instead of being afraid they're not doing the right thing out there."

Rolle made the play of the game late in the first half, showing off the speed that enabled her to beat many of North Carolina's guards in the team's preseason mile run.

She blocked a shot by Lea Smith, secured the rebound and passed to a teammate. Rolle then sprinted to the other end of the court, where she caught a pass in stride from She'la White and made a layup while drawing a foul.

"That's basically what I think about every time I walk on the floor - just running," Rolle said.

Amanda Mills scored 10 points to lead Presbyterian (0-6), which trailed 41-16 at halftime.

North Carolina went scoreless for the game's first two minutes and trailed 5-3 after four minutes. But the Tar Heels responded with a 21-2 run over the next 9 1/2 minutes, holding Presbyterian to a pair of free throws.

Presbyterian missed all 10 of its field-goal attempts and committed 11 turnovers, including giveaways on five consecutive possessions, during the drought.

Presbyterian, in its third season of reclassification to Division I, shot 22.7 percent for the game. The Blue Hose finished with six assists and 36 turnovers.

"We've got a ways to go to be able to compete at this level," Presbyterian coach Ronny Fisher said. "I was proud of our kids' effort, but we turned the ball over way too many times. We've got to work on that."