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No. 4 North Carolina cruises to 88-49 win

Nov 19, 2009 - 3:45 AM CHAPEL HILL, N.C.(AP) -- Cetera DeGraffenreid set a good pace for her North Carolina teammates, though they waited half the game before following her lead.

DeGraffenreid had 20 points, eight assists and a career high-tying eight steals to help No. 4 North Carolina beat Coastal Carolina 88-49 on Wednesday night.

She'la White added 16 points for the Tar Heels (2-0), who overcame a sluggish first half in which they trailed 20-19 with 6 minutes to go.

DeGraffenreid was a bright spot early on, scoring 12 points while getting five steals, four assists and one turnover in the opening half. Her teammates combined for one steal, three assists and nine turnovers in the period.

"We needed to pick up the intensity," DeGraffenreid said. "A lot of us were just out there, and I don't think we were really focused. It was really dead. We knew we needed to go out and jump on them and get in their faces more."

Chay Shegog finished with 15 points and Laura Broomfield had 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for North Carolina.

North Carolina, which led 33-25 at halftime, blew open the game with a 24-4 run in the first 7 minutes of the second half. The Tar Heels had nine offensive rebounds in the first 4 minutes after getting three in the entire first half.

North Carolina finished the game with a 54-35 rebounding edge after the teams went to halftime with 21 rebounds apiece.

"It was just our mentality of crashing the boards the boards hard," said Broomfield, who grabbed all six of her offensive rebounds in the second half. "We knew we weren't being as intense on the boards as we should."

Elizabeth Weaver scored a career-high 14 points to lead the Chanticleers (2-1), who shot 29 percent. Coastal Carolina, which entered the game shooting better than 53 percent from 3-point range, made 2 of 12 3s against the Tar Heels.

The Chanticleers opened the second half with a turnover on their first possession, and the Tar Heels converted the mistake into quick points on a putback by Broomfield.

"From there on, it was a steamroll," Coastal Carolina coach Alan LeForce said. "We just never got into any kind of offense. We just fell apart."

The Tar Heels thrived on Coastal Carolina's struggles, shooting 50 percent after halftime as they focused on getting the ball inside against the smaller Chanticleers.

North Carolina scored its first 12 points of the second half on layups or free throws. Shegog and Broomfield, the team's starting post players, combined for 17 points in the second half after taking just four shots in the first half.

"They were boxing us out and getting rebounds and everything," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "In the second half, I thought we played with a lot more passion and heart and made some good things happen."