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Tar Heels hold on to top No. 8 Maryland

Jan 4, 2013 - 2:33 AM Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and Brittany Rountree each scored 13 points to lead No. 15 North Carolina to a 60-57 victory over eighth-ranked Maryland in a key Atlantic Coast Conference clash.

Ruffin-Pratt added six rebounds and five assists for the Tar Heels (14-1), who overcame an early 10-point deficit to notch their seventh consecutive win. Waltiea Rolle posted 12 points and nine boards in the triumph.

Maryland (10-3) saw a six-game win streak come to an end despite a 23-point, 13-rebound performance from Tianna Hawkins and a 15-point, 16-board effort out of Alyssa Thomas.

The Terrapins owned a 24-14 lead with just over six minutes left in the opening half and were ahead by a 35-29 count at the break, but North Carolina began the second period with a 17-1 run and built a 46-36 lead on Latifah Coleman's 3-pointer with 13:07 left to play.

Maryland netted eight straight points, capped by Thomas' jumper with 13 seconds left, to pull within 59-57, and had a chance to force overtime after UNC's Danielle Butts hit just 1-of-2 free throws with 10 seconds remaining. However, Katie Rutan's 3-point try in the final stages missed the mark as the Tar Heels held on.