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UNC advances with win over Michigan State

Mar 26, 2014 - 4:03 AM Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Diamond DeShields tallied a double- double with a team-high 24 points and 12 rebounds to help lift the fourth- seeded North Carolina Tar Heels past the fifth-seeded Michigan State Spartans, 62-53, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Carmichael Arena.

Allisha Gray chipped in 10 points with seven rebounds and four assists for UNC (26-9), which will face top-seeded South Carolina in the Sweet 16 Sunday. Latifah Coleman added 10 points of her own in the victory.

Jasmine Hines scored 16 points to lead Michigan State (23-10), adding five rebounds to her stat line. Tori Jankoska contributed 14 points with five boards of her own in the defeat.

North Carolina shot just 33.3 percent from the floor in the first half, but connected on 11-of-13 from the free-throw line that allowed the team to take a 36-27 lead at the midway break. Michigan State hit just 32.1 percent of its field goal tries in the frame.

The Tar Heels improved to 40.7 percent shooting in the second half, which was enough to fend off the struggling Spartans, who dropped their shooting accuracy down to 30.8 percent. The two teams combined to shoot 3-of-15 from 3- point range in the period.

UNC forced Michigan State to commit 24 turnovers, and the Tar Heels held a slight edge in rebounding, 41-40.