North Carolina Rallies Past Stephen F. Austin in NCAA 1st Round
TUCSON, Ariz. – Looking to claim the Western Athletic Conference’s first win in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in nearly 20 years, Stephen F. Austin nearly had that victory.
Despite holding the lead for a majority of the game, the Ladyjacks succumbed to a fourth quarter rally from North Carolina. The Tar Heels pulled away in the final 10 minutes to claim a 79-66 victory on Saturday evening.
Stephen F. Austin, in their first season as members of the WAC, used a strong first 20 minutes to build a lead as large as 10 points against the 18th ranked Tar Heels. Aided by a 14-5 edge in second chance points, the Ladyjacks took a 36-33 edge into the locker room.
The upset minded conference champions continued to hold the lead throughout the third period. North Carolina’s final 10 minutes put the game out of reach. The fifth seed took the lead with just over eight minutes left in the contest and never trailed again. North Carolina outscored the Ladyjacks by 15 points in the last quarter.
Zya Nugent led the scoring effort for the Ladyjacks with a 26-point performance on the strength of five made buckets from behind the arc. Avery Brittingham, playing her first significant minutes in nearly two months, provided a spark off the bench by registering nine point and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Stephen F. Austin ends the season with a 28-5 record. They entered the tournament as just one of five teams in the nation with a 28-win season.