Chattanooga, TN (My Sportsbook) - Heather Claytor posted 17 points to pace the third-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in their 85-80 victory over the 14th-seeded UCF Golden Knights in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Italee Lucas and Jessica Breeland also scored 17 points for North Carolina (28-6), which moved to 15-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament first-round games. Chelsie Wiley posted 22 points for UCF (17-17), which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999. Emma Cannon added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Golden Knights. UCF held an early 11-10 advantage, but a 10-2 run to close the first half enabled North Carolina to carry a 44-34 lead into intermission. The Tar Heels never trailed in the second half and blocked 11 shots in the contest. North Carolina moves on to face either sixth-seeded Purdue or 11th-seeded Charlotte in second-round action of the Oklahoma City Region. |
