news-record.com

GREENSBORO -- The Tar Heels needed a half to get their tournament legs underneath them. Then they showed the upset-minded Clemson Tigers how potent their attack could be after intermission, as they cruised to a 74-55 win in the quarterfinals of the ACC women's tournament Friday.

North Carolina opened the second half with a 16-2 run, with forwards Rashanda McCants and Jessica Breland combining for 12 of those points, to break open a two-point game at the half.

"With our offense there are a lot of cut throughs," McCants said. "So anytime I got the ball, I went to feed it to Jess and cut through until she had one-on-one inside. Knowing match-ups we knew they were playing single coverage."

Breland finished with game-highs with 22 points and 11 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive glass.

"We knew if we win the boards, then we win the game," Breland said. "I kind of focused on rebounding and I got a lot of offensive rebounds, which opened up my offensive game.

McCants joined Breland with 11 rebounds, helping Carolina to a season-high 26-rebound advantage over Clemson, with the Tar Heels pulling down 59 boards.

"We have not been a great rebounding team all year," Tigers coach Cristy McKinney said. "I felt like the second half, especially early, they went and got everything they missed. We defended decent, got them to miss initial shots, but they just went and got it and put it back in."

Clemson was able to stay in the game in the first half, thanks to forcing 15 Carolina turnovers, which it converted into 15 points. A 10-2 run late in the half, capped by a 3-pointer from Kirstyn Wright, gave the Tigers a 26-25 lead.

The half ended with a bucket by McCants and a free throw by Breland to give the Tar Heels a 31-29 advantage.

"Well, when the game started it looked like Clemson had picked up where they left off yesterday," Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "They started really strong and running their offense and getting on the boards and everything."

Unlike Thursday, when Clemson broke open a close game in the second period by making all of the hustle plays, the Tigers had nothing left in the tank versus the Tar Heels.

Shaniqua Pauldo and Tasha Taylor, who combined for 35 points versus Tech, managed just two points for Clemson Friday on 1-14 shooting.

Freshman Bryelle Smith came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points for the Tigers. Meanwhile, Breland and McCants combined to go 15-24 from the floor for 41 points, as Clemson had no answers for Carolina's taller, more athletic frontcourt.

CLEMSON (14-17) -- Hardy 4-12 0-0 9, Parker 1-6 0-0 2, Pauldo 1-7 0-0 2, Brown 2-4 0-0 4, Taylor 0-7 0-0 0, Smith 4-9 2-2 13, Wright 3-7 0-0 8, Thomas 3-8 1-2 8, Tate 0-4 4-6 4, Hood 2-2 1-2 5, Mason 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-67 8-12 55.

NORTH CAROLINA (26-5) -- McFarland 1-3 0-0 2, McCants 7-12 5-7 19, Breland 8-12 6-8 22, DeGraffenreid 2-6 2-3 7, Lucas 4-10 0-0 10, White 0-2 0-0 0, Bursey 0-2 0-0 0, Claytor 0-1 0-0 0, Dewitt 0-2 1-2 1, Shegog 2-9 6-8 10, M.Wood 0-1 1-2 1, Broomfield 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-61 21-30 74.

Halftime--North Carolina 31-29. 3-Point Goals--Clemson 7-24 (Smith 3-7, Wright 2-5, Hardy 1-4, Thomas 1-4, Taylor 0-4), North Carolina 3-11 (Lucas 2-5, DeGraffenreid 1-2, White 0-1, Dewitt 0-1, Claytor 0-1, McCants 0-1). Fouled Out--Parker. Rebounds--Clemson 33 (Tate 7), North Carolina 59 (Breland, Lucas 11). Assists--Clemson 11 (Hood, Smith, Taylor 2), North Carolina 11 (DeGraffenreid, Dewitt 3). Total Fouls--Clemson 23, North Carolina 15. A--13,599.