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Why North Carolina won

Jessica Breland scored 28 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to give the Tar Heels a big boost and send them to finals against Duke. Breland scored six points during a 13-3 run in the first half.

Why Miami lost

The Hurricanes did nothing to stop the North Carolina inside game, allowing 34 points in the paint. Although the Tar Heels only shot 14 percent from 3-point range, Miami rarely played zone defense and Breland made them pay. North Carolina's defense forced Miami into 19 turnovers and converted those turnovers into 21 points.

Records

North Carolina 25-7, Miami 27-4

Play of the game

With the Tar Heels leading 39-27 in the final 2 minutes before halftime, Miami missed two 3-pointers and Tar Heels came down and set a screen for Breland. She popped out from behind the screen and knocked down a 15-foot jumper. On the Tar Heels' next possession, they ran the same play and Breland sank the shot again.

The key player

As a complement to Breland's production, Krista Gross scored 14 points, two shy of her career high, and had six rebounds. Cetera DeGraffenreid also finished with 14 points and six rebounds and added three assists, while committing only one turnover.

What they're saying

"We don't like them. They beat us last time. So I guess we have a bad taste in our mouth from that."
— North Carolina point guard Cetera DeGraffenreid talking about the matchup with Duke in the today's championship game

Noting the game

North Carolina is in the finals as the No. 6 seed and N.C. State did the same thing last year as the No. 6, but lost to Duke in the finals. Duke and North Carolina will be playing in finals for the seventh time in the past 12 years and the eighth time since 1995. Duke has won four of those meetings games. North Carolina held Miami to its lowest point total in 78 games. Miami came into the game averaging 80.5 points per game.

NORTH CAROLINA (25-7) — Shegog 2-4 0-0 4, Breland 13-22 2-2 28, Gross 3-5 7-7 14, DeGraffenreid 3-5 8-8 14, Lucas 5-13 1-2 12, White 1-5 0-0 2, Coleman 0-1 0-0 0, Wood 0-0 0-0 0, Powell 0-0 0-0 0, Rolle 0-1 3-4 3, Broomfield 1-2 0-2 2, Ruffin-Pratt 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 30-64 21-25 83.

MIAMI (27-4) — Stroman 4-7 2-2 10, Bullock 1-2 1-5 3, R. Williams 8-24 1-2 21, Yderstrom 0-7 0-0 0, Johnson 6-20 5-6 19, Gardner 1-3 2-2 4, S. Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Archer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-65 11-17 57.

Halftime—North Carolina 43-29.

3-point goals—North Carolina 2-14 (Gross 1-2, Lucas 1-4, DeGraffenreid 0-2, Ruffin-Pratt 0-2, White 0-4), Miami 6-25 (R. Williams 4-11, Johnson 2-7, Gardner 0-1, Yderstrom 0-6).

Fouled out—Stroman.

Rebounds—North Carolina 47 (Breland 10), Miami 35 (Johnson 14).

Assists—North Carolina 16 (DeGraffenreid, White 3), Miami 11 (Johnson 4).

Total fouls—North Carolina 18, Miami 19.

A—9,287.