CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-A back-and-forth game between the best and third-worst women's basketball teams in the ACC came down to a shot that Virginia never took.
North Carolina (12-10, 4-7 ACC) snapped the Cavaliers' nine-game Conference winning streak with a 66-63 overtime victory at Carmichael Auditorium as the Cavs (17-6, 9-2) failed to take advantage of their final possession.
With 10.1 seconds remaining in overtime, Virginia took the ball near midcourt after a timeout. Second-year guard Telisha Quarles received the inbounds pass from power forward Dean'na Mitchelson and passed to point guard Renee Robinson. North Carolina's Juana Brown forced Robinson to dish back to Quarles, who looked to take a game-tying three but could not get the attempt off as the buzzer sounded and the 1,875 fans in attendance erupted.
"We didn't run the last play correctly," Cav Coach Debbie Ryan said. "It was designed to give Quarles a look at a three."
The scintillating ending was not unexpected in a game between these two Conference rivals, who were meeting for the 55th time. Last night was the fourth overtime game in the last eight Virginia-Carolina contests. Before the Cavs' surprising 87-68 victory at University Hall Jan. 6, North Carolina had won the past six games between the two teams.
"For some reason, I always get hyped up against Virginia," said North Carolina guard Nikki Teasley, who registered 24 points.
Teasley led all scorers and contributed 20 of North Carolina's 37 points after halftime. The junior converted all of her 11 free throws and made good on 3-of-9 three-pointers.
For Virginia, Quarles finished with 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting while first year Schuye LaRue added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cavaliers opened up a nine-point lead midway through the second half thanks to Quarles' first three-point basket of the evening. Her second bomb six minutes later gave Virginia an eight-point lead with 5:39 to play.
But as Quarles heated up for the Cavs, Teasley took command for North Carolina. The D.C. native scored the last 10 Tar Heel points, including a three-point basket from the top of the key and both ends of a one-and-one a minute later that sent the game to overtime tied at 57.
"I changed the matchup on her two or three times," Ryan said of Teasley. "We weren't playing with a lot of intelligence."
The pace and scoring of the game did not heat up until after the first-half buzzer sounded. Both teams shot ice-cold in an opening half that ended 30-29 in favor of the Cavaliers. Virginia shot 31 percent from the field despite facing a defense that was ranked last in the ACC in field-goal percentage entering the game. North Carolina fared worse, converting only 8-of-26 shots in the first half. Heel forward LaQuanda Barksdale, the Conference's top scorer, had only four points in the first 20 minutes and finished with just nine, well below her season average of 17.6.
"I wasn't following through on my shot tonight," Barksdale said. "I'm going to have to get into the gym and work on it."
The Cavaliers fell behind by four at one point in the first overtime, but LaRue's presence inside kept the Cavs in Carolina's rear view mirror. The first year scored four straight points on a pair of inside post moves to tie the game at 61 before Barksdale's reverse layup at 1:45 gave North Carolina the lead.
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