No. 2 Tar Heels shut down No. 18 Buckeyes in 72-63 win

Jessica Breland led North Carolina with 29 points in the Big Ten/ACC challenge.

COLUMBUS (AP) — In a game of lengthy runs, No. 2 North Carolina saved the best spurt for last.

Jessica Breland scored 29 points and the Tar Heels held No. 18 Ohio State scoreless for more than nine minutes of the second half to take a 72-63 victory Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

“In the second half we showed them a zone, then matched up, and then we went back to a zone around the 8-minute timeout,” North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “That messed them up some.”

Breland, averaging 13.5 points a game, had 21 in the opening half as the Tar Heels (9-0) opened a 41-37 lead. Cetera DeGraffenreid added 14 points and six assists and Rashanda McCants had 10 points for North Carolina, which improved to 21-9 against the Big Ten and evened its record against the Buckeyes at 3-3.

Breland knew she was going to have a big game after her first long-distance shot of the night.

“It was that first 3-pointer,” she said. “After I hit that, I felt I could hit any shot on the court.”

Jantel Lavender had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Buckeyes (6-2), who led 52-49 with 11:56 left before missing their next 12 shots from the field with six turnovers over a span of 9 minutes, 20 seconds. Star Allen added 12 points, Ashlee Trebilcock had 10 points and Samantha Prahalis had 13 assists.

The Tar Heels sealed the outcome with a 17-0 second-half run.

“When they went into that zone, we went into a few-minute lapse,” Prahalis said. “It only takes 2 minutes and the game can be flipped.”

Ahead 41-37 at the half, the Tar Heels pulled away at the outset of the second half. McCants hit a jumper before Breland scored on consecutive possessions, once on a baseline drive and then on a nifty pass from McCants to make it 47-37. They hit their first three shots of the half, while Ohio State missed its first four and had three turnovers over the opening three minutes.