Triangle Sports Roundup: Tar Heels, Wolfpack add ACC wins

Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com

Washington powers No. 12 UNC over Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. – Jessica Washington scored a career-high 20 points to lead No. 12 North Carolina to a 78-56 victory over Clemson on Sunday afternoon.

Washington went 7-of-11 from the field, and made four shots from distance to top her previous high of 16 points scored on three occasions.

Freshman point guard Jamie Cherry added 12 points as North Carolina (16-3, 3-2) received 41 points from its reserves.

Nikki Dixon had 17 points to pace Clemson (9-10, 1-5).

The senior went 13-of-14 from the free throw line despite shooting just 2-for-13 from the field.

Tiffany Lewis added 13 points for the Tigers, who have dropped five-straight conference games after winning its opener against Virginia Tech in early January.

Carolina scored on five-straight possessions midway through the second half to increase their lead to 63-39.

The Tigers never got closer than 19 points the final 10 minutes.

UNC shot 52.8 percent for the game.

Stephanie Mavunga had 15 points and Allisha Gray added 10.

It was a fast start for the Tar Heels, scoring on its opening four possessions of the game. Gray knocked down consecutive three-pointers for a 10-4 lead.

The advantage quickly grew to 24-6 after Washington made back-to-back three-pointers. She led all scorers with 11 points in the first half on 3-of-5 shooting from distance.

Mavunga capped a late 14-3 first-half run by UNC that extended the lead to 41-17. Carolina shot 55.6 percent in the opening half, while Clemson struggled to just 23 percent on 7-of-30 shooting.

UNC visits N.C. State Thursday in the 100th game in the series between these two Triangle rivals.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Reynolds Coliseum.

The Tar Heels won 72-56 over the Wolfpack in the first meeting of the season back on Jan. 4 in Chapel Hill.

Wolfpack tops Demon Deacons

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The N.C. State Wolfpack (12-6, 3-2) picked up a big road win on Sunday afternoon, battling back from a 13-point first half deficit at Wake Forest to win by a final score of 78-70.

Miah Spencer led all scorers on the afternoon, scoring 20 points on 6-12 shooting (8-10 FT).

She was joined in double figures by Dominique Wilson (18 points) and Jennifer Mathurin (15 points, seven rebounds).

“Things didn’t go well in the first half and it would have been really easy to hang our heads,” said N.C. State head coach Wes Moore.

“Instead, the players stayed in there and battled. It’s really impressive that they were able to grind it out and find a way to get it done.”

The Wolfpack bounced back from an early shooting slump to end the game 23-of-59 from the field and 7-of-23 from distance.

State shot well from the free throw line, especially late in the contest, going 25-of-33 from the charity stripe.

Dearica Hamby led Wake Forest (9-10, 0-5) with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

She was joined in double figures by Amber Campbell (16 points), Keila Atkinson (10), and Mykia Jones (10).

The Demon Deacons shot 23-of-54 from the field and 5-of-15 from distance.

NC State will next be in action at home against nationally-ranked UNC on Thursday, Jan. 22.

Tip-off in the 100th all-time meeting between the Wolfpack and Tar Heels is set for 7 p.m.