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NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Recap (North Carolina-Purdue)
Posted: Sun March 21, 1999 at 12:18 a.m EST NORMAL, Illinois (Ticker) -- Ukari Figgs scored 15 of her 24 points in the first half to lead top-seeded Purdue to its 29th straight win, an 82-59 rout of North Carolina in the Midwest Region semifinal of the NCAA Women's Tournament. The Boilermakers (31-1) moved into the Midwest Region final for the second straight year and will face the Rutgers-Texas Tech winner on Monday. Purdue lost to Louisiana Tech, 72-65, in last season's regional final. North Carolina (28-8) suffered its worst NCAA Tournament loss. Its previous low was a 74-54 drubbing by Tennessee in the Mideast Region semifinal in 1993. Figgs also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists. Katie Douglas added 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting and Stephanie White-McCarty had 18 points. Purdue, which scored 56 points in a second-round win over Kansas, exploded to a 38-22 halftime lead. "My teammates did a great job of getting me open," said Figgs. "Our post players have done a great job all year of getting the perimeter players open. Our defense really sparked our offense. We just took what the defense gave us." Purdue jumped out to a 15-3 lead, holding the Tar Heels scoreless for four minutes until Juana Brown's layup with 14:18 left. Figgs keyed the run with six points, while Douglas added four. The Boilermakers led by as much 30 points twice in the second half as they shot a torrid 71 percent (15-of-21) from the field in the final 20 minutes to quash any notion of a comeback by North Carolina. Purdue coach Carolyn Peck, who is leaving after the season to lead the expansion Orlando Miracle in the WNBA, is 11-1 in the postseason over the last two years. "We don't evaluate games according to how the other team plays," said Peck. "We look at more we're doing. I don't know if we have played our best game yet and we want to continue to strive to do that." Chanel Wright scored 14 points for the Tar Heels, who last year extended Tennessee before losing in the Mideast Region final. North Carolina shot just 3-of-13 from 3-point range. "We ran into a buzzsaw, said North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell. "Purdue came out and played very well, made some 3-pointers early and shot well. Our transition defense couldn't have been much worse. That is one thing that I'm really upset about." Purdue was rooted on by a large group of supporters who made the two-hour drive from West Lafayette, Indiana. "Our fans are great," said Figgs. "They are another weapon that keeps our adrenaline going. They have been key to our success this season."© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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