CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Liberty kept chipping away at North Carolinas lead. But every time the Flames got too close, something went wrong. <\/p>\n
Turnovers at inopportune times and some key missed shots and defensive breakdowns led to Libertys 71-65 loss to the Tar Heels on Saturday in the first round of the Greensboro Regional. <\/p>\n
Ashley Rininger had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Flames (26-7), who were trying to become the second No. 13 seed to win a tournament game. <\/p>\n
I think all of us felt it, guard Emily Frazier said. We knew we had to battle every single time, every single board. We kind of saw that coming together in that stretch. We just didnt capitalize. <\/p>\n
They trailed by 14 but chipped away at North Carolinas lead down the stretch, pulling to 65-59 on Jaymee Fisher-Davis 3-pointer with 1:02 left. <\/p>\n
Latifah Coleman followed with a driving layup with 40.5 seconds to play before Frazier hit a free throw with 26.9 seconds remaining to make it a seven-point game. <\/p>\n
Brittany Rountree made it 69-60 with two free throws with 25.2 seconds left. <\/p>\n
Karly Buer had 14 points for Liberty, which had its 14-game winning streak snapped. The Flames - making their 16th NCAA appearance in 19 years - were denied both their first NCAA Tournament victory and their first win over a Top 25 opponent since 2005. <\/p>\n
Right now were on top of the wave and well see how that turns out, coach Carey Green said of the exposure the tournament brings. If youre not in the dance, if youre not in the 64, nobody sees you. <\/p>\n
Allisha Gray scored 17 points and Latifah Coleman had 15 for the fourth-seeded Tar Heels (25-8), who shot 49 percent in giving Hall of Fame coach Sylvia Hatchell a victory in her return to the NCAA Tournament after a year away to fight leukemia. <\/p>\n
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Liberty women fall to UNC 71-65 in NCAA 1st round<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Liberty kept chipping away at North Carolinas lead Continue reading