Jan. 30, 2005
ATLANTA – Nikita Bell scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half to power No. 12 North Carolina to a 55-41 victory over Georgia Tech on Sunday.
Bell scored six points in a 15-0 run in the opening six minutes to give North Carolina (17-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) an early 17-2 lead. She added four more in a 10-0 streak that gave the Tar Heels their biggest lead of the opening half at 31-12 with 5 minutes left.
Janie Mitchell led Georgia Tech (12-6, 3-4) with 14 points and Chioma Nnamaka added 10. She has scored in double figures in four consecutive games and 12 times in 2004-05.
Point guard Jill Ingram paced the Yellow Jackets on the boards, pulling down seven of Tech’s 34, as the Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Tar Heels 34-33. Ingram also had five points, four steals and three assists in the contest.
Bell was 6-of-7 in the opening half and only took one shot after intermission. The Tar Heels led 34-17 at the half after shooting 15-of-25 (60 percent). The Yellow Jackets had 17 turnovers and shot only 6-of-21 (29 percent) in the opening 20 minutes.
Ivory Latta and Camille Little each added 11 points for North Carolina, which will likely move up in the Top 25 poll after beating No. 1 Duke 56-51 on Monday.
North Carolina went cold at the start of the second half, scoring only one point in the first 8:14, going 0-for-7 from the field and committing seven turnovers. Georgia Tech couldn’t take advantage, though, outscoring the Tar Heels only 5-1 to get within 35-22.
North Carolina, second in the nation in steals (14.6), had nine in the first half and finished with 11. It was the Tar Heels’ sixth straight win over the Yellow Jackets.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action Thursday when they travel to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Georgia Tech student station, 91.1 FM in Atlanta, and online at www.wrek.org. Livestats will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
TOM SALADINO
AP Sports Writer
