Times wires
Sunday, March 13, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Jessica Breland and the rest of the Tar Heels are ready for the NCAA Tournament.
Breland, Waltiea Rolle and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt scored 13 each, leading No. 14 North Carolina over Kennesaw State 98-52 on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Italee Lucas and She'la White added 12 each for the Tar Heels (26-8). Ashley Holliday had 17 for the Owls (9-21).
"I think we were game-ready (Sunday)," Breland said. "I'm looking forward to us giving our all and trying to make it to the Final Four."
This was the third straight season in which the Tar Heels played and won a regular-season home game after the ACC tournament. The Owls played their first game in 11 days after losing in the Atlantic Sun tournament.
Big South: Monique Hudson scored 23 for Gardner-Webb (23-10) in a 67-66 victory over Liberty in High Point, N.C., as the Runnin' Bulldogs earned their first NCAA Tournament berth. The top-seeded Flames (22-10) had won 13 of the past 14 conference championships.
Colonial: Dawn Evans had 24 points to lead James Madison to a 67-61 win over Delaware in Upper Marlboro, Md. The Dukes (26-7) earned the league's automatic berth for the second straight year. Elena Della Donne led the Blue Hens (20-13) with 23 points.
Horizon: Adrian Ritchie scored 18 to lead five teammates in double figures and No. 13 Wisconsin-Green Bay (32-1) rolled to a 74-63 win over Butler (20-13) in Green Bay.
Missouri Valley: Katelin Oney scored 16 and Amber Kirschbaum added 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to lead Northern Iowa to a 69-41 win over Missouri State (23-10) in the final in St. Charles, Mo. The Panthers (27-5) have won a school-record 19 straight.
Northeast: Brittany Lilley had 19 points and 10 assists and host Saint Francis (Pa.) cruised to a 72-57 win over Monmouth (23-9). Samantha Leach, the conference's player of the year, scored 19 for the Red Flash (22-11), which won its 11th title since 1996.