March 20, 1999
By CHUCK SCHOFFNER
AP Sports Writer
NORMAL, Ill.-- Purdue, which had looked nothing like the No. 1-ranked team in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, certainly looked the part Saturday night.
Ukari Figgs scored 15 of her 24 points in the first half and Purdue dominated from the start in rolling past North Carolina 82-59 in the NCAA Midwest Regional.
Purdue (31-1) had struggled offensively and shot only 36 percent in its first two NCAA tournament games, but the Boilermakers were a different team in round No. 3.
They zipped to a 15-3 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes and were never threatened in posting their 29th straight victory and earning a berth in Monday night's regional final.
Purdue also was superb defensively, holding North Carolina (28-8) to 40 percent shooting and a season low for points. The Tar Heels were averaging 82.6 points a game. Their previous low had come in an 86-68 loss to UCLA on Nov. 28.
Katie Douglas had 13 of her 21 points in the second half for Purdue and Stephanie White-McCarty scored 18. Purdue shot 55 percent in the first half and 62 percent (31-of-50) for the game.
Chanel Wright led North Carolina with 14 points, all in the second half.
North Carolina had been expected to test Purdue with its quickness and athleticism, but the Boilermakers consistently beat the Tar Heels down the floor for layups or kickouts for 3-pointers.
And their passing was superb. Purdue had assists on 12 of its 16 first-half field goals and finished with 23 assists. Douglas had eight assists, White-McCarty seven and Figgs six.
Figgs hit two 3-pointers and two free throws to lead Purdue's early flurry. North Carolina recovered enough to cut the lead to 17-12 on LaQuanda Barksdale's jump hook with 10:06 left, but that's as close as it would get.
Purdue kicked back into high gear and went on a 17-4 run that included seven points by Figgs to open a 34-16 lead. Mackenzie Curless' layup off an inbounds play just before the buzzer gave Purdue a 38-22 halftime lead.
After Nikki Teasley scored on a drive to start the second half, Purdue answered with an 11-2 run that featured more crisp passing to go up 49-26.
Douglas fed Figgs for a layup, White-McCarty intercepted a cross-court pass and flipped the ball to Douglas for a layup that she turned into a three-point play and Douglas returned the favor with a pass to White-McCarty for a jumper.
A few minutes later, Purdue ran off 12 straight points for a 63-32 lead with 10:50 left and the margin was never smaller than 19 after that.