Hatchell wins No. 800

As her players launched off-the-mark 3-pointers and N.C. State kept the game close, North Carolina women's basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell said she thought history would have to wait on Sunday.

"I was about to think it wasn't going to happen," she said to a cheering crowd of 7,010 at the Smith Center moments after her team edged the Wolfpack 75-66 in overtime and made her 800th career victory official.

Hatchell became just the fourth coach in NCAA Division I women's basketball to collect 800 victories. She joined Tennessee's Pat Summitt, Rutgers' Vivian Stringer and former Texas coach Jody Conradt. Hatchell's record, after 34 seasons overall and 22 at UNC, is 800-274.

UNC's victory set off a trip down memory lane for Hatchell, who stood at center court with athletic director Dick Baddour and watched a video montage of her feats, with former colleagues and players sending their electronic congratulations. ACC commissioner John Swofford, who hired Hatchell at UNC in 1986, spoke first in the video, followed by quick-moving, applause-drawing salutes from the likes of Summitt and former UNC guard Ivory Latta.

Hatchell, who thanked her staff and family in the arena, received a framed team jersey with 800 embroidered on the back.

This all brought a wide smile to Hatchell's face. She was safe to enjoy the moment after her No. 2-ranked Tar Heels (16-0, 2-0 ACC) had fended off a determined State team playing for itself and coach Kay Yow, who could not be there with the team after announcing on Tuesday she would take a leave of absence for the rest of the season to address health issues related to her stage-four breast cancer.

"Her team today showed the qualities and character of coach Kay Yow with the spirit and the heart they played with," Hatchell said. "Those kids played hard. They always play their best when they play us. It doesn't matter what the records are. I'm pleased we were able to pull it off."

The Heels barely pulled it off, needing a sublime overtime to overcome two halves of hard-fought regulation. Sharnise Beal, one of four players in double-figures for the Pack (8-8, 0-1), hit a pull-up baseline jumper with 52.1 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime tied 59-59.

Despite two called timeouts and several attempts at the basket, the Heels could not pull out the win in regulation. Sophomore guard Cetera DeGraffenreid dribbled out of bounds near the baseline with .09 seconds remaining.

DeGraffenreid -- whose dribble penetration, along with freshman Chay Shegog's inside scoring, had helped her team had helped her team rally from a 50-45 deficit with eight minutes remaining -- could not find a crease in State's defense.

The Heels, who missed 17 consecutive 3-point attempts until overtime, showed the offensive aggression in overtime Hatchell had been wanting. They outscored the Pack 16-7 in overtime, with senior Heather Claytor's 3-pointer a clear sign that UNC would pull it out despite the earlier deficiencies.

DeGraffenreid and senior Rashanda McCants scored a team-high 16 points each, and Shegog added 15 points and nine rebounds.

And Hatchell again secured a milestone win against N.C. State, having collected her 500th, 600th and 700th wins against the Pack.

"That's incredible," Hatchell said. "That's like the chance of winning the lottery."

And with State outrebounding the Heels 60-53, including 21 offensive rebounds, UNC's victory must have felt a little lucky.

Hatchell, who called Yow on Saturday and left a message on her cell phone, said she expected a fight. The teams, she said, always overprepare for the other.

State associate head coach Stephanie Glance, who will serve as interim coach, said the Pack used a 1-3-1 zone to slow the Heels. That forced the Heels to shoot 35.5 percent from the floor, including 2-of-23 shooting from 3-point range.

State freshman Bonae Holston scored a game-high 19 points.

It was the first ACC game for the Pack, and Glance said its gutsy effort bodes well.

"If we produce in some of the categories like we did today, if we can do that consistently, we'll have our best shot," she said. "Even though we lost the game, it was a great way to start off the ACC season."