No. 7 North Carolina 86, Davidson 48

11/18/2005 11:32 PM

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Davidson coach Annette Watts didn't know which was worse: that No. 7 North Carolina routed her team or that the Tar Heels played even better after Erlana Larkins limped to the bench.

Ivory Latta had a game-high 20 points and seven assists, and Larkins added 12 points as every North Carolina player scored in an 86-48 rout of the Wildcats on Friday night.

``We've got nine players on our roster, and four of those are freshmen,'' Watts said. ``They're 14 deep on their roster.''

Larkins hit six of her first seven shots and scored all 12 of her points in the first half to help North Carolina to a 48-24 halftime lead. Latta went 7-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-7 on 3-pointers.

North Carolina led by only six, 26-20, when Larkins, a 6-1 sophomore, limped out of the game with 7:49 left in the half and sat while trainers examined her right ankle and foot.

When she got back in at the 3:52 mark, North Carolina was midway through a game-busting 22-4 run.

``It was an exciting way to start our season,'' Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell said. ``Everyone on the team scored and most played no more than about 10 minutes.''

Janell Crayton scored 13 points and was the lone player in double digits for Davidson (0-1).

North Carolina outscored Davidson 39-7 in the middle 13:22 that spanned halftime. The Tar Heels had 25 assists contributing to their 34-for-77 shooting (44.2 percent) from the floor.

North Carolina missed nine of 10 shots in one stretch midway through the first half, keeping the door open for Davidson.

``We were settling for too many jumpers, when we needed to be attacking inside,'' Latta said.

The Tar Heels had 25 assists contributing to their 34-for-77 shooting (44.2 percent) from the floor.

Those helped make up for what Hatchell saw as the Tar Heels' biggest flaw in out-rebounding Davidson by a mere 48-46 margin.

``I wasn't pleased at all by the rebounding,'' she said. ``But you have to like getting 25 assists.''

Davidson committed 26 turnovers, including eight in the last 5:30 of the first half. That opened the way for North Carolina's 20-3 run heading into the break.

Davidson was limited to just two field goals in the first 10:30 after halftime, while the Tar Heels went on another run of 19-3.

The Wildcats shot just 16-for-58 from the floor (27.6 percent), including just 1-for-16 on 3s.

First-year forward Rashanda McCants, the sister of former UNC men's player Rashad McCants, had nine points and four assists. Her 21 minutes of playing time were second only to Latta's 26.