North Carolina just doesn't seem to be the ASU women's basketball team's state of choice.
The No. 12 Sun Devils (0-1) lost in the Tar Heel State for the second straight time on Sunday when they dropped their regular season opener to No. 8 North Carolina, 75-60, in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic.
Poor shooting and turnovers by the Sun Devils, combined with a big second half by UNC senior forward Erlana Larkins, turned what was a close game throughout the first half into a blowout.
"Missed free throws, missed shots in the paint — we had good looks from the perimeter," ASU coach Charlie Turner Thorne said, according to ESPN.com. "I think we got tired, really, not in great game shape, and they did a good job of picking up their defense."
ASU junior guard Danielle Orsillo scored a career-high 21 points and senior guard Jill Noe added 13 points and five rebounds, but it was not enough to lift the Sun Devils past the Tar Heels (2-0).
The Tar Heels jumped out to a double-digit lead with 4:18 remaining in the first half, but the Sun Devils then went on a 15-6 run for the rest of the period to go into the break trailing 43-42.
Orsillo capped off that run at the end of the half by the Sun Devils when she hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds to go.
The Sun Devils also kept it close for the beginning of the second half and another Orsillo three-pointer cut the Tar Heels' lead to 52-51 with 13:34 remaining in the game.
That was as close as the Sun Devils would get.
UNC then went on a 13-2 run to push their lead to 65-53 with 7:26 to go in the game and never looked back.
"I don't think we made them play defense when they made their run," Turner Thorne said. "We shot quick, we turned the ball over and we didn't play smart."
The Sun Devils only scored 18 points in the second half while shooting 21.9 percent from the field.
ASU also had 15 of its 29 turnovers in the second half, which led to 21 Tar Heel points.
The Sun Devils were also out-rebounded in the game, 50-39.
ASU junior center Sybil Dosty, who is expected to contribute on the boards for the Sun Devils, saw her first game action of the season, playing eight minutes and recording one rebound.
Dosty has been recovering from a knee injury and did not play in the Sun Devils' exhibition game against the USA National team last Thursday.
Larkins scored 12 of her 20 points in the second half for the Tar Heels and also added 11 rebounds, while UNC junior guard Rashanda McCants added a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds.
Reach the reporter at: gina.mizell@asu.edu.
