Italee Lucas scored 28 of her career-high 33 points in the second half and No. 12 North Carolina rallied to beat North Carolina State 81-69 on Monday night.
Freshman reserve Waltiea Rolle added 12 points for the Tar Heels (16-3, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed by nine midway through the second half. North Carolina has won 18 of 20 meetings in the series, including the past three at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum.
It was the first rivalry game for Kellie Harper at N.C. State, where she took on the unenviable challenge of being the successor to Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow. Brittany Strachan scored 16 points for the Wolfpack (12-8, 2-3), but they couldn't find a way to slow Lucas once she got rolling.
Lucas had five points despite going 0 for 5 from the field in the first half, but went 10 for 17 after the break with a pair of 3-pointers.
