Women's basketball: Lucas leads North Carolina past Kentucky 86-74

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Score one for size over speed.

Italee Lucas scored 22 points and Jessica Breland added 18, helping North Carolina hold off Kentucky 86-74 in the second round of the NCAA tournament Monday night, the Tar Heels' superior height and length trumping the Wildcats' awesome quickness.

"It all started with rebounding," Breland said after the Tar Heels' 55-31 dominance on the boards led to all sorts of problems for the Wildcats.

North Carolina (27-8), which made it to the ACC tournament final, will face top-seeded Stanford on Saturday in Spokane, Wash.

"Right now is the best time to be playing your best basketball," said Krista Gross, who added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Tar Heels, who reached the round of 16 one year after going one-and-out in the NCAA tournament minus Breland, who missed last season while fighting cancer.

The fourth-seeded Wildcats were led by Victoria Dunlap's 23 points but she grabbed just four rebounds — less than half her average — and only one off the defensive glass, which set the tone for a long night. Kentucky, which hasn't beaten North Carolina in five tries, finished 25-9 a year after reaching the round of eight.

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