GOLETA, Calif. – Maine had the game plan. North Carolina possessed the athletes.

Over the course of 40 minutes Saturday night, the Tar Heels’ talent and tenacity prevailed.

North Carolina eventually wore down UMaine with relentless man-to-man defense, overcoming an 11-point, second-half deficit to eke out a 62-57 victory in an NCAA Tournament West Region first-round game at The Thunderdome on the campus of the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Fifth-seeded North Carolina (19-12) plays in tonight’s second-round game against 13 seed Rice (22-9), which upset host UCSB, the No. 4 seed, on Saturday.

It was a bittersweet end for coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie’s 12th-seeded Black Bears, who finished at 20-11. UMaine, which suffered a humiliating defeat to Vermont in the America East title game, nearly knocked off the heavily favored Heels.

“We definitely didn’t want to lose and we definitely had goals of going a lot further in the tournament,” said Maine senior Amy Vachon, “but if we have to lose, I think I can speak for almost everyone on the team that everyone gave everything they had tonight. If you’re going to lose, that’s how you want to go out.”

Maine senior center Jamie Cassidy, facing rare one-on-one defense, capped a stellar career with 30 points and nine rebounds. Vachon, facing relentless defensive pressure, provided four points, five rebounds, and eight assists.

Kristen McCormick hit three 3-pointers for nine points, Kizzy Lopez contributed seven points and five boards, and Martina Tinklova added five points and four rebounds.

LaQuanda Barksdale paced North Carolina with 23 points and 13 rebounds, powerhouse Jackie Higgins had 16 points and six rebounds, and Nikki Teasley netted 14 points and handed out eight assists.

Tinklova described battling the Tar Heels’ quicker players under the basket.

“Something they had over us was they were just great athletes,” Tinklova said. “When the shots went up, you could just pray that they missed the ball because it was so hard to find them [to box out], they were so fast.”

In spite of North Carolina’s superior athletic ability, UMaine dictated the pace and the play for the first 24 minutes. The Bears methodically ran their offensive sets, forcing the Tar Heels to work at the defensive end.

And UMaine’s 1-2-2 matchup zone stymied UNC, which rushed and settled mostly for outside shots. The result was a 24-20 halftime lead for the Bears.

McCormick buried two 3-pointers and Lopez hit another as UMaine opened the second half with an 11-4 run that made it 35-24 and precipitated a timeout by UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell.

“We went out and played our game,” Lopez said. “That was what was really important was to make them play with us, let them adjust to us.”

The Tar Heels did adjust.

North Carolina came back out in attack mode. During the next 7 1/2 minutes, the Heels diced the Bears’ zone.

“We started penetrating and driving and we got a lot off of that,” Hatchell said. “We did a much better job in the second half of getting the ball inside.”

Carolina turned up the defensive intensity, guarding Vachon the length of the court while alternating three players on her. The Heels tightened their defense, disrupting the Bears’ offensive rhythm.

“I just know our defensive pressure made a big difference,” Hatchell said. “I think that we wore them down a little bit.”

UNC made its move with a 12-0 burst. Teasley found Barksdale for two layups, then Barksdale buried a 3-pointer and followed with two free throws that gave the Heels their first lead of the game at 43-42 with 9:27 left.

Cherie Lea then came up with a steal and a conventional three-point play as Carolina surged.

“I thought North Carolina played a very aggressive second half that caused us some problems, but I really thought it was a game that could have gone either way,” Palombo said. “We have to recognize that Carolina did some things down the stretch that made the difference and we have to accept that.”

UMaine hung tough behind Cassidy, even after Vachon sat out 56 seconds when picking up her fourth foul. The Bears eventually tied it at 50-50 on Cassidy’s hoop from the paint with 5:20 to play.

After a Barksdale free throw, UMaine had two chances to take the lead. However, the Bears committed three turnovers and missed a foul shot on their next four possessions. The result was a 5-0 UNC run that made it 55-50 with 2:56 left.

The Bears responded as Cassidy scored their next seven points, although Barksdale hit a critical 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining to break up the rally, then slashed in for a baseline layup to make it 60-57 with 19.7 seconds left.

Vachon dribbled down the court and pulled up for a six-foot jumper in the paint, only to have the shot blocked by Lea. Teasley rebounded, was fouled, and iced it with two foul shots.

Turnovers plagued the Bears as they committed 19 to Carolina’s 13 with Vachon and Cassidy each committing seven.

Tar Heels 62, Black Bears 57

Maine (20-11) North Carolina (19-12)

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Clark 0 0 0 0 0 Barksdale 9 18 4 6 23

Lopez 3 8 0 1 7 Allen 0 1 0 0 0

Cassidy 10 20 9 9 30 Sharp 0 2 0 0 0

McCormick 3 5 0 0 9 J. Brown 0 6 0 0 0

Vachon 2 6 0 1 4 Teasley 5 12 2 2 14

Guerrette 0 0 0 0 0 Huntington 0 1 0 0 0

Tinklova 2 3 1 2 5 Thomas 1 1 0 1 2

James 0 1 2 2 2 C. Brown 1 8 2 3 4

Cruz 0 2 0 0 0 Lea 1 1 1 1 3

Higgins 7 11 2 5 16

Totals 20 45 12 15 57 Totals 24 61 11 18 62

Maine 24 57

North Carolina 20 62

3-pt. goals: Maine (5-8): McCormick 3-4, Cassidy 1-2, Lopez 1-1, Vachon 0-1; North Carolina (3-14): Teasley 2-6, Barksdale 1-2, Sharp 0-1, C. Brown 0-2, J. Brown 0-3