Charlotte Smith of North Carolina became the first woman in 10 years to dunk a basketball during a game Sunday, making a one-handed jam during a 113-58 rout of North Carolina A&T.
Smith, a 6-footer, intercepted a pass by Samara Dobbins and went in uncontested. Her right wrist cleared the rim and Smith pushed the ball through the basket just 17 seconds into the game."The pass was just there, and the whole time I was going out, I was focusing on dunking and just getting it over with," Smith said after scoring 22 points for the No. 5 Tar Heels. "I don't know exactly what happened as far as gripping it. It wasn't the most convincing dunk that I've done, but, hey."
The last woman to dunk during a game was Georgeann Wells, who had two dunks while playing for West Virginia in 1984.
Smith scored 17 points in the first half and the Tar Heels hit 11 3-pointers and shot 60 percent for the game in running up the seventh-highest point total in school history.
Smith was already a hero for No. 5 North Carolina. Her 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Tar Heels a 60-59 victory over Louisiana Tech last season for the program's first national title.
Smith's uncle is David Thompson, the high-flying former NBA and North Carolina State star.
The Tar Heels actually designed their defense to get Smith the opportunity to dunk. She lingers on the perimeter instead of playing along the baseline. The defense, called "3-D," means Smith doesn't crash the defensive boards with her teammates. Instead, when the rebound comes down, she races down court, hopefully with no one between her and the basket.
North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said the team will continue to feed Smith for possible dunks.
"It's not going to be our goal for her to dunk in every game, but I think you will see it again now that she's relaxed a little bit more," she said.