CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Arizona State lived up to its reputation as a team that wouldn't go away, hanging with North Carolina until the final basket in the Tar Heels' 72-68 win Sunday over the Sun Devils.

	Rachel Holt, center, led ASU with 21 points and eight rebounds.

"We talked to the people at UCLA after our game with them and they told us how much they hated to play Arizona State," said North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell, whose only loss this season was to the Bruins. "They said Arizona State never quit and told us how they stay after you the whole game. They're just a very good team, and they showed it today."

Juana Brown scored with 15 seconds remaining, helping the Tar Heels (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today; No. 10 AP) stave off an Arizona State rally.

Jackie Higgins got North Carolina's only other points during the final 4:32, scoring six as previously undefeated Arizona State whittled a 64-51 deficit with 5:43 remaining to 70-68 with 41 seconds left.

Down 70-63 after Higgins' final basket with 1:58 to play, Arizona State got a layup from Rachel Holt, then a 3-pointer from Sarah Allen that cut the deficit to two points.

On the Tar Heels' final possession, LaQuanda Barksdale missed a 12-footer, but Brown grabbed the rebound and put up a short jumper.

"When we were so far down in the second half, we just kept going out there and getting one more stop, one more stop," Holt said. "That's a theme of ours this year. Get the ball."

Barksdale scored a game-high 24 points, while Brown had 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Higgins scored 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting for North Carolina (3-1).

Barksdale made eight of her first 13 shots for 16 points, helping North Carolina take a 34-27 halftime lead.

Arizona State led briefly early, but North Carolina took control with three straight steals that keyed a 14-4 run midway through the half.

Holt led Arizona State (3-1) with 21 points and eight rebounds. Theresa Jantzen finished with 16 points.

"Rachel had a phenomenal game, and she can play with anybody in the country," said Sun Devils coach Charli Thorne. "But we're not just one person and we never will be."

Three different Tar Heels got into foul trouble trying to contain the 6-3 Holt.

"At times, we just didn't play very good defense," Hatchell said. "We were gambling when we shouldn't, making some dumb fouls. We'll get smarter and we'll get better on defense. What we need to worry about is taking the ball to the basket and finishing strong."