COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : A Painful Shot Hits the Mark : Women: Smith sinks three-pointer after North Carolina inbounds the ball with 0.7 seconds left. Louisiana Tech falls, 60-59.

Seven-tenths of a second.

That’s how long it took North Carolina’s Charlotte Smith to break Louisiana Tech’s heart Sunday afternoon.

Standing uncontested in front of her own bench, Smith drilled a three-point shot that defeated the Techsters, 60-59, in the NCAA women’s championship game at the Richmond Coliseum.

The ball reached its highest arc above the court as the final horn sounded.

The game was over, but not the outcome. North Carolina Coach Sylvia Hatchell, standing behind Smith, said she never doubted Smith’s shot would fall.

“I knew the shot was in before it left her hand,” she said.

Smith was not so sure. She never saw a thing. But she heard the explosion from about 1,500 North Carolina rooters when the ball fell through the net.

“I didn’t look at it,” said Smith, a 6-foot junior who had entertained the crowd with numerous pregame dunks. “I heard the crowd just as the mob hit me.”

The mob was her crazed teammates, some of whom went airborne from their seats and knocked her to the floor . . . and some of whom, moments earlier were crying while anticipating certain defeat. It was a remarkable finish by a remarkable player in a game that matched remarkable teams, playing before a capacity crowd of 11,966.

Louisiana Tech (31-4), even North Carolinians could agree afterward, didn’t deserve this.

The Techsters, who had won 25 in a row, were playing their third top 10-ranked team in 10 days. First, Tech shocked No. 1-ranked Tennessee in the Mideast regional, then defeated No. 7 USC to reach the Final Four.

Coach Leon Barmore’s team then knocked off Alabama in Saturday’s semifinal, 69-66, while the Tar Heels (33-3) had upended Big Ten champion Purdue on Saturday, 89-74. The Tar Heels finished the regular season ranked fourth.

After all that, Tech lost the big one in a game it all but won. All-American guard Pam Thomas had given Louisiana Tech a 59-57 lead with an 18-foot baseline jumper with 15 seconds left. When Thomas’ shot fell, North Carolina reserves began crying.

When Smith’s shot went in, Tech players seated by Barmore were too stunned to cry. Several simply slid limply off their chairs, to the floor. Thomas’ go-ahead shot came after North Carolina post player Sylvia Crawley had tied it at 57 with a six-foot shot.

Smith’s game-winner seemed to happen about 45 minutes after Thomas’ had given Tech the two-point lead. Barmore and Hatchell began a chess match, with Hatchell ordering back-to-back timeouts on an out-of-bounds play under the basket.

Barmore guessed that North Carolina’s Stephanie Lawrence would in-bound with a lob to the 6-5 Crawley, and he was right, as Hatchell later confirmed.

“We wanted a lob to Sylvia, but they took that away by contesting the in-bound pass,” Hatchell said. “I’d told Stephanie that if the pass wasn’t there, to call time again and she did.”

Next, Hatchell called North Carolina’s “thirty” play. All-American guard Tonya Sampson, who had a game-high 21 points, was to be the decoy, racing down the middle of the key, hollering for the ball.

But the pass was to go to Smith and Crawley was to set a screen. The pass was true and no screen was needed. Smith’s rainbow was uncontested.

Afterward, Barmore said of the decision not to contest the second inbounds pass: “I take full responsibility for that.”

“On the first inbound, I had Kendra (Neal) guarding the passer (Lawrence). After the second time out, I took her off the ball. We definitely should have had someone on the ball.

“And not putting pressure on the three-point shot was another coaching mistake.”

Barmore wouldn’t blame the officials, either, who awarded his players not a single second-half free throw. Smith, who won the MVP award, had a championship-game record 23 rebounds, 18 on defense. North Carolina’s Marion Jones, Saturday’s semifinals freshman star, wasn’t a factor. A world-class sprinter, Jones had six steals against Purdue, but on Sunday was in early foul trouble. In 22 minutes, she had only two points and no steals.

The Tar Heels had a 48-41 lead and seemed to be taking over with 11 minutes left, but Thomas put on a great show. A senior, Thomas had three consecutive scores in a 12-0 Tech run, then gave Tech a 55-53 lead with 1:33 to go.

And 66 seconds later, she made the baseline shot that seemed to sink North Carolina.

“I will not allow these players to leave this arena, this town, with their heads down,” Barmore said.

And as he walked off the interview room stage with the crestfallen Thomas, he paused, and put his arm over the 5-foot-3 guard’s shoulders. He turned one final time to face several hundred reporters.

“She’s pretty damn good, isn’t she?” he said softly.