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North Carolina’s Deja Kelly takes aim during practice Thursday for the Tar Heels’ Sweet Sixteen game against No. 1 South Carolina at the Greensboro Coliseum on Friday.
GREENSBORO \u2014 It\u2019s fine if the North Carolina women\u2019s basketball team\u2019s spot in the NCAA Tournament\u2019s Sweet Sixteen might look like an afterthought to some observers.
But make no mistake, the Tar Heels had this in mind all along.
\u201cWe\u2019re kind of like, yeah, we knew we could be here,\u201d guard Alyssa Ustby said Thursday. \u201cWe knew how good we\u2019ve been since the summer.\u201d
On Friday night, overall No. 1 seed South Carolina provides the opposition for North Carolina in the regional semifinal at the Greensboro Coliseum.
While the Gamecocks (31-2) played two home games to advance, the fifth-seeded Tar Heels (25-6) went across the country to win two games, including knocking off fourth-seeded Arizona on Monday night.
That ought to put North Carolina on the radar, even if recognition took time to develop this season.
\u201cWe kept our heads down and just kept pushing all year, just kept trying to prove what we were about, how we were playing, how good we are,\u201d guard Deja Kelly said. \u201cBut never really letting it phase us, never really letting it affect us.\u201d
This is North Carolina\u2019s first spot in the Sweet Sixteen since the 2015 season \u2014 that ended against South Carolina at the Coliseum
North Carolina began this season unranked and didn\u2019t move into the top 25 until mid-December, even dropping out in late January. Still, it has been a pretty complete season in terms of establishing credentials.
The Tar Heels won their first 13 games and later their last four of the regular season. Those are nice bookends, although they\u2019d like this story to extend for another week-plus.
\u201cFor people to finally catch on is exciting, but we\u2019ve been doing it all year,\u201d Kelly said.
The Tar Heels rank seventh in the country in scoring margin, although South Carolina is No. 2.
Four months after the season began, only four teams have defeated the Tar Heels \u2014 N.C. State and Virginia Tech each beat North Carolina twice, and Notre Dame and Georgia Tech did it once.
Two of those teams are still playing. North Carolina\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 includes three games against No. 1 regional seeds, with the losses to N.C. State and an upset of Louisville.
The Tar Heels say they\u2019re not offended by being left out of some conversations regarding elite teams. They\u2019ll just have to prove it on the court.
\u201cI come from the mid-major background so I\u2019ve always kind of had that chip on my shoulder, underdog mentality,\u201d said guard Carlie Littlefield, a graduate transfer from Princeton. \u201cI enjoy it, and I think it drives our team even closer together and to work even harder.\u201d
The Tar Heels have had quite a week. Their most recent game marked the last second-round game in the tournament. They\u2019re first to tip off in the Sweet Sixteen.
After that victory in Tucson, Ariz., the team stayed overnight there and traveled back on Tuesday. The Tar Heels were in Chapel Hill for less than 24 hours.
\u201cI don\u2019t think it was anyone\u2019s intention, but we\u2019ve gotten a very short period of time to rest,\u201d Coach Courtney Banghart said. \u201cSo it might be a good thing because we don\u2019t have to reset. We\u2019re just still going.\u201d
The Gamecocks and Tar Heels scrimmaged in the preseason. That gave a good gauge of how the teams stacked up at the time.
\u201cI would say just knowing that we can compete with anybody in the country and just having that mentality going into this game as well,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cWe know that they\u2019re a good team, but we are as well.\u201d
It\u2019s not like the Tar Heels need to win a series. They\u2019re looking for one memorable night.
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to beat them 10 times,\u201d Banghart said. \u201cWe\u2019ve just got to beat them once, right?\u201d
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The second-seeded Demon Deacons (24-9) are coming off a first-round 74-64 win over Towson. Third-seeded VCU (22-9) is coming off a win over Princeton on Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
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North Carolina’s Deja Kelly takes aim during practice Thursday for the Tar Heels’ Sweet Sixteen game against No. 1 South Carolina at the Greensboro Coliseum on Friday.
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