N.C. State's Marissa Kastanek dribbles up court as Duke's Karima Christmas defends during the ACC Tournament championship game. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
BACKYARD BISTRO/RALEIGH Kellie Harper couldn’t remember exactly when she had been in such a situation before.
Back when the N.C. State women’s basketball coach was a point guard at Tennessee the Lady Vols - who won three NCAA titles during her career - were pretty much in the NCAA Tournament before the season started. Then during her five seasons as head coach at Western Carolina and three seasons as an assistant at Chattanooga before that, Southern Conference teams knew they had to win the conference tournament or they might earn a bid to the WNIT.
But the Wolfpack (20-13) has been on the NCAA “bubble” ever since losing the ACC championship game to Duke eight days ago, although most of the bracketologists had N.C. State in the field.
Harper and her team gathered with about 300 fans on Monday night to watch the Selection Special on ESPN that announced the 64 competing teams.
ACC champion Duke (27-5) is going to be one of the 64 teams on the board when the NCAA Women’s Tournament field is announced tonight at 7 on ESPN.
N.C. State (20-13) and UNC (19-11) think they’re in, but won’t be sure until they see their names on the board tonight.
The Wolfpack and Tar Heels are two of about eight ACC teams who will be waiting with baited breath, first to make sure they’re in the field and then to see where they’re headed.
Duke and Florida State (26-5) are both hosting first- and second-round games, so it’s a certainty the Seminoles are also going to get an invitation. It would also shock the women’s basketball world if Georgia Tech (23-9) or Virginia (21-9) doesn’t get the thumbs-up.
The Wolfpack, under their first-year coach Kellie Harper, and the Tar Heels, under veteran Sylvia Hatchell, likely sealed their invitations with recent wins.
State had to avenge a regular-season loss by beating Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament, and the Wolfpack got that done and added two more wins to boot.
The Tar Heels’ signature victory was over Duke at Carmichael Auditorium on Senior Day - UNC’s final game before the ACC Tournament - but they had to beat N.C. Central on Sunday to avoid seeing the bid slip through their fingers, and they got that done. Continue reading »
CARMICHAEL ARENA/CHAPEL HILL It’s that unique final regular-season game that UNC is playing after the ACC Women’s Tournament for the second straight season.
Today the Tar Heels take on local rival N.C. Central, which like the South Dakota team UNC played in this situation last year is transitioning from Division II and not yet eligible for post-season play.
Last season, the Coyotes put a huge scare into the Tar Heels at the Smith Center before falling 75-69.
This is of course the season finale for the Eagles, who have won 11 of their last 19 games after an 0-9 start. NCCU is 0-4 against the ACC this season, but did fall by only 76-63 on Feb. 22 at Wake Forest.
It’s the third straight season in which they’ve played each other, and the closer of the two games was a 98-45 UNC victory last season in the Smith Center.
All the NCAA bracketologies heading into Monday night’s selection show have the Tar Heels in the 64-team field, but a shocking home-court loss to NCCU would probably send Sylvia Hatchell’s club to the WNIT.
UNC will have to play without freshman center Waltiea Rolle, who is out with a concussion.
It takes them a while to establish control but the Tar Heels avoid that disaster, eventually winning 88-66 in a pretty entertaining contest. Continue reading »
Eleven ACC women’s basketball teams played their final game before the post-season tournaments at some point during the ACC Tournament last week.
Duke has, of course, clinched an NCAA bid as the conference’s regular-season champion and three other teams - Florida State, Virginia and Georgia Tech - seem to be resting easy about their spot on the board when the NCAA Tournament bracket comes out tomorrow night.
Nearly half a dozen more may or may not be on a “bubble.” Only one has something left to add to the argument.
That’s UNC, which for the second straight year will play a home game on the same day as the ACC men’s tournament final.
Last season it was against South Dakota, and although the Coyotes gave the Tar Heels a good scare at the Smith Center UNC didn’t have to win.
It does today. Sylvia Hatchell’s club is going to be a really big favorite in its 3:30 home contest against N.C. Central in the Eagles’ final game of the season, but the Tar Heels absolutely have to emerge victorious to avoid giving any naysayers on the selection committee a lot of fodder.
Cetera DeGraffenreid (pictured) is the Tar Heels’ assist leader, and has been their best player over the last few weeks. Continue reading »
GREENSBORO COLISEUM Anyone who bought book tickets to the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament a few months ago could not have predicted she or he would be watching this.
It’s the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game on Thursday afternoon and two of the three recent powers, UNC and Maryland, are playing for a chance to play top-seeded Duke in the same 3 p.m. time slot on Friday.
UNC was favored to win the regular-season championship back before we learned star forward Jessica Breland was going to miss the season battling Hodgkin’s disease. And while the Terps were rebuilding, most figured they’d finish in the top half of the league.
But it hasn’t worked out that way as they battled their way through a very balanced league, and there’s a chance today’s loser may not earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
UNC helped its case plenty with its 64-54 win over the Blue Devils on Saturday, but still can’t be quite sure. And Maryland might still need a signature victory.
Apparently the Terps get it, taking a big lead and holding on for an 83-77 victory and another shot at the Blue Devils.
Today it’s obvious that the Terps, who lost the regular-season meeting at UNC 75-64 on Jan. 17, are just more ready to play.
Maryland comes out of the game looking as if it has been shot out of the proverbial cannon.
The Tar Heels’ only lead is 2-0 before the Terps score the next 12 points, taking the 10-point lead on a Dara Taylor jumper. The lead gets as high as 16, at 24-8 on a three-point play from Tianna Hawkins at 12:19, before the Tar Heels’ offense wakes up.
Maryland has a 41-31 pad at the break.
The Tar Heels get to within four twice with under six minutes left, but the lead goes back to 10 on a Lynetta Kizer layup at 3:14 and a Jackie Nared free throw at 2:13.
A frantic rally ensues, with the Tar Heels slicing the lead to 79-77 on a layup from Cetera DeGraffenreid (pictured) with 12 seconds left. Continue reading »
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM If you look at the ACC women’s basketball season as a whole, it’s hard not to say Duke is a solid favorite to win the conference tournament that starts this morning at Greensboro Coliseum.
The No. 1 seed Blue Devils are ranked No. 6 nationally and finished three games ahead of anybody except Florida State, a team they destroyed 73-43 during the regular season.
But the problem for the Blue Devils is their bracket.
Joanne P. McCallie’s club has a bye today, then will play on Friday at 3 against the winner of today’s 3 p.m. first-round game between UNC and Maryland, the two teams that probably love to beat Duke the most and the two that have combined to win the last five tournaments in Greensboro.
In fact, whichever team that comes out of that group and into the semifinals will be the only team that has ever won the event during its 10-year run in the Gate City.
“That’s OK,” McCallie (pictured) said during a semi-regular press luncheon on Wednesday in the press room at Cameron. “It’s a little bit strange to see both Maryland and North Carolina in an 8-9 game. If you look at the numbers it’s weird. Why are they in an 8-9 game? Obviously they’re very good teams. But from our standpoint it’s anybody, anyplace, anywhere. So we just get ready to go, kind of thing. Continue reading »
CARMICHAEL ARENA/CHAPEL HILL It’s yet another edition of the “Battle of the Blues” between archrivals UNC and Duke, and the Blue Devils will come into the Tar Heels’ refurbished arena as strong favorites.
No. 6 Duke (24-4, 12-1) has already clinched the ACC regular-season championship and will have the No. 1 seed for the tournament in Greensboro beginning on Thursday, while the Tar Heels’ season has bordered on a nightmare.
UNC (17-10, 5-8) was the preseason favorite to win the ACC - at least before it was determined that star forward Jessica Breland would not be able to play as she recovers from Hodgkin’s lymphoma - but comes into the matchup having lost seven of its last eight games and desperately needing to do something to impress the NCAA Selection Committee.
It’s a day of dedication for the arena, even though the first game was played here back on Jan. 6, and Gov. Bev Perdue is among those on hand for a halftime ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Duke had embarrassed the Tar Heels on Feb. 8 in Durham, rolling to a 79-51 victory. But today UNC gets some payback in a 64-54 shocker, and Coach Sylvia Hatchell has a very happy 58th birthday.
The win does not come easily for the home team.
The Tar Heels, who start Trinity Bursey and Martina Wood on Senior Day, get out to an 11-5 advantage on a Krista Gross 3-pointer with 16:16 left in the first half and never trail before the break, taking a 30-26 advantage into the locker room.
Duke shoots 26.8 percent from the floor before the break to UNC’s 39.3, and the Blue Devils really never find the hoop all day.
The Blue Devils make a run and then get a big break leading 42-39 with 13:12 to play, when the elbow of UNC freshman Cierra Robertson-Warren’s connects with the neck of Duke winger Karima Christmas and Robertson-Warren is ejected. It’s the first ejection call in ACC women’s basketball this season.
But the Blue Devils’ performance at the free-throw line foreshadows the conclusion. Before Duke gets the ball back Jasmine Thomas misses two on the ejection, then Christmas misses three, then Keturah Jackson misses the front of a one-and-one.
UNC takes the lead for good on a steal and layup from Cetera DeGraffenreid (pictured) with 10:21 to go, and it seems that she takes over the game from that point. The Tar Heels have to endure the mine field of having their two biggest players foul out - Chay Shegog at 5:02 and Waltiea Rolle at 4:20. Continue reading »
It’s the final day of ACC women’s basketball before the tournament starts in Greensboro four days from now.
All three Triangle teams are, well, in the Triangle on a very big day for all involved.
It has been a long time since UNC has still been fighting for an NCAA berth in late February, but that’s the case for a Tar Heel team that has lost seven of its last eight games.
The Tar Heels will host No. 6 Duke today at 3 p.m. at Carmichael Arena in a game to be shown live nationally on the Fox Sports cable channels, and an upset of the Blue Devils on Senior Day might be just what Sylvia Hatchell’s club needs to nail down a bid.
That won’t be an easy task, as Duke routed the Tar Heels 79-51 on Feb. 8 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. In its third season under Joanne P. McCallie (pictured), the Blue Devils have already clinched an ACC regular season championship and want to keep making the case for a No. 1 seed going into the NCAA Tournament.
Today will be the final home game before the tournament for Tar Heel seniors Trinity Bursey and Martina Wood.
An hour before that one starts N.C. State, which has been one of the surprises of the ACC in its first season under Kellie Harper, will look for an upset over visiting No. 22 Georgia Tech in the Senior Day game for Nikitta Gartrell, Lucy Ellison, Sharnise Beal and Inga Muciniece.
State’s only home ACC loss this season has been to UNC.
There are six games on today’s ACC slate, and the only seeds already set for the tournament are Duke at No. 1 and Florida State at No. 2. Georgia Tech is also guaranteed a bye into the quarterfinals. Continue reading »
CARMICHAEL ARENA/CHAPEL HILL UNC hasn’t had a women’s basketball season typical of its recent tradition.
But Tar Heel coach Sylvia Hatchell (pictured) said there’s no reason the redemption can’t start tonight.
Tonight at 6:30, the Tar Heels will be on the road looking to complete a season sweep of a Georgia Tech team ranked No. 22 in the country. It’s the opener of a TV doubleheader on Fox Sports South, which will conclude with No. 6 Duke hosting No. 21 Virginia at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 8:30.
The Duke game is one of two women’s contests in Durham tonight, as N.C. Central hosts Longwood on the Eagles’ Senior Night. Duke alumna Wanisha Smith is an assistant coach for Longwood.
Hatchell’s Tar Heels were the media’s preseason picks to win the ACC regular-season title, albeit before All-America candidate Jessica Breland was determined to be out for the season with lymphoma. Breland is almost ready to play, but will take a redshirt and do her senior season in 2010-11.
And the last time UNC played Georgia Tech - that in the Tar Heels’ conference opener - it was 13-1 after the 89-78 victory. Now Hatchell’s club is 17-9, 5-7 in conference play and scratching to try to wrap up an at-large NCAA berth. Continue reading »
It’s been a disappointing season for Sylvia Hatchell and the UNC women’s basketball team. Perennially among the nation’s elite, they’ve dropped out of the top 25 and currently suffer the indignity of a losing conference record.
Things didn’t get better on Sunday; they lost by a 73-64 margin to cross-town rival N.C. State and its first-year coach, Kellie Harper. N.C. State now sports a .500 conference record (6-6) to go with its overall record of 16-11. With this loss, the Tar Heels drop to 5-7 in the ACC, and 17-9 overall.
Fortunately for all concerned, there was a more important cause: The game was a part of the WBCA “Pink Zone” games to raise awareness about the Kay Yow/WBCA cancer fund, a nonprofit created to raise money to support the search for a cure to breast cancer. Each team warmed up in pink tees with the fund’s logo and UNC played in special pink uniforms. Fans were even encouraged to attend the game wearing pink.
For N.C. State, Bonae Holston and Marissa Kastanek led the effort, with 20 and 17 points, respectively. Kastanek, a freshman guard, carries the distinction of being the last recruit of the late Yow, who died last Jan. 24 of breast cancer. Cetera DeGraffenreid and Italee Lucas were the dominant performers for UNC, scoring 22 and 15 points, respectively. The box score is here.
Triangle Offense photographer Arianna Hoffmann attended the game and took these images.
Kyle on "UNC holds off pesky NCCU with big second half, awaits selection committee": Mike Potter does Triangle sports fans a wonderful service by providing a unique perspective of events that may not otherwise receive media coverage. Thanks Mike for all you have done and continue to do in your outstanding career as a journalist and an ambassador for the Triangle.
caniacgirl on "Peters and pipes pickpocket a peck of prickly Penguins": I absolutely love the headline! Games like this one definitely reignite the little bit of playoff hope I have left in me. It should be an interesting few weeks that's for sure.
Greg Nccu Student on "Miller leads NCCU to 11th victory": There are a lot of Rumors on Campus about Joanna Miller leaving NCCU next year. Please Coach Robinson, We need to keep this player from gong to another College.
