University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels To Face Maine In Women's Basketball Tournament
March 12, 2000 | Women's Basketball
March 12, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-The University of North Carolina will open play in the 2000 women's basketball NCAA Tournament Saturday in Santa Barbara, Calif., where the fifth-seeded Tar Heels will face 12th-seeded Maine. Carolina (18-12) received an at-large bid into the field and will open the tournament on the road for the first time since 1985.
The NCAA bid is UNC's 13th overall and eighth in the past nine seasons. The Tar Heels were 10-9 late in January after losing six of seven games during a stretch when they were playing without point guard Nikki Teasley, who missed those seven games while on a non-disciplinary leave of absence from the team. Carolina finished strong, however, winning six of its last seven games and reaching the finals of the ACC Tournament, where Teasley earned MVP honors.
"A month ago I was just praying for a winning season, so we're very happy to be in the tournament," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "I feel good about the way we're playing right now and we're looking forward to the trip to California."
This is the first time that UNC has played as a No. 5 seed. The Tar Heels opened their last nine appearances playing at home, most recently as a No. 4 seed in 1999. Last season, the Tar Heels beat Northeastern and Alabama in Chapel Hill to advance to the Midwest Region semifinal in Normal, Ill., where they fell 82-59 to eventual-champion Purdue.
The last time Carolina opened NCAA play on the road was in 1985. Playing as the No. 6 seed in the East, UNC lost 98-79 at third-seeded Penn State in a first-round game.
"We're excited about being in the tournament and going to California," said junior LaQuanda Barksdale, a team captain and UNC's leading scorer and rebounder. "It would have been great to be at home again, but I think we're up to this challenge of playing on the road."
Barksdale leads the team with 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Teasley, the team's second-leading scorer with 14.9 points per game, leads the Tar Heels with 6.0 assists per game.
