University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Take On Liberty Saturday Morning
March 20, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Selected as a No. 4 seed in the tournament for the second-straight season, the Tar Heels were again granted home games on their Carmichael Arena court. The first round gets underway Saturday against 13 seed Liberty at 11 a.m on ESPN2.
Yes the record is nearly identical entering the tournament as it was last season, 24-8 to 24-9, but 2014-15 has been in many ways a different journey, primarily with the return of Naismith Hall of Fame head coach Sylvia Hatchell, who missed all of last season after undergoing treatment for leukemia.
“Trust me,” said Hatchell, “I don't take it for granted not one bit. I've been smiling for the last five or six months. Everything that I do, you would think it would be old to me, but no. It's special. This is really, really special.”
“I've done it many times, but I want it so much for these kids to play well, to move on and to have the experiences of the NCAA tournament.”
Carolina is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, having won the 1994 National Championship. Hatchell is guiding her 22nd Tar Heel team to the “Big Dance” in 29 seasons in Chapel Hill.
This time of year can be a difficult one for seniors, knowing that their last collegiate game can come at any time during March Madness. For Tar Heel senior Brittany Rountree its no different. The Jacksonville, Fla., native got a little dose of just that with the Carolina men's basketball team's nail-biting victory last night in her hometown against Harvard.
“I was honestly up last night because I couldn't sleep just from watching the boy's game and thinking about how tomorrow could be our last game,” added Rountree, who has averaged 7.5 points per game for the Tar Heels this season.
Rountree has never missed a game in her collegiate career, and will play No. 137 in Carolina Blue and White on Saturday morning.
Liberty is a power house at the Mid-Major level having won 16 of the last 19 Big South Tournament titles. The Lady Flames boast a 26-6 record and ran through their league with a 19-1 mark. The roster includes rare height in the women's game (think Duke's front line among ACC opponents). Liberty rolls out a pair of post players that stand 6-5 (Katelyn Adams) and 6-4 All-Big South honoree Ashley Rininger, who leads the team in with 12.6 points and 8.8 rebounds a game.
The Lady Flames also bring 6-6 Catherine Fitzgerald and 6-2 Jasmine Gardner off the bench.
“Them (Liberty) being taller than me is going to be another challenge like Oregon State this year,” said All-ACC forward Stephanie Mavunga. “That's exactly what I thought of as soon as I saw the height differences as I watched the film.”
Mavunga, at 6-3, is the only starter above 6-0 in the Carolina starting lineup.
• Carolina is 45-24 in 25 previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Liberty is making its 16th tournament appearance, and seeking its first tournament win since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2005.
• UNC leads the series 2-0 with Liberty. The last meeting was an 88-67 Tar Heel win on Dec. 30, 2007.
• Liberty dropped a 67-64 decision at NC State on Dec. 17 in its only matchup against the ACC this season. The Lady Flames last win against an ACC opponent came against Virginia Tech on Dec. 30, 2008.
• North Carolina has won 49 straight games against Big South opponents.
• The only Liberty team ever to defeat North Carolina was baseball, 5-3 on April 18, 2012.
