March Memories: Larkins Led Tar Heels To 2007 Final Four

March 27, 2007, still stands out as one of the biggest dates of Erlana Larkins' outstanding UNC career.

Thirteen years ago today, the Tar Heel forward scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Carolina to a second consecutive NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four with an 84-72 win over Purdue in Dallas.

"I don't remember specifics about the game against Purdue in '07, but it was an amazing, closely-played game," Larkins said Friday. "Looking back on the stat line, I played out of my mind to help take us to the Final Four."

For more on the game – and a look at her impressive stat line – click here.

You can find the entire game on YouTube here.

With that win, UNC improved to 34-3 overall and set a school record for victories in a season. Larkins was honored as the Most Outstanding Player in the Dallas Regional after averaging 21.5 points in the two wins at Reunion Arena.

North Carolina, coming off its third consecutive ACC Tournament title, was the top seed in the region and advanced to the Texas site with a 95-38 first-round win over Prairie View A&M and a 60-51 second-round victory over ninth-seeded Notre Dame in a pair of games played in Pittsburgh.

In the Sweet 16, the Tar Heels beat George Washington 70-56 in a game in which LaToya Pringle became the school's single-season leader in blocked shots. Pringle, now LaToya Sanders and a WNBA champion, led UNC with 16 points and 14 rebounds against the Colonials.

The Tar Heel would eventually fall in the NCAA semifinals for the second year in a row, 56-50 to Tennessee.

That season remains UNC's most recent appearance in the Final Four and the only time that Carolina has made back-to-back trips. As the Tar Heels work toward a return, Larkins, who went on to win a WNBA title with the Indiana Fever and is now an assistant coach at North Carolina Central, offered some advice on what it takes to reach the pinnacle:

"It's the work done when no one's watching, off-season and doing a little extra," she said. "The sacrifice will pay off not when you feel it should but when it supposed to, so keep working."

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