University of North Carolina Athletics
Monday, March 22
San Antonio, Texas
Noon
North Carolina
vs
Alabama (First Round)
The Tar Heels practiced Saturday on the court where they'll play on Monday.
Photo by: Dana Gentry
For the Tar Heels, It's Finally Time To Play
March 21, 2021 | Women's Basketball
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The UNC women's basketball team traveled west on Wednesday, spent its first 24 hours in Texas in quarantine, then settled into a routine: practice, film, Covid testing, meals, homework, repeat.
Finally, it's time to play.
The Tar Heels, seeded 10th in the Hemisfair Region, take on No. 7-seed Alabama Monday at noon ET, 11 a.m. local time. The game will take place at the Alamodome and will air live on ESPN.
"Games in March are earned and this experience has already provided, and will continue to provide, incredible memories for the entire program," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We look forward bringing our best to the Alamodome tomorrow."
This is Banghart's ninth NCAA Tournament trip as a head coach, her first with the Tar Heels. UNC comes into the game 13-10 on the season after winning five of its last six regular-season games and earning an at-large berth into this unusual event.
Unlike typical tournaments, in which teams are spread out all over the country, this time all 64 teams start their journeys in and around San Antonio. The Tar Heels are staying in a downtown hotel, just a short bus ride from the Alamodome, where they practiced on Saturday. On Sunday, it was back to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center for practice as games got underway on the Alamodome court.
The Tar Heels lead the series with Alabama 6-4 overall, but the Crimson Tide won the most recent meeting, 83-77 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Dec. 15, 2019. The teams have met twice before in NCAA Tournament play, with UNC winning second-round games against the Tide in 1993 and 1999.
This is only the second neutral-site game of the season for UNC, which last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2019, which was also the last time the event took place. That year, the Tar Heels lost a first-round game vs. California in Waco, Texas.
Tournament Notes
• Tar Heel senior Janelle Bailey is the only UNC player to start an NCAA Tournament game. She was part of the lineup in UNC's 92-72 first-round loss to California in 2019. Jaelynn Murray played eight minutes off the bench. Stephanie Watts was on the UNC roster that year but did not play in the game.
• Freshman Alyssa Ustby celebrated her 19th birthday on Thursday, UNC's first full day in San Antonio.
• Redshirt sophomore Ariel Young isn't the only member of her family participating in March Madness: her father, Charlton "C.Y." Young, is an assistant coach for the Florida State men's team, which will meet Colorado in a second-round game on Monday night in Indianapolis.
• The trip to San Antonio is a homecoming for freshman Deja Kelly, a Texas native who was born in Austin but has spent most of her life in San Antonio. She attended her last two years of high school at Duncanville High School outside of Dallas. The final game of her prep career brought her back home, as Duncanville won the 2020 Texas 6A State Championship, played at the Alamodome. Kelly scored a game-high 23 points in the final and was named MVP of the championship. She expects to have a cheering section of at least 30 people for Monday's game.
Notes on the Rivalry
• After not crossing paths for two decades, UNC and Alabama are playing for the second season in a row.
• North Carolina leads the overall series 6-4.
• Alabama won the last match-up, 83-77 in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 15, 2019. Two current Tar Heels played in that game, with both senior Janelle Bailey and sophomore Malu Tshitenge part of the UNC starting lineup. Bailey finished with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for one of her 44 career double-doubles. Tshitenge had 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field. No other current Tar Heel has played against Alabama.
(Stephanie Watts' Southern California team faced the Crimson Tide last season in a tournament in Las Vegas, but Watts did not play in the game.)
• Prior to last season, the most recent UNC-Alabama match-up was in the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels won 70-56 in a second-round game in Chapel Hill on March 14, 1999. UNC advanced on to play Purdue in the Midwest Region semifinal in Normal, Ill., and the Boilermakers won 82-59 en route to the 1999 NCAA Championship. A month later, Purdue had a new coach in Kristy Curry, who is now the coach at Alabama.
• UNC and Alabama met twice during the 1998-99 season, also playing during the regular season. In the ACC-SEC Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Dec. 20, 1998, UNC won 90-75.
• UNC has won both postseason match-ups. The teams also played in the 1993 NCAA Tournament, with Carolina winning 74-73 in a second-round overtime game in Chapel Hill.
• Both teams average 74.8 points per game this season, with Alabama scoring 1,870 points in 26 games and UNC scoring 1,721 in 23 games.
Finally, it's time to play.
The Tar Heels, seeded 10th in the Hemisfair Region, take on No. 7-seed Alabama Monday at noon ET, 11 a.m. local time. The game will take place at the Alamodome and will air live on ESPN.
"Games in March are earned and this experience has already provided, and will continue to provide, incredible memories for the entire program," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We look forward bringing our best to the Alamodome tomorrow."
This is Banghart's ninth NCAA Tournament trip as a head coach, her first with the Tar Heels. UNC comes into the game 13-10 on the season after winning five of its last six regular-season games and earning an at-large berth into this unusual event.
Unlike typical tournaments, in which teams are spread out all over the country, this time all 64 teams start their journeys in and around San Antonio. The Tar Heels are staying in a downtown hotel, just a short bus ride from the Alamodome, where they practiced on Saturday. On Sunday, it was back to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center for practice as games got underway on the Alamodome court.
The Tar Heels lead the series with Alabama 6-4 overall, but the Crimson Tide won the most recent meeting, 83-77 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Dec. 15, 2019. The teams have met twice before in NCAA Tournament play, with UNC winning second-round games against the Tide in 1993 and 1999.
This is only the second neutral-site game of the season for UNC, which last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2019, which was also the last time the event took place. That year, the Tar Heels lost a first-round game vs. California in Waco, Texas.
Tournament Notes
• Tar Heel senior Janelle Bailey is the only UNC player to start an NCAA Tournament game. She was part of the lineup in UNC's 92-72 first-round loss to California in 2019. Jaelynn Murray played eight minutes off the bench. Stephanie Watts was on the UNC roster that year but did not play in the game.
• Freshman Alyssa Ustby celebrated her 19th birthday on Thursday, UNC's first full day in San Antonio.
• Redshirt sophomore Ariel Young isn't the only member of her family participating in March Madness: her father, Charlton "C.Y." Young, is an assistant coach for the Florida State men's team, which will meet Colorado in a second-round game on Monday night in Indianapolis.
• The trip to San Antonio is a homecoming for freshman Deja Kelly, a Texas native who was born in Austin but has spent most of her life in San Antonio. She attended her last two years of high school at Duncanville High School outside of Dallas. The final game of her prep career brought her back home, as Duncanville won the 2020 Texas 6A State Championship, played at the Alamodome. Kelly scored a game-high 23 points in the final and was named MVP of the championship. She expects to have a cheering section of at least 30 people for Monday's game.
Notes on the Rivalry
• After not crossing paths for two decades, UNC and Alabama are playing for the second season in a row.
• North Carolina leads the overall series 6-4.
• Alabama won the last match-up, 83-77 in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 15, 2019. Two current Tar Heels played in that game, with both senior Janelle Bailey and sophomore Malu Tshitenge part of the UNC starting lineup. Bailey finished with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for one of her 44 career double-doubles. Tshitenge had 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field. No other current Tar Heel has played against Alabama.
(Stephanie Watts' Southern California team faced the Crimson Tide last season in a tournament in Las Vegas, but Watts did not play in the game.)
• Prior to last season, the most recent UNC-Alabama match-up was in the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels won 70-56 in a second-round game in Chapel Hill on March 14, 1999. UNC advanced on to play Purdue in the Midwest Region semifinal in Normal, Ill., and the Boilermakers won 82-59 en route to the 1999 NCAA Championship. A month later, Purdue had a new coach in Kristy Curry, who is now the coach at Alabama.
• UNC and Alabama met twice during the 1998-99 season, also playing during the regular season. In the ACC-SEC Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Dec. 20, 1998, UNC won 90-75.
• UNC has won both postseason match-ups. The teams also played in the 1993 NCAA Tournament, with Carolina winning 74-73 in a second-round overtime game in Chapel Hill.
• Both teams average 74.8 points per game this season, with Alabama scoring 1,870 points in 26 games and UNC scoring 1,721 in 23 games.
Players Mentioned
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Forward
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Guard
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