North Carolina Women Looking For The Exacta Against North Carolina State

The 10th-ranked Lady Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina (23-4, 8-3 ACC) will take the court in Raleigh tonight, hoping to earn a season sweep of the Lady Wolfpack of North Carolina State.

On January 11 the Tar Heels, then undefeated and ranked number two in the nation, had all they could handle on their own court; they defeated the Pack in overtime 75-66.

That game marked coach Sylvia Hatchell’s 800^th victory, putting her into a very exclusive club. Among women’s coaches, only Tennessee’s Pat Summit, Rutgers’ Vivian Stringer, and retired Texas coach Jody Conradt have notched more wins.

Following the Heels’ home win over NC State, they went on to lose three of their next four games; including two conference matchups and a blowout at home, compliments of the UConn juggernaut. They have since won six of their last seven games.

The unranked Wolfpack (12-14. 4-7 ACC) has posted a four and six record since the January loss to North Carolina. They appear to be on the upswing, however, winning their last three games. All were conference games, most recently an upset of the Virginia Lady Cavaliers.

Despite their inconsistency, NC State clearly has some talent, and they could be getting hot.

Junior guard Nikitta Gartrell has averaged 19.5 points on 15-27 shooting for the past two games. She is a tough player in the clutch.

Against Wake Forest she put down a three to force the game into overtime. She then proceeded to sink another three with six seconds left in OT. The Pack won that game by four.

Sophomore forward Tia Bell had eight blocks against UVA, a school record. She has tallied 14 blocks in the last two games.

As a team, the Lady Wolfpack has committed fewer turnovers than anyone else in the ACC, a statistic that could be important tonight.

The Tar Heels have a balanced and highly effective offense, with four players averaging double figures. They have out rebounded their competition on a consistent basis, and they have a bona fide shot-blocker in Jessica Breland.

Cetera DeGraffenreid has developed into a reliable point guard with good court vision, and the ability to make smart decisions on the fly.

Senior Rashanda McCants always comes to play and understands the importance of every game at this stage in her career. She wants a title.

It’s a natural rivalry in which NC State is 24-10 at home. Three of UNC’s four losses were on the road this year, and the Pack will be out to avenge that January loss. It could get interesting.

The only certainty is that the Heels are in the home stretch now and are well aware of the importance of every one of these last few regular season games. Forget rankings, records, and everything else about this season. These two teams will play on an even court tonight.

Do we expect anything less in the ACC?