Spring Break
Lady Dogs ready for top seed North Carolina
KEVIN COPP
Issue date: 3/25/08 Section: Sports
|
Of the 32 first round games in the Women's NCAA Tournament, just three were won by the lower-seeded team - and one of those was ninth-seeded Purdue over eighth-seeded Utah.
The Lady Bulldogs (23-9) were one of the 29 favorites advancing past their first test, but they are going up against history in round two.
In the last decade, 37 of the 40 total No. 1 seeds have made it to the Sweet 16.
No. 1 seed Ohio State lost to No. 8 seed Boston College in the second round of the 2006 tournament. In 1998, two No. 1 seeds fell before the third round as No. 9 seed Notre Dame knocked off No. 1 Texas Tech, and No. 1 Stanford fell in the first round to No. 16 seed Harvard.
Georgia moved to round two by defeating Iowa 67-61. Awaiting the decided underdogs is North Carolina (31-2), the 85-50 winner over 16-seed Bucknell.
The Lady Tar Heels ran the table during the ACC season, finishing 14-0 in conference and capturing the ACC Tournament championship.
The two blemishes on the Heels' record are losses at Tennessee and at home against Connecticut, both No. 1 seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament.
NCAA TOURNAMENT ROUND TWO
No. 8 Georgia vs.No. 1 North Carolina
When: 9 tonight
Where: Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, Va.
TV: ESPN2
It is clear Georgia's frontcourt duo of Tasha Humphrey and Angel Robinson has caught North Carolina's eye.
"Whenever we play a team that's taller and may have more size, we try to combat that with quickness," UNC senior forward LaToya Pringle said. "I think Erlana (Larkins) and I are very agile for position, so we try to combat bulk and size with speed."
Speed will be a key word in Tuesday's game. North Carolina thrives on the fast break, averaging 87.8 points per game to Georgia's 69.3.
The Lady Bulldogs will try to put the brakes on the Tar Heels for their first win this season against a ranked team and their sixth straight trip to the Sweet 16.
Be the first to comment on this story