CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) 鈥� North Carolina looked like a bit of a long shot to serve as a host in the women’s NCAA Tournament when the regular season wound down.
Now the Tar Heels are intent on making the most of their opportunity in familiar surroundings.
鈥淚f you had evaluated us in November and stuck with that narrative, I鈥檓 not sure we would be sitting here,鈥� North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said Thursday. 鈥淲hen you look at the body of work over the last two months, we played our way into this spot and we鈥檙e thrilled that we were able to make it work.鈥�
North Carolina (26-7), the No. 4-seeded team in the Fort Worth Region 1, meets Ohio Valley Conference champion and No. 13 seed Western Illinois (26-5) in Friday鈥檚 first round following a matchup between fifth-seeded Maryland and 12th-seeded Murray State.
North Carolina won twice at home last March to advance to the Sweet 16. But when the Tar Heels were sitting with a 2-3 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference in mid-January, playing home games in this postseason was the last thing on their minds.
So the Tar Heels already are feeling rewarded.
鈥淕etting the opportunity to play two more games here is huge,鈥� forward Nyla Harris said, anticipating a potential second-round game.
Western Illinois, which is in the NCAAs for the first time since 2017, is 9-4 in road games.
鈥淲e have to go in with the same mindset we would as if it was a home game,鈥� Western Illinois forward Mia Nicastro said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be scrappy, and that鈥檚 always something we can carry with us, home or away,鈥� Leathernecks guard Addi Brownfield said.
Western Illinois coach JD Gravina wants his team to embrace the underdog role.
鈥淭here鈥檚 times wondering if you鈥檒l ever get to do it again,鈥� Gravina said of reaching the NCAAs. 鈥淚t just makes it so much more special when I feel like you鈥檝e really got to work for it. 鈥� That moment, it doesn鈥檛 last very long, so we鈥檝e got to really soak it up and enjoy it.鈥�
Maryland won its first six games in February and factored into the mix of teams considered for a home assignment this week, listed as the No. 13 overall seed in the NCAA committee鈥檚 projected bracket reveal March 1. The Terrapins had just lost by 18 points in their regular-season finale at Michigan and then were bounced in their first game in the Big Ten Tournament by Oregon.
The Terrapins have had more than two weeks to work on returning to form.
鈥淲e are really good at rebounding, really good when we get out in transition and we鈥檙e playing together,鈥� Maryland guard Saylor Poffenbarger said. 鈥淪o just making sure we get back to that and defending the Maryland way.鈥�
Racing vs. the Racers
Murray State (31-3) is in the tournament for the second year in a row, already holding a school-record win total. The Racers arrive on a 15-game winning streak, averaging 86.1 points per game for the season.
鈥淭o win 15 straight games and be No. 5 in the country in scoring, obviously you鈥檙e doing a lot of things well,鈥� Maryland coach Brenda Freeze said.
Murray State is 0-2 in NCAA Tournament games.
鈥淲e got to go into it with confidence and just believe that we belong here and we got to just come ready to play,鈥� Murray State guard Haven Ford said.
Maryland has a string of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances that began in 2011, winning at least one game in all except the 2024 tournament.
Senior moments
Each team at this site has at least one senior starter, led by Western Illinois with four.
鈥淲e have a lot of seniors that aren鈥檛 quite ready to be done with basketball and we鈥檙e going to give it our all to get whatever extra games we can,鈥� Brownfield said.
Been here before
Maryland scoring leader Oluchi Okananwa (18 points per game) has played in Carmichael Arena previously when she spent two seasons in the Duke program before last spring鈥檚 transfer to Maryland. She鈥檚 looking for a better result in this trip to Chapel Hill.
鈥淯nfortunately, we did not capture a win here,鈥� Okananwa said. 鈥淏ut anything can change.鈥�
Okananwa acknowledged there鈥檚 a nostalgic angle.
鈥淏eing in this gym and playing in it, remembering the battles,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just excited to take the court again, especially with this new team that I鈥檓 on.鈥�
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