By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina, the No. 8 seed in the Albany 1 region, heads south for the first two rounds of the NCAA women’s tournament.
In the first round, it will face Michigan State in Columbia, S.C., on Friday at 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2). If the Tar Heels (19–12) get past the No. 9-seed Spartans (22–8), they would likely play No. 1 ranked and No. 1 overall seed South Carolina (32–0) in the second round Sunday on the Gamecocks’ home court to earn a spot in Albany for the Sweet 16. Times haven’t been announced.
UNC played the Gamecocks well in Chapel Hill on Nov. 30 before losing 65–58. The Tar Heels lost to South Carolina in Sweet 16 games in Greensboro in 2022 (69–61) and 2015 (67–65).
South Carolina’s first-round game Friday is at 2 p.m. Friday against Presbyterian.
“Michigan State is going to be a formidable opponent, of course. We know that,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, who is happy that her team will be playing closer to home after playing in Ohio last season and Arizona two seasons ago. “We’ve got a good fan base. I know they’ll probably look forward to it.”
Michigan State finished fourth in the Big Ten at 12–6, losing to Nebraska 73–61 in the league tournament’s first round. This is the Spartans’ first NCAA berth since 2021, and they got it under first-year head coach Robyn Fralick, who Banghart says is one of her closest friends in the business.
“They’re gonna play really hard. They’re gonna play together. They’re going to share it. They’re going to shoot it,” Banghart said. “So, quick-fire early 3s. Those are the kinds of kids she recruits. Defensively, they’re feisty.”
Michigan State averages 83.7 points per game, which is No. 6 in the country, and gives up only 67.3 points per game. The Spartans’ average scoring margin of +16.4 was second only in the Big Ten to No. 2-ranked Iowa.
Four Spartans average double-figure points: 6–2 graduate guard Julia Ayrault (15.4), 5–10 graduate guard Moira Joiner (14.7), 5–7 junior guard DeeDee Hagemann (12.4) and 5–10 sophomore guard Theryn Hallock (11.1). Ayrault leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per game.
The two weeks off since the Tar Heels’ 60–59 loss to Miami in the ACC tournament have given them a chance to heal. With Paulina Paris and Reniya Kelly out for the past few games, Banghart offered no updates on their status for the NCAA tournament.
She gave the team the weekend off after the Miami game, then went to work in practice.
“We really honed in on what our strengths are individually, and then some tweaks to make sure we’re playing to those strengths, collectively,” Banghart said. “That’s always a time a coach likes because you get to focus on your own team and not anybody else. And it’s short-lived because now we’ll move forward with planning for our scout practices now.”
Carolina is one of eight ACC teams in the field as teams begin the road to the Women’s Final Four in Cleveland.
Hosting first- and second-round games are No. 9-ranked Notre Dame (26–6; No. 3 seed in Albany 1), No. 11-ranked N.C. State (27–6; No. 3 seed in Portland 4), No. 13 Virginia Tech (24–7; No. 3 seed in Portland 3) and No. 22 Syracuse (23–7; No. 3 in the Portland 3). Also in the field are No. 24 Louisville (24–9; No. 6 in Albany 2), Duke (20–11; No. 7 in Portland 3) and Florida State (23–10; No. 9 in Portland 4).
The No. 1 seeds in addition to the Gamecocks are No. 2 Iowa (29–4) in Albany 2, No. 3 USC (26–5) in Portland 3, and No. 5 Texas (28–4) in Portland 4.
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 102–49 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 74–70 | vs. Davidson | 2–0 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 62–32 | vs. Hampton | 3–0 |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 68–39 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. | ||||
| 24 | Friday | W, 54–51 | Vermont | 5–0 |
| 25 | Saturday | L, 63–56 | No. 15 Kansas State | 5–1 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 65–64 | Florida Gulf Coast | 5–2 |
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 65–58 | vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 5–3 |
| December | ||||
| 6 | Wednesday | W, 81–66 | vs. UNC Greensboro | 6–3 |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn. | ||||
| 10 | Sunday | L, 76–64 | No. 10 Connecticut | 6–4 |
| ——————— | ||||
| 15 | Friday | W, 96–36 | vs. Western Carolina | 7–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 61–52 | No. 18 Oklahoma | 8–4 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 31 | Sunday | W, 82–76 | vs. Clemson | 9–4, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 75–51 | vs. No. 22 Syracuse | 10–4, 2–0 ACC |
| 7 | Sunday | W, 61–57 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | 11–4, 3–0 ACC |
| 11 | Thursday | L, 70–62 | at Florida State | 11–5, 3–1 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 81–68 | vs. Virginia | 12–5, 4–1 ACC |
| 18 | Thursday | W, 73–68 | at Georgia Tech | 13–5, 5–1 ACC |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 79–68 | vs. No. 23 Louisville | 14–5, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Thursday | W, 66–61 | vs. Miami | 15–5, 7–1 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 81–66 | at Virginia | 15–6, 7–2 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 63–59 | at No. 11 N.C. State | 15–7, 7–3 ACC |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 70–61, OT | vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech | 15–8, 7–4 ACC |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 68–60, OT | at Duke | 15–9, 7–5 ACC |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 75–62 | vs. Pittsburgh | 16–9, 8–5 ACC |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 58–50 | at Wake Forest | 17–9, 9–5 ACC |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 80–70 | vs. No. 11 N.C. State | 18–9, 10–5 ACC |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 74–62 | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | 18–10, 10–6 ACC |
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–74 | at Boston College | 18–11, 10–7 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 63–59 | vs. Duke | 19–11, 11–7 ACC |
| ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum | ||||
| 7 | Thursday | L, 60–59 | Second round: vs. Miami | 19–12 |
| NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C. | ||||
| 22 | Friday | W, 59–56 | First round: Michigan State | 20–12 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 88–41 | Second round: No. 1 South Carolina | 20–13 |
Photo courtesy of the ACC
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