After cruising to an easy win on Friday against Western Illinois, Courtney Banghart and the UNC Tar Heels women’s basketball team face a huge mountain today when they open up the women’s NCAA Tournament action today against fifth seed Maryland.
While the Terrapins have been out of the ACC for a while, they still have a familiar face behind the bench—Brenda Frese. Since Maryland has moved over to the Big Ten they’ve continued their track record of consistent success—this is their 16th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. There was a strong thought out there that it would be this team, not Carolina, that got the last hosting opportunity this season. That undercurrent that Maryland will feel disrespected for their regular season and this game should be in College Park will be hanging in the air as these two old rivals reconnect for the first time since 2014.
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Maryland’s first game on Friday saw Murray State hang with the Terps for three quarters—to the point that an and one at the end of the third had the Racers in breathing distance. Maryland then opened up a can in the fourth and ended up winning 99-67. The win broke a two game losing streak for Maryland as they were blown out by Michigan in the regular season finale then lost their first game of the Big Ten Tournament to Oregon. The explosive ability of this Terrapins team is something to look out for, especially for a team as reliant on the three-ball as the Tar Heels are.
There’s also a more familiar old foe the Tar Heels will have to worry about against Maryland: Oluchi Okanawa. Carolina last saw her in the 47-38 NCAA Tournament defeat last year when she scored 12 points, and had 12 boards. 12 points may not seem like a bunch but when it’s 25% of a team’s score, she was a major factor. It was by far her biggest performance against the Tar Heels last season, and now she’s averaging 17.7/game for Maryland so expect her to be a huge factor today. You can look at her stat lines this season and see she’s easily the focus of the offense. One thing for sure is that Nyla Harris will have her hands full down low for Carolina.
The good news for Carolina is that while she has several 20-point games, several of them have come in blowout losses. You might see Carolina concede her the points to make sure no one else beats her.
Teams are shooting 33.3% against Maryland this year from beyond the arc. That number would mark a substantial improvement over how the Tar Heels shot in their blowout win Friday. It’s also worth noting that Reniya Kelly was once again out on Friday, though they clearly didn’t need her. It’s still up in the air as to when or if she’ll return this season, as she hasn’t played since an 0-6 performance against Clemson February 6th.
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If she can’t go we’ll see if the rest of the guards can continue to step up, and hopefully familiar surroundings plus a boisterous crowd will help lift the Tar Heels to Fort Worth. The winner of this matchup will likely be facing UConn next week. It’ll be a near-impossible task but you at least want the chance.
You a make a day of it Sunday as baseball plays just down the way at 2 PM, and there are still tickets available in the upper level general admission area. Win or lose it’ll be the last time Carolina plays in Carmichael this year, and also the last time you’ll see Nyla Harris and Indya Navar play on their home floor. You know Maryland will show out, so hopefully folks/students returning from Spring Break will grab some brunch and head over to the gym.
If you can’t make it over to Carmichael, here’s how you can catch the action—and make sure to talk about the game below as it goes on!
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Location: Carmichael Arena – Chapel Hill, NC
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TV: ESPN with Mark Neely and Angel Gray calling the action
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Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network with Matt Krause expertly calling the action. Here’s a list of affiliates airing the THSN broadcast—look for “Basketball Women’s” and Sirius XM on channel 81. Once the NCAA Tournament begins, radio streaming rights cede to the NCAA so it may be more difficult to find the stream through the usual methods
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Streaming: Streaming is available on WatchESPN or the app.
