Duke, UNC, NC State women’s basketball teams look to make deep NCAA Tournament runs
The first rounds of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament tip off Friday and Saturday with Triangle teams hoping to make deep runs.
If N.C. State, North Carolina and Duke can advance to the Sweet 16, the regional games take on a different form this season. Instead of four different sites, the NCAA condensed them into two: Seattle and Greenville, S.C. Both Duke and UNC could end up in the Pacific Northwest on opposite sides of the bracket.
The Wolfpack, a No. 7 seed in Greenville Region 2 will be the first to take the court with a late game Friday in Salt Lake City as it takes on Ivy League champion and No. 10 seed Princeton.
The Tar Heels, a No. 6 seed in Seattle Region 3, will take on the winner of No. 11 seed Purdue and St. John’s on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio.
The Blue Devils, a No. 3 seed in Seattle Region 4, will play host to No. 14 seed Iona in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
Here’s a look at how their first round games stack up:
No. 7 N.C. State vs No. 10 Princeton
Teams: No. 7 N.C. State Wolfpack vs. No. 10 Princeton Tigers
Where: Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Date: Friday, March 17
Time: 10 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Stream: ESPN2 is available on Sling, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and YouTubeTV streaming services. Or click here to view on the ESPN app.
The setup:
N.C. State has been to the past five NCAA Tournaments, which is the Wolfpack’s longest streak since going six consecutive times from 1995-2001.
Princeton rides a 15-game win streak into the tournament and has added motivation fueling the team. The Tigers were two points shy of reaching last year’s Sweet 16 as an 11 seed when they suffered a one-point loss to Indiana. Their motto this season has been, “one more.”
Players to watch:
Princeton: Kaitlyn Chen, 5-9, G. The junior point guard leads the Tigers with 15.9 points and 3.8 assists. She also spearheads their defense, which is ranked in the top 20 nationally in efficiency.
N.C. State: Diamond Johnson, 5-5, G. Wes Moore said after the Selection Show that it was “going to be a challenge” for her to be back in the lineup after an ankle injury sidelined her for the ACC tournament. Johnson leads the Pack with 12.3 points per game and 3.5 assists per game.
What they’re saying:
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster, hopefully we can have a little more consistency when we get to Utah.” N.C. State coach Wes Moore.
No. 6 UNC vs. No. 11 Purdue or No. 11 St. John’s
Teams: No. 6 UNC Tar Heels vs. No. 11 Purdue/St. John’s
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Date: Saturday, March 18
Time: 4 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN is available on Sling, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and YouTubeTV streaming services.
The setup:
Carolina returned most of its key players from last year’s team that reached the Sweet 16. The Tar Heels are finally playing with a fully healthy roster and believe they can make a run to Dallas.
If they play St. John’s, UNC is 6-0 all-time in the series, but the teams haven’t played since the 2009-10 season. The Heels are 4-2 against Purdue, but lost the last meeting in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
Players to watch:
UNC: Deja Kelly, 5-8, G. The junior averaged 22 points in three NCAA Tournament games last season. Kelly led the Heels in scoring during the regular season with 16.2 points per game.
St. John’s: Jayla Everett, 5-10, G. The fifth-year senior played her last two years at Pitt. She led the Red Storm in scoring at 15.8 points per game, which earned her an All-Big East first team nod.
Purdue: Jeanae Terry, 5-11, G. The senior was named second-team All-Big Ten and is a do-it-all for the Boilermakers. She averages 6.7 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.4 steals.
What they’re saying:
“What we do know is that there are really good teams out there — that’s all that’s left. They’ll be different, but we’ll get to share our brand of basketball with them.” UNC coach Courtney Banghart
No. 4 Duke vs. No. 13 Iona
Teams: Duke Blue Devils vs. Iona Gaels
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
Date: Saturday, March 18
Time: 9:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Stream: ESPN2 is available on Sling, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and YouTubeTV streaming services. Or click here to view on the ESPN app.
The setup:
Duke is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Kara Lawson. The Blue Devils have made their mark this season by being one of the best defensive teams in the nation. They were second in scoring defense allowing just 50.8 points per game and eighth in field goal percentage defense allowing opponents to average shooting just 34.8 percent from the floor.
Iona is making just its second tournament appearance in program history and its first since 2016. The Gaels have won 20 of their past 21 games entering the tournament.
Players to watch:
Duke: Celeste Taylor, 5-11, G. The senior led the Blue Devils in scoring with 11.5 points per game, in steals with 1.9 per game, and in minutes at 29.0 per game. She was also second in assists and third in rebounding.
Iona: Juana Camilion, 5-10, G. The fifth-year senior from Palma De Mallorca, Spain won both the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors marking just the second time that’s ever happened in the league.
What they’re saying:
“Only sixteen teams get the chance to start at home and we’re one of them. It’s a great accomplishment for us. ...Now the real work begins. We have a tough Iona team coming into Cameron, and we will have to be ready to play.” Duke coach Kara Lawson.
