North Carolina is gearing up to make the most of its opportunity as a host in the women”s NCAA Tournament. After a shaky start to the season, the Tar Heels have turned things around and are now set to compete on their home court. “If you had evaluated us in November and stuck with that narrative, I”m not sure we would be sitting here,” said coach Courtney Banghart. “When you look at the body of work over the last two months, we played our way into this spot and we”re thrilled that we were able to make it work.”
With an impressive record of 26-7, North Carolina secured the No. 4 seed in the Fort Worth Region 1. Their first-round matchup will be against the Ohio Valley Conference champions, the No. 13 seed Western Illinois (26-5), following a game between fifth-seeded Maryland and 12th-seeded Murray State.
Last March, North Carolina achieved success at home by winning two games to reach the Sweet 16. However, the prospect of playing at home seemed bleak when the team held a 2-3 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference in mid-January. Now, the players are relishing the chance to compete in familiar surroundings. “Getting the opportunity to play two more games here is huge,” said forward Nyla Harris, looking ahead to a possible second-round game.
Western Illinois, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017, comes into the tournament with a solid 9-4 record in road games. Forward Mia Nicastro emphasized the need for a strong mindset: “We have to go in with the same mindset we would as if it was a home game.” Guard Addi Brownfield echoed this sentiment, stating, “We”re going to be scrappy, and that”s always something we can carry with us, home or away.”
Coach JD Gravina of Western Illinois expressed pride in his team”s hard work to reach this moment. “There”s times wondering if you”ll ever get to do it again,” he stated. “It just makes it so much more special when I feel like you”ve really got to work for it.”
Maryland is looking to bounce back after losing its last game by 18 points against Michigan and suffering an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament at the hands of Oregon. With more than two weeks to regroup, guard Saylor Poffenbarger highlighted the importance of returning to their strengths, saying, “We are really good at rebounding, really good when we get out in transition and we”re playing together.”
Murray State (31-3), entering the tournament for the second consecutive year, boasts a school-record win total and a 15-game winning streak, averaging 86.1 points per game. “To win 15 straight games and be No. 5 in the country in scoring, obviously you”re doing a lot of things well,” remarked Maryland coach Brenda Freeze. Despite being winless in NCAA Tournament games, Murray State guard Haven Ford emphasized the need for confidence: “We got to go into it with confidence and just believe that we belong here and we got to just come ready to play.”
Each team in this matchup features at least one senior starter, with Western Illinois leading the way with four. Brownfield stated, “We have a lot of seniors that aren”t quite ready to be done with basketball and we”re going to give it our all to get whatever extra games we can.”
Maryland”s scoring leader Oluchi Okananwa, averaging 18 points per game, is familiar with Carmichael Arena from her time at Duke before transferring to Maryland last spring. She expressed a desire for redemption, saying, “Unfortunately, we did not capture a win here. But anything can change.” Okananwa also shared her excitement about returning to the venue, stating, “Being in this gym and playing in it, remembering the battles. I”m just excited to take the court again, especially with this new team that I”m on.”
