When Hatchell walked into the post-game press conference wearing a North Carolina hat with "600 Wins" on it and two "600 Club" stickers on her right lapel, it seemed McBee might have been mistaken.
But Hatchell, who became the sixth active Division I coach to reach the 600-win mark, was more concerned with her team's second-half comeback, in which the Tar Heels erased an eight-point deficit and guaranteed themselves a spot in tonight's ACC final.
"The way we played in the first half, it was like a nightmare," Hatchell said. "We came out in the second half and showed a lot of character. The chemistry was there, and we got going."
In fact, the only other Tar Heel to address win No. 600 was Nikki Teasley, who mentioned it as she looked toward tonight's matchup against Duke.
"Congratulations to Coach on her 600th win," Teasley said. "We're happy to have this win, but we're not satisfied. We've got to come back and do this tomorrow."
So now the ACC is left with the two teams most expected to be playing for the conference crown: No. 1 vs. No. 2, Duke-UNC, Part III.
Duke handily won both regular season meetings, including a 90-75 decision on Feb. 24, in which Duke went on a 40-8 run to put a stranglehold on the game.
But Duke has struggled at times in the tournament, and had to withstand a late run by Virginia on Sunday before defeating the Cavaliers, 71-67.
"I told the team that's what it's all about at this time of year: survival," said Duke coach Gail Goestenkors. "It's not always pretty."
