Latifah Coleman leads her team to victory in first round of NCAA Tournament

Latifah Coleman didn’t hesitate before diving on the floor, crashing into press row.

The redshirt senior guard for the North Carolina women’s basketball team, just seconds earlier in the first half, had launched an outlet pass beyond the hands of sophomore Allisha Gray, who had beaten a Liberty defender down the court in transition.

As the Flames walked the ball down the floor after the turnover, Coleman didn’t wallow in her mistake. There was no time for that. She bent her knees, extended her arms and found her assignment in Liberty’s Sadalia Ellis.

After forcing Ellis left, Coleman poked the ball loose toward the sideline. There was no overthinking her next move; she left her feet and glided along the hardwood after the ball.

She was unable to gain possession, but these were the plays that Coleman made all game in the fourth-seeded Tar Heels’ 71-65 win against No. 13 seed Liberty on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

They were the ones she had to make. Not just because they were expected of her, but because this could have been the last game of her college career.

“Just the thought of, ‘Hey this could really be it,’ just motivates me and keeps the wheels turning,” Coleman said.

This thought seemed to crop up a lot during Coleman’s 15-point performance on Saturday. Fewer than 30 seconds after her run-in with press row, she brought the ball down the floor, quickly lost her defender and nailed a long jumper.

Thirty-three seconds later, a layup to push the lead to eight. Sixteen after that, a steal forcing a jump ball.

Everywhere the ball was, so was Coleman. When the Flames looked like they were going to go on a run, it was Coleman who was there to quash it. This is what Coach Sylvia Hatchell expects out of her, and more often than not, it’s what she gets.

“I just said, ‘Look Latifah, settle them down. You know what to do. Call a couple plays, and let’s get our composure back,’” Hatchell said. “And she goes in and does it. That’s experience ... she knows what to do.”

But Hatchell isn’t the only one who has felt the impact of Coleman’s play. When Coleman’s out on the floor, the other North Carolina players seem to rally around her. And when she’s absent, as sophomore Stephanie Mavunga said after the game, it’s easy to notice.

“I remember in practice a few weeks ago, when Latifah wasn’t in and practicing, I remember saying something like, ‘Man I wish Latifah was out here,’” she said.

“She’s one of the best guards I ever played with, also the most underrated guard in the whole NCAA.”

Coleman knows that her teammates and coaches look for her to perform at a high level, but so does she. In what are the last few games of her college career, Coleman knows she needs to lay it all on the line because before she knows it, it could all be over.

“Tournament time you just gotta keep going, keep punching,” she said.

“I just try to do what I can to survive and advance.”

sports@dailytarheel.com