As the North Carolina women’s basketball team took on South Carolina in the Sweet 16, Hatchell — forced from traveling with the Tar Heels to Stanford, California due to leukemia — watched the game on TV, jumping around and throwing objects across the room as she rooted UNC to a 65-58 victory.
Now, almost a year to the day, the fourth-seeded Tar Heels and top-seeded Gamecocks will face off once again today in the Sweet 16 of the Greensboro Region. And Hatchell knows UNC’s foe from across the border could be the force of such furnisher-punishing frustration once again.
“I don’t really see any weaknesses,” Hatchell said. “Our kids have to really step up and play to a really, really high level.”
The Tar Heels (26-8, 10-6 ACC) and Gamecocks (32-2, 15-1 SEC) are set for their third meeting since December 2013, and UNC has won both contests.
But the familiarities between the teams spawn from much more than their recent games. Both rosters combined are comprised of 17 players from across the neighboring states, with the Tar Heels boasting three players from South Carolina — including two starters.
“It’s always a fun game to play in,” said senior guard Latifah Coleman, who is from Pageland, S.C. “A lot of talk back home about the whole going to North Carolina and not going to South Carolina thing, so it’s always a pretty good game for me.”
The Gamecocks earned their second consecutive No. 1 seed this season and have only lost two games since suffering their season-ending defeat to UNC in the 2013-14 season.
South Carolina enters Friday’s game as the No. 14 scoring offense in the NCAA and No. 8 scoring defense, and they’ve been preparing for Friday’s rematch all season.
