'No fear': Tar Heels familiar with second round opponent, top-seeded South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Tar Heels have been here before. 

Facing this year’s No. 1 squad in one of the Gamecocks’ closest games of the season? Been there, done that. 

Battling against a top-seeded South Carolina with the Tar Heels' season on the line? UNC has seen that too. 

And according to senior forward Alyssa Ustby, the Tar Heels are ready to meet the moment. 

On Sunday, No. 8-seeded North Carolina will meet No. 1-seeded South Carolina on their home court — the Colonial Life Arena — for a chance to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. It's familiar territory for UNC as the Tar Heels already faced the Gamecocks in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Nov. 30. For some returners, it’s also the second time they have encountered USC in the NCAA tournament in the past three seasons. 

“We’re playing with no fear,” senior guard Deja Kelly said. “We know that it’s a great matchup. We treat it as such. Again, we match the level of intensity. We match the level of aggressiveness. You’ve seen that pretty consistent with this matchup over the past couple of years.”

Ustby and Kelly said they are not treating this matchup with any bigger weight — it’s just the next game in the tournament. But for senior forward Anya Poole, it's an opportunity for revenge. Both of the previous matchups were decided by less than eight points. This time around, Poole wants this one. 

“It just keeps us really excited and on our toes,” she said, "knowing that we’ve been that close to beating a really, really good team."

In the season’s early matchup between the two teams, North Carolina took the lead at halftime in Carmichael Arena, thriving off transition opportunities and a suffocating defensive scheme that held South Carolina’s leading scorer, Kamilla Cardoso, to a season-low six points in the game.

But when shots stopped falling, UNC lost control. 

“At their place, we [know] that if you don’t bring your best against the best,” head coach Courtney Banghart said, “they’re going to blow you out.”

With this in mind, junior center Maria Gakdeng said a major point of emphasis is closing out games and not letting the momentum slip away. She believes this is a more seasoned team. The Tar Heels have gained more confidence and trust in each other throughout the season. 

Banghart said a different team is stepping on court on Sunday, and not just in terms of mentality. It’s a team that has seen four different players at the point — what she calls one of the hardest positions to lose. In November, redshirt sophomore guard Kayla McPherson was UNC'x point guard, leading the Tar Heels with fast pace and quick ball movement. Now, Kelly is at the point. As Banghart puts it, they’re simply different. 

Still, those changes do not scare her.  

“When you play South Carolina you need competitiveness right on down the roster,” she said. “You need toughness. You need to play to your strengths up and down the roster. Those things are standards for us. I’m comfortable with that being our reality.”

North Carolina may look and play differently, but it’s an opponent the Tar Heels know well — a level of competitiveness and intensity they’re familiar with. And, according to Poole, it may be UNC's time to come up with the victory.

"It’s March so you never know what happens.”

@carolinewills03

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