COLUMBIA, S.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina’s women’s basketball team, the No. 8 seed in the Albany 1 bracket, starts its NCAA Tournament campaign Friday morning.
The Tar Heels (19-12) play No. 9 Michigan State (22-8) at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C. The game is scheduled to tip off at 11:30 a.m.
Deja Kelly has been a mainstay once again this season for the Tar Heels, leading the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game. Fellow senior Alyssa Ustby leads the team in rebounds (9.3 per game), assists (3.6 per game) and steals (1.7) per game.
The Spartans have a star senior guard of their own in Julia Ayrault, who leads Michigan State in points (15.4), rebounds (7.2) and blocks (2.1) per game. Michigan State averages 83.7 points per game, the sixth-highest scoring team in the country.
This will be the sixth time overall the North Carolina and Michigan State women’s programs are meeting, and the first since the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 4-1.