CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — The North Carolina women fell a game short of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in Greensboro earlier this month, but they still drew a favorable seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels (27-7) are the No. 3 seed in the Birmingham regional and will face Oregon State (19-15), the No. 14 seed in the bracket. The game will be played Saturday in Chapel Hill.
The Beavers won the West Coast Conference Tournament championship last week, defeating Portland. Senior forward Kelsey Rees leads Oregon State in both points (12.8 per game) and rebounds (7.6 per game) this season.
Despite battling an injury late in the season, veteran Alyssa Ustby still leads UNC in rebounds (9.5 per game) and assists (2.9 per game). Maria Gakdeng is the team’s leading scorer with an average of 11.3 points per game, followed by Ustby and Lexi Donarksi, who are both averaging 10.6 points per contest.
Duke is also in the same regional, drawing the No. 2 seed. If the seeds hold, the Tar Heels and Blue Devils could meet in the Sweet 16 in Birmingham.
The South Carolina Gamecocks, the defending national champions, are the No. 1 seed in the regional.