NCAA tournament | Duke-UNC women face off Friday in first-ever March Madness meeting
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WTVD) -- Duke and North Carolina face off Friday for the first time ever in the women's NCAA tournament.
The teams split two regular-season encounters, but the rubber match comes in the Sweet 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
"This is March, though," said Duke guard Ashlon Jackson. "I would say ... being able to continue to challenge ourselves, compete with them, you know, that's a great team."
UNC won the first outing, 53-46, on Jan. 9 in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils got some payback in Durham on Feb. 27, whipping the Heels 68-53.
"Coming here, it'll be a neutral site, there won't be any, like either side ... it'll be pretty even," said Maria Gakdeng, a forward/center for the Tar Heels. "It's a big stage, and I'm really excited to see how we pull it out."
Both teams practiced Thursday and met with the media.
Duke coach Kara Lawson said she had no idea that the Blue Devils and Tar Heels had never met in the women's NCAA tournament in their illustrious history. She didn't really seem to care that it was the school's rival standing in the way of the first trip to the Elite Eight since 2013.
"We haven't really talked about that with our team in terms of a first meeting or anything," she said. "I didn't know that until you said that. We're fighting for a spot in the Elite Eight, and so whoever the opponent is, is the opponent."
North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said the rivalry is bigger than just her and Lawson since they have only been at the schools for a half-dozen years. She appreciates that they will meet on the big stage.
"I celebrate along with all the sports fans that have been watching so many Duke-Carolina battles throughout the years and that we're in charge of it in this moment," she said. "We did it. We got you guys an NCAA tournament game between Carolina-Duke. I mean, if that doesn't get your blood going, you should check it. You should get it checked because it should be really great for the sport."
For UNC sophomore Reniya Kelly, Friday's game will be like a homecoming.
Kelly went to Birmingham's Hoover High School and played at the site of the regional five times. She said she won four of the five, losing her freshman year.
"It means everything. I'm just going to explain this part: I played here in my eighth grade, ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, and only lost one time: it was my ninth grade year," Kelly said. "This is like a full cycle for me, and I'm really excited to be here, especially because my family and friends come out and see me. It's really a blessing to be back home and be close: it's like 20 minutes away from my house, so this is really close to me."
Kelly said she was hoping her team would end up in Birmingham for the Sweet 16.
"I did not want to go to Washington (state)," she said, laughing. "I just love this place so much because I have so much experience and the atmosphere has always been here."
Duke got some good news regarding freshman Toby Fournier, who missed the second-round game against Oregon with an illness.
She said she felt a lot better Thursday.
"I'm feeling great. I'm here. I'm well-rested, well-hydrated. I'm ready to go," she said.
NC State ready for rematch with LSU
The Wolfpack ladies will also be in action Friday.
They'll face LSU in Spokane, Washington. It's a rematch from Nov. 27, when the Tigers beat the Wolfpack 82-65 in Nassau, Bahamas.
NC State guard Saniya Rivers, who led State with 21 points in that loss, said she thinks the Wolfpack is a better team this time around.
"People playing out of position. We just weren't very comfortable and confident, so as the season went along, we started putting pieces together," Rivers said. "We're a much different team, so even though we lost to LSU early, I hope people don't look at that because we're a different team, we're ready to compete tomorrow."
N.C. State reached the Final Four last year before falling to eventual champion South Carolina. The Wolfpack (28-6) advanced this year with a second-round victory over Michigan State.
The Tigers (30-5) routed Florida State 101-71 in the second round.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey also said the earlier meeting with N.C. State was irrelevant.
"To look at the previous game, we just think that we're both trying to advance to an Elite Eight, and we don't really even think about that game," Mulkey said. "We talked about it once or twice, we've looked at some film, but they're better. We're better. They're ACC champs. We finished third in the SEC. They're supposed to win, they're the two seed, we're the three seed."
Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Both games can be seen on ESPN.
ABC11's Travon Miles and The Associated Press contributed.
