Acc Women Look To Make Their Mark Conference Could Put Three Teams In Final Four Round

North Carolina, Duke and North Carolina State have been cohorts for years in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now they have a chance to get together in a new setting - at the women’s Final Four in Kansas City.

The three ACC teams will play in different regional finals Monday night, so it’s possible the league could make up three-fourths of next weekend’s Final Four field.

No league has ever had more than two teams in a Final Four.

“I think a lot of people underestimated the strength of our conference,” North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “It looks like Duke’s probably going to be in the Final Four. N.C. State has an excellent chance to be in the Final Four. Our conference is much stronger than it’s been given credit for.”

But turning the Final Four into an ACC show will be tough.

North Carolina (27-6) plays No. 1-ranked Tennessee (36-0) in the Mideast Regional at Nashville, and all Tennessee has done is win three NCAA games by an average of 32 points while continuing to build its case for being christened the best team ever.

The Vols, seeking their third straight national title, already have won more games this season than any previous women’s team.

“We’ll just go out and play the best we can and as hard as we can and try to have something for each of the defenses they throw at you,” Hatchell said.

“And pray a lot,” she added.

North Carolina State (24-6) has a date in the East finals at Dayton, Ohio, with Connecticut (34-2), which has found a way to keep winning after losing All-American Nykesha Sales to a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.

Duke (24-7) plays a feisty Arkansas team in the West finals at Oakland, Calif. Arkansas (21-10), seeded ninth, has found its stride after tying for sixth in the Southeastern Conference and is trying to become the lowest seed ever to reach the Final Four.

Louisiana Tech (29-3) plays Purdue (23-9) in the Midwest finals at Lubbock, Texas.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: REGIONAL FINALS East: North Carolina State (24-6) vs. Connecticut (34-2), 2 p.m. Midwest: Louisiana Tech (29-3) vs. Purdue (23-9), 4:30 p.m. Mideast: North Carolina (27-6) vs. Tennessee (36-0), 6:30 p.m. West: Arkansas (21-10) vs. Duke (24-7), 9 p.m. TV: All games today on ESPN