UNC, LSU are Final Four regulars

NEW ORLEANS – North Carolina forward Erlana Larkins focused on the tattoo of a panther that runs more than half the length of her right forearm.

“As you can see he has the blood coming from him,” she began, pointing to splotches of red dripping from its claws. “It’s just a very ferocious type of animal.”

Then she threw her forearm up, growling, and several around her flinched.

“You see?” she quipped, then laughed.

The stout, 6-foot-1 Larkins may very well get a lot of use out of that forearm in tonight’s NCAA Regional final, when her primary defensive assignment will be to contain LSU’s 6-foot-6 All-America center, Sylvia Fowles.

“It’s going to be very physical,” Larkins said. “Personally, I don’t have a choice. Sylvia’s 6-6, but I’m just going to go out there and give it all I have.”

As if the clash of two of the most intimidating front-court players in women’s college basketball weren’t enough, there’s also the matter of what’s at stake.

The winner will extend a streak of consecutive Final Four appearances, with top-seeded North Carolina (33-2) seeking its third straight trip and second-seeded LSU (30-5) seeking its fifth.

Both programs have been so dominant during the past few seasons that Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell struggled to hide her annoyance at the fact that both weren’t top seeds.

“It’s a shame we have to play to go to the Final Four, just like two years ago when we had to play Tennessee,” Hatchell said. “I definitely feel like LSU should be a No. 1 seed. … This game (Monday) could easily be the caliber of game you’d see for a national championship. In fact, it could actually be better.”