Liberty Flames at North Carolina Tar Heels

No. 4 North Carolina holds off late push from No. 13 Liberty

Gray scored 17 points and Coleman had 15 to lead North Carolina past Liberty 71-65 on Saturday in the first round of the Greensboro Region.

The fourth-seeded Tar Heels (25-8) shot 49 percent, led by 14 and withstood the Flames' late push to give their Hall of Fame coach a victory in her return to the NCAA Tournament after a year away to fight leukemia.

"This whole week, I have been so stressed out," Hatchell said. "It's a good stressed because I'm so excited about the tournament."

Ashley Rininger had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Flames (26-7), who were trying to become the second No. 13 seed to win a tournament game.

They chipped away at North Carolina's lead down the stretch, pulling to 65-59 on Jaymee Fisher-Davis' 3-pointer with 1:02 left.

Coleman followed with a driving layup with 40.5 seconds to play before Emily Frazier hit a free throw with 26.9 seconds remaining to make it a seven-point game.

Brittany Rountree made it 69-60 with two free throws with 25.2 seconds left.

"Tournament time, you've got to keep going, keep punching," Coleman said. "We just had confidence in each other that we were going to win this game. Our motto for this tournament is `finish,' and that's what we were trying to do."

Fisher-Davis hit another 3 with 13.3 seconds left before Gray stuck back Coleman's missed free throw with 10.9 seconds to play.

"I think all of us felt it," Frazier said. "We knew we had to battle every single time, every single board. ... We kind of saw that coming together in that stretch. We just didn't capitalize."

Stephanie Mavunga added 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting for North Carolina, which will play the James Madison-Ohio State winner on Monday night with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

"Every time we think about the tournament and last year, we get filled with emotion," Coleman said. "Having coach Hatchell is back great. ... There's more purpose behind what we do and why we do it."

Added Mavunga: "She's like a mama bear."

"Right now we're on top of the wave and we'll see how that turns out," coach Carey Green said of the exposure the tournament brings. "If you're not in the dance, if you're not in the 64, nobody sees you."

STAT SHEET:

TIP-INS:

Liberty: The Flames, who shoot 30 percent from 3-point range, missed their first 14 attempts from beyond the arc before Buer hit one with 4½ minutes left.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels avoided going one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament for just the third time since 1987.

UP NEXT

:

Liberty: Season over.

North Carolina: Plays Ohio State on Monday night in the second round.

How can I watch Flames vs. Tar Heels?

• TV Channel: Flames vs Tar Heels 2021 College Basketball, week 1, is broadcasted on ESPN3.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: Carmichael Arena

Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Attendance: 2,098 | Capacity: