The First Day of the Round of 16

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Well, Sylvia Hatchell got the matchup she didn't want.

North Carolina had to rally from an 18-point hole to beat Louisville 78-74 and advance to the regional finals against LSU, which beat Oklahoma State in the New Orleans Regional.

Hatchell was upset when the brackets came out and she saw her top-seeded Tar Heels in the New Orleans regional would have to play the second-seeded Lady Tigers close to their home.

It's the fourth time in six years North Carolina has had to face a lower-seeded team playing close to home.

"I don't really have any thoughts," said Hatchell when the draw came out. "We're just ready to play.

"I'm going to wait until after the tournament's over to say anything."

On Saturday, Hatchell praised her team's resiliency and ability to overcome 25 turnovers, a double-digit rebounding deficit, and a bumbling first half.

"You find out what you're made of when your back's against the wall," Hatchell said. "It was tough out there and they didn't turn their backs. They charged harder ... I think that's what makes us a great team."

LSU played its usual stifliing defense and had a balanced offense to beat Oklahoma State 67-52.

Lady Tigers coach Van Chancellor said his team "did a great job today of winning the game without Sylvia Fowles being dominant offensively, and that's always good."

The All-American finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Fowles "was dominant defensively," Chancellor continued. "They couldn't get in the paint with anything and they missed shots and she had five blocks and probably about 10 more that she altered."

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END OF A RUN:@ Louisville's surprising run finally came to an end. Few teams have been as hot as the Cardinals over the last month with their run to the Big East tournament championship game and their first appearance in the round of 16.

For the first half, Louisville looked like it was poised to stick around longer, building an 18-point lead over top-seed North Carolina.

Despite the big lead, rookie coach Jeff Walz — who definitely should be a favorite to win the Maggie Dixon rookie coach of the year award — was concerned.

"We knew it was going to be a game of runs, so we were up 18 in the first half, but that wasn't something I felt comfortable with."

Angel McCoughtry did all she could in the first half to carry Louisville, scoring 21 points in the first 20 minutes. The junior forward finished the game with 35 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough.

Candyce Bingham added 17 points and 20 rebounds for the Cardinals (22-10), who return most of their team next season.

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SLUGFEST:@ Neither LSU's Erica White nor Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley wanted to give an inch in their oncourt matchup.

LSU's smallest player at 5-foot-3 arguably had its toughest assignment in trying to defend Riley, who came in averaging 23 points. The two banged constantly and neither gave in, with the 5-5 Riley appearing to take a swipe at White's head at one point in the second half, though no foul was called.

"I definitely thought I got hit out there, I'm not going to lie," White said. "But at this level, people just want to win. I don't necessarily think it's personal. I think everyone just wants to win that bad."

Riley wound up draining six 3-pointers and finished with 26 points for Oklahoma State, but missed 19 of her 28 shots in the process.

"It was just two guards being physical and trying to lead their teams to victory," Riley said. "Things go like that sometimes. Everything was cool after the game because we left everything on the floor."

White not only played great defense, but also led LSU with 18 points.

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