The second-ranked Tar Heels also showed why they are a cut above Tuesday night as Rashanda McCants scored 23 point and North Carolina beat the Bulldogs 80-66 to advance to the New Orleans Regional, and a meeting with Louisville on Saturday.
Erlana Larkins added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels (32-2), who used a 20-0 run spanning the halves to open a 13-point lead that climbed as high 16. It was North Carolina's 15th consecutive victory and first in six tries against the Bulldogs.
Tasha Humphrey, a four-time all-Southeastern Conference first-teamer, led Georgia with 20 points and 10 rebounds in her last college game. Megan Darrah added 14.
Georgia (23-10) led 33-26 before allowing a 10-0 run to end the first half and another to start the second. The Bulldogs, seeded eighth, were denied their sixth consecutive trip to the regional round by their third loss in the last nine games.
The Bulldogs tried making a statement late in the first half when Humphrey, Darrah, Ashley Houts and Angela Puleo hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the big run, but the Bulldogs couldn't sustain their excellence.
North Carolina held them scoreless over the final 4 minutes of the half, and then for almost the first 3 after halftime, a blitz that left them with a 46-33 lead.
It grew to 56-40, and while the Bulldogs closed within seven, they were too sloppy and foul-plagued to get closer. They finished with 24 turnovers and 23 field goals and had two players foul out and three others who played with four fouls.
Tasha Humphrey
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/3/208404