The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reorter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

“SELECTION MONDAY” has passed and the North Carolina Tar Heels and senior center Waltiea Rolle begin their trek into the NCAA Women’s Tournament this weekend.

Ranked No. 13 nationally, the Tar Heels (28-6), runners-up in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament when they fell to Duke, received the No. 3 seed in the Bridgeport Region out of a field of 64.

They are slated to face No. 14 seed and America East Conference title holders Albany (27-3) on Sunday at 2:40pm in Newark, Delaware. With a win, the Tar Heels would advance to face either No. 6 seed and Colonial Athletic Association champion Delaware (30-3) or No. 11 seed West Virginia (17-13) next Tuesday.

The Tar Heels did not receive a bid to the 2012 field and were eliminated from the 2011 NCAA tournament in the regional semifinal by the Stanford Cardinal and, in 2010, the Tar Heels lost in the opening round to Gonzaga.

Rolle looks to continue her most successful statistical season to date with her third NCAA tournament run.

In an interview with Mike Potter of the Charlotte Observer, Tar Heels’ head coach Sylvia Hatchell touted Rolle as one of the senior leaders vital to this year’s title run.

“You can’t say enough about the leadership of our crew by our seniors Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, Krista Gross and Waltiea Rolle. We’ve had a great year, but we’re not finished,” she said.

“I really wanted a three-seed because that’s the seed we had when we won the national championship.

On the year, Rolle averaged 11.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, both career highs. She led the team in blocked shots at 2.4 per game, shot 48 per cent from the floor, and 60 per cent from the line.

Rolle, who was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team, became only the second player in school history to earn the award twice. She is ranked 10th in ACC history in career blocked shots with 243 and owns three of the 11 highest single-season totals ever at UNC.

She led the Tar Heels in five games and in scoring six games, and on senior night in UNC’s 85-57 win over Boston College, Rolle made her first three-point attempt of her collegiate career.

Rolle’s record-setting senior season comes off a junior year where she missed time due to the birth of her daughter in November 2011.

In her sophomore season, she appeared in all 37 games and started nine, averaging 7.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per contest. She earned her first All-ACC Defensive Team honours after leading the league in blocks.

In her freshman season, she appeared in 30 games and started 15, averaging 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and an ACC-leading 2.4 blocks per outing.

The former CR Walker Knight star, who also attended Albury Sayles Primary School, had a prep career filled with accolades in Texas. She attended Westbury Christian School in Houston, Texas, and was selected WBCA All-America, Second-team Parade Magazine All-America, Second-team ESPNRISE.com All-America.

Prior to her signing at North Carolina, Rolle was highly touted on several ranking systems, including a 28th rank in the nation by ESPN Hoop Gurlz and 21st by the All-Star Girls Report, ninth among centers by ESPN Hoop Gurlz and was a first-team TAPPS all-state performer and District 4-5A Player of the Year as a junior.