TEMPE, Ariz. — Through the season, the Arizona State women tried not to talk publicly about the tantalizing prospect of an NCAA regional-semifinal game at home.

They sure thought about it, though.

Now the Sun Devils have made it, and they will need all the home-court advantage they can muster against North Carolina in the semifinals of the Tempe Regional tonight.

The Tar Heels (29-3), ranked fourth nationally and the No. 1 seed in the region, have won 15 in a row. They blew out their first- and second-round opponents by an average of almost 30 points.

Those victories, though, came at home in Chapel Hill, N.C. This time, the sneaker is on the other foot. The Tar Heels will be the ones facing a hostile crowd, expected to reach 8,000 to 9,000 at Wells Fargo Arena, where Arizona State (24-9) is 12-1 this season.

North Carolina's Ivory Latta, an ever-energized point guard, says bring it on.

"I like to play in front of crowds, whether they're with me or against me," she said yesterday. "It's not going to affect me any while I'm down here."

Second-seeded Baylor (29-3) and third-seeded Minnesota (26-7) meet in what promises to be a bruising matchup in the first semifinal game.

Latta pushes the upbeat tempo the Tar Heels love.

"She is a very passionate player, very skilled, fast, quick, athletic," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "She can shoot the three, but all that's in a real small package. We list her at 5-6. If you ask her, she'll say she's 5-6, but I'm 5-6 and I'm taller than she is. She's just a tremendous role model. All the kids love her because she's their size."

At 17.2 points per game, Latta leads four North Carolina players who average in double figures.

"There's nothing we can say but good things about her and her teammates — hardworking, very athletic," Arizona State playmaker Kylan Loney said. "But I really believe that we are the better team, and I think we will show a lot of people that tomorrow night."

MATT YORK / AP North Carolina guard Ivory Latta stretches during practice yesterday in Tempe, Ariz., where the top-seeded Tar Heels face Arizona State tonight in an NCAA regional-semifinal game.

The Sun Devils are confident — an attitude bolstered by notable regular-season victories, at home over Connecticut and at Georgia.

"We're very excited to be here," Sun Devils coach Charli Turner Thorne said, "and yet we are not satisfied."

But Hatchell said playing at home is not necessarily an advantage, especially with so much on the line.

"You get to sleep in your own bed," she said, "but when you have a big crowd there, they put a lot of pressure on you to win. They're supporting you, but they're putting pressure on you. Sometimes more pressure can be on the home team than the visiting team."

Loney, a 5-7 senior, scored eight of her 20 points in the last 1:29 of Arizona State's second-round victory over fourth-seeded Notre Dame — and she did it with a broken nose.

The injury occurred earlier in the second half of that contest, and she will wear a protective mask, at least at the start, of tonight's contest.

"I have the option of taking it off, but I don't think it will bother me," Loney said.

"Once you're in the game you don't really think about things like that. It's going to be an aggressive, hard-fought game and I would hate to get hurt early and be out for the game."

Note

• Coach Pokey Chatman of Louisiana State, the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament, isn't surprised the Tigers' opponent today is Liberty, the No. 13 seed in the Chattanooga Regional. Chatman had tape of Liberty ready before the Flames advanced to the regional semifinals.

"To the rest of the world they may be a Cinderella team, but for women's college basketball coaches and our particular program the way they've run through the tournament is not a surprise to us," Chatman said.

Second-seeded Duke meets sixth-seeded Georgia in the other semifinal game in Chattanooga, Tenn. Georgia coach Andy Landers said Blue Devils players form "the best defensive team Duke has had."