March 25, 2005
· Unfamiliar faces: No two teams in the Tempe Regional have faced each other more than once in their history. North Carolina and Baylor have never faced each other in a game. The most recent meeting between any pair of teams in the Tempe Regional was an 85-62 Baylor victory over Arizona State in the second round of the 2003 WNIT.
· All-time match-ups: North Carolina holds a 1-0 advantage over Arizona State, winning their only meeting in 1999, 72-68, in Chapel Hill. Baylor has a 1-0 series advantage over Minnesota, winning in Waco, 72-71, in 1978.
· Long distance: North Carolina traveled farther for its regional than any of the three other one-seeds in the tournament, trekking 1868 miles to Tempe. None of the other one seeds traveled even half that distance to reach their Sweet 16 match-ups. Minnesota also made a long journey to the Valley of the Sun, logging 1266 miles.
· Green grass of home: Conversely, the Sun Devils traveled the shortest distance of any team remaining in either tournament, men's or women's, as the only one of eight host teams to reach the Sweet 16 in their host regional.
· Streaks at stake: Baylor enters the Tempe Regional on the longest winning streak of any of the four teams, having won their last 16 games. However, Baylor is just one game behind them, currently riding a 15 -game win streak. Baylor's streak is the second-longest in the nation behind Stanford (24 games).
· A host of firsts: This is the first Regional hosted by Arizona State University for the Division I Women's Tournament. Last year, ASU played host to eight teams in the First and Second Rounds of the Women's Tournament as well as hosting the Phoenix Regional of the Men's Tournament, played at America West Arena. ASU will again host a Sweet 16 for the Men's Tournament in 2008.