End of the Road for Tennessee

Ivory Latta flexed her muscles at LeBron James, shook hands with Pat Summitt and helped North Carolina drop Tennessee out of the NCAA tournament.

She’s fearless. She’s fast. She’s feisty.

And, she is Final Four-bound.

The littlest Tar Heel, making every big play down the stretch, put top-seeded North Carolina in its first Final Four since winning the 1994 national championship with a 75-63 victory over Tennessee in the Cleveland Regional on Tuesday night.

“We’re the No. 1 team in the nation,” said Latta, “and tonight we showed it.”

The 5-foot-6 Latta finished with 20 points, nine assists and four steals in 40 minutes for the Tar Heels (33-1), who will play Maryland in this weekend’s Final Four.

Latta scored nine of her team’s final 11 points, making a key three-point basket with 3:27 left and picking up the assist on the other basket as North Carolina put away the Volunteers (31-5).

After the game, Latta introduced herself to Tennessee coach Summitt.

“Hey, Ivory,” Summitt told the Atlantic Coast Conference’s player of the year. “You did a great job.”

Moments later, Latta was still reeling from their encounter.

“I just shook her hand and I’m still shaking,” she said. “That was pretty cool.”

Latta also pointed toward James, the Cavaliers’ superstar who was sitting in a luxury suite. The two first met at a high school All-Star game in Cleveland a few years back.

“We flexed at each other,” Latta said. “I have the bigger arms. I was so glad he was here.”