updated 2:25 a.m. ET March 29, 2006

CLEVELAND - Ivory Latta flexed her muscles at LeBron James, shook hands with Pat Summitt and helped North Carolina drop mighty 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 win over Tennessee in the Cleveland Regional on Tuesday night.

After complaining that their road to Boston was way too tough, the Tar Heels are packing their bags for another road trip.

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

The 5-foot-6 (with heels on, maybe) 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.

The Terrapins were the only team to beat North Carolina, edging the Tar Heels by three points in overtime on Feb. 9.

WOMEN’S NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS Monday's, Tuesday's games BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL Duke 63, UConn 61, OT CLEVELAND REGIONAL North Carolina 75, Tennessee 63 SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL LSU 62, Stanford 59 ALBUQUERQUE REGIONAL Maryland 75, Utah 65, OT

Latta scored nine of her team’s final 11 points, drilling a crucial 3-pointer with 3:27 left and picking up the assist on the other basket as North Carolina finally put away the Lady Vols (31-5).

With the Tar Heels up 64-58 and the 30-second shot clock winding down, Latta stepped back and drilled her 3-pointer from the top of the key.

“Coach told me to get the ball and back it out,” Latta said. “They were just standing there. It was a dagger. I’m just glad I made it.”

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On North Carolina’s next trip, Latta drove the lane and threaded a pass lane to Erlana Larkins for a layup to make it 69-60. After freshman Candace Parker’s basket, Latta then made six straight free throws in the final 56.1 seconds and the Tar Heels improved to just 2-12 all-time against Tennessee, which was seeking its 17th trip to the Final Four.

The Lady Vols trailed from the outset, fell behind by 16 points in the first half and got within five before running out of gas.

“You don’t win a basketball game in the first half, but you certainly can lose one,” said Summitt, Tennessee’s Hall of Fame coach. “We just dug too deep of a hole. We were just trying to get back into the game and they just answered everything. A lot of those plays were huge.”

Following the game, Latta introduced herself to Summitt.

“Hey, Ivory,” Summitt told the ACC’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.”

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