Q-Dance presents: » ers who had flown in just for this final four.We had to

NORFOLK, Va. -- All thats left to tie up the feel-good story of the field hockey season is a nice little blue bow, and that will come on Sunday.But will it be royal blue, the color unseeded Delaware wears, or a familiar lighter shade that belongs to a North Carolina program vying for its seventh NCAA title?In two thrilling semifinals, the Tar Heels downed Big East champion UConn 2-1 in overtime, and the unseeded Blue Hens continued to pad their reputation as giant killers by avenging an earlier defeat to Princeton with a 3-2 win at L.R. Hill Sports Complex at Old Dominion University.We talk about stress tests, and they have seen every stress test in the book, said Delaware coach Rolf van de Kerkhof, whose Blue Hens have beaten Louisville, top-seeded Duke and now Princeton in this NCAA tournament. We are ready. It doesnt matter who they play today or Sunday. I had all the confidence in the world they would do what they were able to do.For Delaware (22-2) to win its first NCAA championship on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, it will have to get past North Carolina (21-5) and its storied pedigree.But Delaware has Greta Nauck, the NCAAs top scoring threat, and an offensive aggressiveness that turned up the heat on Princeton (12-8), which was looking to return to the title game for the first time since 2012.Delaware outshot Princeton 12-9, including 6-1 in penalty corners in the second half. Senior Esmee Peet scored two of her teams three goals, including the game-winner, to push the Blue Hens to their first title game since their AIAW days in 1978.It looked like the game would head to overtime when Princetons Cat Caro tied it with 3:27 remaining, only to see Peet make good off a pass from Meghan Winesett with 1:20 left. That warmed up the bundled-up Delaware fans -- including five of the six families of the teams European players who had flown in just for this final four.We had to dig deep to do what we had to do, but we got it done, said van de Kerkhof, whose team scored the final goal despite being a player down. Well celebrate til midnight, then get back to work.All credit to Meghan, Peet said. She saw me standing and I had to put it into the goal. Its amazing to do that for the team, especially before the game ends to avoid the overtime.Delaware took a step into the big time last weekend when the Blue Hens upset Duke to advance to field hockeys final four for the first time since 1982. These Hens play with a looseness and a glee of young kids on a Christmas morning, climbing the bleachers prior to the game to snap pics in front of the words NCAA Championships. Only they blocked out the final four letters so it read NCAA Champions.That was us, Peet said, laughing, and van de Kerkhof noted this isnt a group that plans to bring home a participation trophy.When he interviewed for the job at Delaware a little more than six years ago, it wasnt to win the Colonial Athletic Association title. Theres only one tournament I care for, he told the athletic director. At the end of the day, theres only one tournament in the country you want to be dancing in, and I love November madness as it relates to field hockey.Van de Kerkhof consistently talks about his brand of Delaware hockey, an attack-first game, he says, that the Blue Hens have yet to complete this postseason.Today we put one good half together, he said. Maybe we can put two good halves together against Carolina. Yes, they have a rich history -- we respect that -- but that was in the past. Right now its 2016.The Blue Hens will play a Tar Heels team that started the season at No. 1 and will look to finish it that way after handing UConn only its second loss of the season.The Tar Heels, in the NCAA title game for the 17th time in program history, rallied from a goal down after UConn opened the scoring in the opening minutes of the second half.Barbara Hoogens rocket from the top of the circle escaped Shannon Johnsons reach and marked the first score the Carolina defense gave up in the tournament after having shut out Stanford and Maryland last weekend.The Tar Heels answered with a beauty from Sam Night to set up a seven-on-seven overtime that North Carolina dominated. UConn (22-2) never managed another shot on goal, and the Tar Heels won it off their third of the period, a give-and-go feed for Lauren Moyers 23rd of the season, an Atlantic Coast Conference best.Overtime is either heartbreaking or exhilarating, and on this day it was a difficult ending, Huskies coach Nancy Stevens said.While Delaware sees these championships as a carousel that keeps spinning, a North Carolina win would end a drought. Coach Karen Shelton watched Princeton celebrate on this Norfolk field back in 2012. Her program started this season ranked No. 1, then lost its first game, lost an uncharacteristic five games and did not win the ACC. Though the Tar Heels are the winningest team in the national tournament with 60 victories, they have not won an NCAA title since 2009.Maybe that changes Sunday.Becoming a team is a process, Shelton said. We had our struggles early. We werent playing poorly, but we werent getting results. We werent playing quite as well as we were capable of playing. We have many talented pieces, but were better when we play together, and we figured it out.Or maybe not.We think anything is possible, Peet said. Allen Iverson Grizzlies Jersey . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Lorenzen Wright Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. http://www.grizzliesbasketballpro.info/customized/ . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. 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That dominating start was enough to erase any doubt about the outcome, though Williams was aggravated enough at one sloppy second-half stretch that he angrily punched a clipboard to the court during a timeout.That first 10 minutes of the second half ... that was about as bad offensively as Ive seen us in 31 practices and three games and one exhibition, Williams said, adding he also wants more from his team defensively.Still, that stretch was little more than a blip, the kind of moment that will give Williams something to focus on in coming practices. The Tar Heels -- who shot 59 percent in the opening half -- never let the 49ers closer than 16 after halftime.Gabe Levin scored 17 points for Long Beach State (1-2), who never recovered from an awful start that included making 8 of 31 shots (26 percent) in the first half. The 49ers finished at 36 percent and missed 20 of 26 3-pointers.Im disappointed that we didnt take advantage of the opportunity to come out here and play a little better early, Long Beach State coach Dan Monson said.BIG PICTURELong Beach State: This game came roughly 48 hours after a loss at Wichita State as part of a demanding opening stretch that includes a stop at No. 12 Louisville on Thursday as well as visits to UCLA, Washingtoon and Kansas before the end of November.ddddddddddddSo far, at least, Long Beach State is struggling to keep up, losing the past two games by a combined 63 points.This game will help us get better, Monson said. Hopefully Thursday will too.UNC: Williams angst aside, the Tar Heels offense has gotten off to a quick start. They had 20 assists on 32 baskets after assisting on 72 percent of their made shots through the first two games. They have also scored at least 93 points in all three games -- so far, so good for an offense with new people inheriting key roles from last years NCAA finalist.POLL IMPLICATIONSUNCs three wins have come by an average of nearly 29 points per game, part of the reason the Tar Heels climbed one spot in this weeks AP Top 25 poll.BERRYS STARTBerry is off to a fast start in his development as UNCs No. 1 threat. He matched his career-high scoring total set in the opening win against Tulane to go with six rebounds, four assists and two turnovers in 21 minutes.The junior is shooting 60 percent from the floor so far this season.Im just taking open shots, Berry said. Im not trying to force anything, not trying to play outside of my game and trying to do what I have to do to help this team.THEY SAID ITA lot of curse words, just telling us to get our stuff together because we were playing bad. -- Meeks on Williams angry timeout message.UP NEXTLong Beach State: The 49ers continue their nationwide trek at No. 12 Louisville.UNC: The Tar Heels head west for an extended trip, first to play Hawaii on Friday before beginning play in the Maui Invitational over the Thanksgiving holiday.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/APTop-25 ' ' '