No. 12 upset No. 8 South Carolina 65-58 in the NCAA Sweet 16 on Sunday evening at Maples Pavilion.

North Carolina scored the first five points of the contest and looked to take control of the physical game. The Tar Heels made their move midway through the first half, going on a 9-2 run to build a 10-point lead at 20-10. The Gamecocks scored the next five points, making the score 20-15 with 6:42 on the clock, but did not find the basket for the next four minutes.

Latifah Coleman gave the Tar Heels their largest lead of the half at 27-15 with three minutes remaining, draining a 3 from straight away as the shot clock was expiring.

The Tar Heels led 29-21 at the half.

South Carolina scored on three straight possessions to draw the Gamecocks to within three at 35-32 with 14:45 to play. It was the closest since the Gamecocks had been since the 12-minute mark in the first half.

Diamond DeShields, who led the Heels with 19 points, asserted herself on the offensive end to put the Tar Heels back ahead 39-32. SC’s Tiffany Mitchell sank back-to-back 3s to help South Carolina draw to 43-42.

The Tar Heels seized the momentum back with back-to-back 3-pointers from Jessica Washington and DeShields putting the Tar Heels up 49-44 with 7:08 remaining.

The Gamecocks pulled to within two at 53-51 with five minutes left, but the Tar Heels had the answer, scoring six unanswered points to stretch the lead out to 59-51 with 2:40 on the clock ultimately settling for a seven-point victory.

The Tar Heels, 27-9, will play in Tuesday night’s regional final against Stanford (32-3), an 82-57 winner on its home court against Penn State in Sunday’s first game.