CLEVELAND - Keep an eye on Ivory Latta tonight. There's no telling what she might pull.

Among the possibilities North Carolina's All-America point guard was tossing around Saturday:

Tripping and falling on purpose.

"We're definitely going to be loose,'' Latta said, "and I'm going to tell you the reason why. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get everybody loose and laughing.''

Getting teed up by a ref.

"Coach (Sylvia Hatchell) felt I wasn't playing as emotional as I used to be,'' Latta said, "so I sat down and talked to her.

"She just told me to let loose and show all my emotion and if I got a technical, as long as it wasn't being disrespectful to the other team, she could live with it.''

Here's the possibility that really cranks Latta's chain - posting up a defender.

At 5-foot-6, the opportunity doesn't come often.

"I'm the big guard (tonight),'' Latta said with relish.

She will, um, tower over Shannon Bobbitt, Tennessee's 5-2 point guard, or Bobbitt's back-up 5-4 Cait McMahan.

"My size advantage won't be much, but I'm going to definitely use it to my advantage,'' Latta pledged.

Latta doesn't need much in the way of physical advantages. She was named to the Kodak All-America team Saturday. Last year she was the national player of the year for ESPN.com, the U.S. Basketball Writers of America and Basketball Times.

All of which Bobbitt takes in stride, impressed but not intimidated.

Growing up - but not very far up - in New York City, Bobbitt had to get good and, more important, get tough to survive in the dog-eat-dog world of the gyms and playgrounds.

Guarding an All-American in the Final Four? Bring it on.

"I trust my game, I trust my teammates and I trust the scouting report,'' Bobbitt said Saturday.

And her coach, Pat Summitt, has developed quite a trust in the little point guard, the one she broke tradition for and signed last year out of the junior-college ranks.

"I've had a lot of great point guards,'' said Summitt, "but I don't know that I've ever had a better relationship with any point guard I've coached.''

One of the qualities Summitt enjoys in Bobbitt is the sheer appreciation for being in a marquee program. Tennessee is a big jump in class from Bobbitt's previous residence, Trinity Valley Community College in Texas.

To illustrate, Summitt told the socks story.

Earlier this season the managers reported that socks were disappearing from the locker room at an alarming rate. Summitt questioned the team and Bobbitt fessed up.

"Shannon said, 'Coach, my bad. I just never had socks that nice.' She was taking them home and wearing them to class.''

It takes six games to win a national championship. Two-thirds of the way there, Bobbitt doesn't have to take a backseat to Latta or anyone else.

She's averaging 11.5 points in UT's four tourney wins and spreading defenses by hitting 50 percent of her 3-point tries (9-of-18).

Latta has 2,272 career points and has made more treys than any other Tar Heel woman in history. So far in the tournament, though, she's shooting only 29.2 percent behind the arc.

She also has more turnovers (12) than assists (11) in Carolina's tourney wins.

Don't put too much stock in the numbers, though. Latta has virtually willed the Tar Heels back to the Final Four.

It's her last shot at hanging a banner, about the only thing lacking from her resume.

"Her team goes as she goes,'' said UT assistant coach Holly Warlick. "We can't let her get going because that gives them energy.''

The job of not letting Latta get going, that falls to the young lady in the nice socks. Keep an eye on her, too.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.