Latta love, a lot of points ignite UNC

Ivory Latta drove home to South Carolina last spring break, her head filled with fresh memories of crushing Duke for the ACC Tournament title. Only the vanity plate -- "Latt2" -- hinted that she plays for the women's basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She noticed a car sidling up to her so the occupants could peer in her window. When she turned her head, they waved frantically and mouthed, "Good job!"

Latta smiled and waved. Even on the highway, Latta evokes a passionate response.

She is a unique mix of charisma and toughness wrapped in a petite frame. That's why, before Latta had played a game at UNC, Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell predicted the Atlantic Coast Conference had never seen a player like her.

The dynamic play of Latta -- pronounced "LAT-uh" -- has pushed No. 3 Carolina to a 19-0 record. Tonight at 7, she'll lead the Tar Heels against No. 2 Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in a game broadcast by ESPN2. Duke shocked No. 1 Tennessee on Monday, which means the rivals are fighting for the nation's top spot.

Later in the year, each team hopes to bring home the ACC's second national title -- UNC won the first and only in 1994.

Tonight's game has been sold out since Monday, and Latta expects to hear cries of love and hate from the crowd of 9,314.

She brushes off her effect, saying, "It's just my personality."

That personality is ever on display. Latta bounces as a game starts. She yells after pretty passes to teammates. After being called for traveling in a recent game, her whole body radiated disbelief, and she said, "You've got to be kidding me!" After a Dec. 31 game, Latta took the microphone at Hatchell's request to wish fans a Happy New Year.

The influence of family

"Ivory is very, very sensitive to her image -- being a role model for young children, being respectful to older people," Hatchell said. "Ivory is very, very aware of that, and that's a high priority for her. It's the way she is, and a lot of that is her family."

Names of family members cover her shoes, with her father's name, Charles, written on the right toes and her mother's name, Chenna, on the left toes. Inspirational phrases, nicknames and the names of "the guys that used to beat me up at the Y" also grace her shoes.

Latta, the youngest of seven, got her bright smile from her mother, her basketball skills from her father.

What they did not give her is height. She seems impossibly tiny on the court at 5 feet 6 -- which appears generous but which UNC officials insist is correct. She will be the smallest starter on the court tonight, but her play will have a big impact.

She compensates with toughness, which she learned on the court her father built for her at their home in McConnells, S.C., a town 40 miles southwest of Charlotte. As the court baked in the hot sun, Latta learned the value of getting up quickly when she fell. She proudly points to scars on her arms and legs from backyard brawls with her brothers and sisters.

Latta became the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina history for boys or girls with 4,319 points and earned Miss South Carolina Basketball twice.

And she was her high school's homecoming queen.

Among peers and fans

Her Carolina teammates love her. They mock her quirks -- she's "a neat freak" who makes roommate LaToya Pringle's bed -- and jokingly threaten to harm "Big Blue," her beloved Jeep.

UNC fans send a steady stream of e-mail messages and cards to Hatchell about Latta, a 21-year-old junior. Students have asked her for her autograph on the bus. During games, any gesture that can possible be interpreted as "get loud" is met with immediate cheers.