Shouts of Pride Echo in Georgetown

Pyatkovska, a freshman, said she expects Georgetown to win it all. But she said the team had already made her plenty proud.

"It was a good season," she said. "We won the Big East tournament, and that was great in itself."

North Carolina led most of the game, holding its biggest advantage, of 11 points, with 12:13 to play. But with barely four minutes to go, Georgetown cut it to three, and then point guard Jonathan Wallace tied the score with a three-point shot. From there, it was Georgetown all the way.

The dining hall exploded with cheers. Students hugged each other, jumped up and down and grabbed cellphones to call friends to gloat.

Pyatkovska's face was wet with tears. She was ecstatic.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, we're going to the finals!" she said. "This was our toughest challenge yet. We're going to win this whole thing. Amazing!"

Sarah Nelson, 19, a freshman, agreed. "I'm just really excited they pulled it off at the end. They're awesome," she said.

So awesome that fans slowly -- and peacefully -- began to spill onto the quad and then M Street to celebrate.

By about an hour after the game, the celebration had slowed.

But not the jubilation.