Wake Forest Hosts Arizona State
11/24/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 1999
Wake Forest (1-1) vs Arizona St. (2-0)
Friday, November 26 * 7:00 pm * Reynolds Gymnasium * Winston-Salem, NC
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Wake Forest women's basketball team looks to make it two in a row this week as the Demon Deacons host Arizona State for a 7:00 pm matchup on Friday, November 26th. Wake Forest is coming off a 64-54 win over Davidson on Tuesday, while the Sun Devils won both of their first two games vs UC Irvine (78-62) and Cal-Poly (84-68). The game will be broadcast locally on WXII NewsRadio 830 AM.
Last Time Out Senior guard Alisha Mosley scored 19 points to lift Wake Forest to a 64-54 victory over Davidson College on Tuesday night, giving the Deacs their first victory of the 1999-2000 season. Wake took a 28-21 first half lead, holding the Wildcats to just 26 percent shooting in the first period. Davidson pulled as close as four in the second half, but the Deacs shot 57 percent from the floor and hit their free throws down the stretch to secure the win. Despite committing 26 turnovers, WFU outrebounded Davidson 35-31 and sank 23 of 32 foul shots (72 percent) in the win. Three other Deacs (besides Mosley) scored in double figures. Sophomore center LaChina Robinson netted 14 points, 10 of which came in the first half, and juniors Kristen Shaffer and Janae Whiteside added 11 each. Shaffer also grabbed a team-high five rebounds. For Davidson, Jen O'Brien scored a game-high 22 points.
A Quick Look at the 99-00 Deacs At the start of the 1999-2000 campaign, the energy surrounding head coach Charlene Curtis' team is at its highest level yet. Building on a strong finish to the 98-99 season, the Deacs are hungry to turn the corner toward a winning season. With a solid core of young, talented players returning and some significant additions to the lineup, that goal seems closer than ever before. Wake lost three starters to graduation, including the team's leading scorer and rebounder and a four-year starter at point guard. The Deacs will field an extremely young team, with nine of 14 players in their freshman or sophomore years of eligibility, but the squad will not be lacking in game experience. Curtis has regularly used her entire bench over the past two seasons, giving the underclassmen significant playing time. The 11 returnees have seen time in 98 percent of their career games, and four of five upperclassmen have played in every game of their careers. But while all the returnees have seen valuable minutes, none is a proven go-to player. Ten of the 11 recorded at least one double-figure outing last year, but no player averaged in double figures. The Deacs do return an arsenal of outside shooters who proved deadly from behind the three-point arc last year. Four players return who hit at least 20 threes last year, and the freshman class brings some new weapons. That outside shooting will be complemented by a strong inside game, as half of this year's team tops the 6-foot mark, with four post players at 6-4 or taller.
Exhibition Recap
Wake Forest split its two exhibition contests, falling to a very strong FTC-Diego team of Hungary, 79-48, while defeating the Low Country All-Stars, 70-69. The game against FTC-Diego was a tough one for the Deacs, who had learned just that morning of the death of former assistant coach Stacy Cox. An emotionally-drained squad shot just 32 percent from the floor and committed 20 turnovers in the loss. Junior forward Olivia Dardy came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points, while junior forward Kristen Shaffer added 10. Senior guard Alisha Mosley grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
The Deacs turned in a much better performance in a 70-69 win over Low Country five days later. Wake fell behind by as many as 13 points early in the first half, but rallied to within one at halftime, 38-37. After a tight second half, the Deacons pulled ahead for good as junior guard Janae Whiteside hit a key three-pointer with 1:11 to go. Redshirt junior forward Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick led the Deacs with 10 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while sophomore center LaChina Robinson added 15 points and six boards. Dardy chipped in 12 points, and Whiteside netted 10, hitting 3-of-5 three-pointers.
Scouting Arizona State
Arizona State returned four starters and eight letterwinners from last year's 12-15 squad, and the Sun Devils are off to a 2-0 start in 1999-2000. ASU's top returnees are 6-3 sophomore forward Theresa Jantzen, who averaged 10.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last year to earn Pac-10 All-Freshman honors, and 6-3 senior center Rachel Holt, who averaged 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest in 98-99 to earn honorbale mention All-Pac-10 honors. ASU also returned its starting backcourt with senior shooting guard Kitch Kitchen (6.9 ppg, 3.6 apg in 98-99) and junior point guard Natalie Tucker (8.2 ppg, 4.8 apg) back.
Through the first two games of the 1999-2000 season, Jantzen has averaged 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while Kitchen (13.5 ppg) and Holt (11.5 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. Freshman Sarah Allen has started the first two games with the above four and averaged 5.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Senior forward Kristine Sand did not play vs. UC Irvine but came off the bench to score a game-high 24 points vs. Cal-Poly, shooting 10-of-15 from the floor. ASU boasts a lot of height and has outrebounded its first two opponents by an impressive 11.5 margin.
Series History
Friday's game marks the first-ever meeting between Wake Forest and Arizona State.
A QUICK LOOK AT BOTH TEAMS
WAKE FOREST vs. ARIZONA STATE
Winston-Salem, NC Location Tempe, AZ3,836 Enrollment 44,255Demon Deacons Nickname Sun DevilsOld Gold & Black Colors Maroon & GoldAtlantic Coast Conference Pacific-10Charlene Curtis Head Coach Charli Turner ThorneRadford '76 Alma Mater, Year Stanford '8813-44 (3rd yr) Record at School 33-49 (4th yr)175-194 (14th yr) Career Record 73-89 (7th yr)2/3 Starters Returning/Lost 4/110/3 Letterwinners Returning/Lost 18/6
1998-99 Season in Review
In its second year under head coach Charlene Curtis, Wake Forest showed dramatic improvements on the court despite winning only eight games. The Demon Deacons fielded an extremely young team, but that squad was anchored by a trio of senior starters. The 98-99 Deacs relied on tremendous depth, solid rebounding, and an arsenal of three-point shooters, but ultimately struggled with poor overall shooting and the lack of a true go-to scorer. No player finished the regular season averaging in double figures for the second straight year, and the Deacs averaged just 64 points per game and shot only 39 percent from the floor. The team ended the year on a high note, however, putting on a dazzling show at the ACC Tournament. WFU advanced to the quarterfinals by turning in its two best games of the year and setting 12 new tournament records in the process.
Wake emerged as a dangerous three-point shooting team, leading the ACC and ranking 19th in the nation in threes per game (6.1), and outrebounded opponents by a +1.9 margin. The Deacs boasted an extremely deep lineup, with the bench contributing almost half of the team's points. Wake improved on its 97-98 record by four wins, all against ACC foes, climbing two spots in the standings to seventh place.
Whiteside, Dardy, Robinson Earn ACC Honors
Janae Whiteside was named to the 1999 ACC All-Tournament First Team after tallying 44 points, seven rebounds and four assists in two games. She tied the event record and set a new school mark with seven three-pointers vs. UVa, and her 12 treys in two games was also a new tourney record. LaChina Robinson and Olivia Dardy also earned postseason honors from the ACC. Robinson was selected to the ACC All-Freshman Team, while Dardy was an honorable mention All-ACC pick.
In Remembrance
The Demon Deacons are wearing black bands on their uniforms this season in remembrance of former assistant coach Stacy Cox, who died tragically in an automobile accident on Nov. 8th. Cox, 35, was a 1986 graduate of Radford, where she played under current Deacon head coach Charlene Curtis. She served as an assistant coach on Curtis' staffs at Radford and Temple before rejoining her at Wake Forest in 1997. After two years with the Deacs, Cox departed in August of '99 to accept a teaching and coaching position at an elementary school in New Jersey.
Preseason Prognostications
Despite their strong finish to the 1998-99 campaign, the Demon Deacons were agains selected to finish ninth in the 1999-2000 ACC Preseason Media Poll. North Carolina earned the top spot in the poll, collecting 320 points and 22 first-place votes, followed by NC State (302, 14), Virginia (260, 2), Duke (208), Georgia Tech (192), Clemson (166), Florida State (110), Maryland (88) and Wake Forest (64).
ACC PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
1. North Carolina (22) 3202. NC State (14) 3023. Virginia (2) 2604. Duke 2085. Georgia Tech 1926. Clemson 1667. Florida State 1108. Maryland 889. Wake Forest 64
Raining Threes
Wake Forest ranked as the top three-point shooting team in the ACC (and No. 19 in the nation) last year, hitting 6.1 threes per game and shattering the school records for threes made (172) and attempted (502) in a season. This year, all of Wake's long-range gunners return but one, and eight players on the roster can legitimately hit the three.
Junior guard Janae Whiteside (36-95, 38%) emerged as a white-hot three-point shooter late last year, connecting on 50 percent of her threes (38-76) and averaging 5.4 treys per game in the last seven contests. Sophomore guard Val Klopfer (23-60, 38%) also emerged as a long-distance danger last season, while senior guard Alisha Mosley (26-88, 30%) ranks among the top five all-time at WFU in threes made and attempted. Junior forward Olivia Dardy (25-83, 30%) is an inside-outside threat who can step out of the paint and hit a long-range three. Although they didn't shoot threes often last year, sophomore guard Adell Harris (6-23, 26%) and junior forwards Kristen Shaffer (3-8, 38%) and Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick (4-17, 24%) all have three-point range and have improved their outside shooting in the offseason. In addition, freshman swing player Heather Miller was the national AAU three-point shooting champion last year, and 6-5 rookie center Johanna Bjorklund boasts international three-point range.
Wake is off to a slow start from behind the arc this year, however, having hit just 4 of 48 threes in the first two games (.143).
1998-99 3-POINT SHOOTING TOTALS172 3-Pt FG Made*502 3-Pt FG Attempted*34.3 3-Pt FG Percentage6.1 3-Pt FG Per Game (16th NCAA)* school record
TOP RETURNING 3-POINT SHOOTERSG Janae Whiteside 36-95 (.379)G Alisha Mosley 26-88 (.295)F Olivia Dardy 25-83 (.301)G Val Klopfer 23-60 (.383)
Reaching New Heights
Upon her arrival, head coach Charlene Curtis made a commitment to improving the Deacons' inside game. Wake Forest has steadily improved in that area, boasting more height, better rebounding and greater defensive presence in the paint. This season, the Deacs have seven players on the roster who stand 6-0 or taller and four youngsters who top the 6-4 mark. An ACC All-Freshman pick last year, 6-4 sophomore center LaChina Robinson (5.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.8 bpg) should be more of an offensive force this year. Sophomore Elizabeth Biedrycki (2.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.3 bpg) and redshirt freshman LaTisha Pearson, both 6-4, will see time at center and possibly power forward, giving Curtis the option of a "twin towers" lineup. And 6-5 freshman center Johanna Bjorklund, the tallest player ever to don a Deacon uniform, will provide added strength and defensive presence in the paint.
Oh Captain, My Captain
Redshirt junior forward Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and junior guard Janae Whiteside were selected as the Demon Deacons' team captains for the 1999-2000 season by vote of their teammates and coaches.
Head Coach Charlene Curtis
Charlene Curtis is in her third season at Wake Forest, bringing a wealth of experience, a commitment to excellence, and a drive to bring the program to new heights. Curtis came to WFU from UConn, where she was an assistant for two seasons and helped the Huskies to a 67-5 record, two Big East titles, and a Final Four appearance. Curtis was also head coach at Temple (1991-95), where she compiled a 41-97 record and coached four Atlantic 10 All-Rookie players, and Radford (1985-90), where she was Big South Coach of the Year twice and had a 121-53 record. Curtis has served as an assistant at Georgetown (1984), Virginia (1982-83), and with USA Basketball, and was a floor coach for the Olympic Trials. A 1976 Radford graduate, Curtis was the school's first 1,000-point scorer and was inducted as a charter member of the Radford Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. She earned her master's degree from Virginia in 1982. Curtis is currently 13-44 at Wake Forest (.228) and 175-194 overall (.474) as a head coach.
DEACON HOOPS ON THE AIR
More fans than ever before will have the opportunity to follow Wake Forest women's basketball this season with 12 regular-season games and all ACC Tournament games broadcast via radio, television, and the internet. The Wake Forest ISP Sports Network will broadcast 12 regular-season games and all ACC Tournament games this season on WXII NewsRadio 830 AM, with Tom Hart calling the play-by-play. WXII's 50,000-watt clear channel signal reaches a large portion of the Southeastern U.S. at night. All games broadcast on WXII 830 radio will be simulcast on the internet at the Wake Forest athletics website, www.wakeforestsports.com, so parents, fans and alumni around the world can tune into the action. The ACC Regional Sports Network (RSN) features live broadcasts of 16 regular-season ACC women's basketball games and four ACC Women's Basketball Tournament games to the six-state ACC region. Featured games are telcast every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and every Monday at 7:00 p.m. on Home Team Sports, Fox Sports South, and the Sunshine Network. The Deacs are featured in three televised games on the ACC Network this year.
DEMON DEACONS ON THE AIR IN 1999-2000Date Opponent Time Radio/Internet/TV11/19 Fairfield 7:00 pm WXII/Internet11/23 at Davidson 7:00 pm WXII/Internet11/26 Arizona State 7:00 pm WXII/Internet11/28 Richmond 3:00 pm WXII/Internet12/3 at NC State 7:00 pm WXII/Internet12/28 California 7:00 pm WXII/Internet1/3 Florida State 7:00 pm WXII/Internet1/24 at Clemson 7:00 pm WXII/Internet1/31 NC State 7:00 pm WXII/Internet2/6 at Georgia Tech 12:30 pm WXII/Internet/RSN2/14 Duke 7:30 pm WXII/Internet/RSN2/20 at Maryland 12:30 pm WXII/Internet/RSN3/3-6 ACC Tournament TBA WXII/InternetSchedule subject to change.
