Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Basketball Looks Ahead to Davidson
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
November 16, 1998
Wake Forest (1-0) vs. Davidson (0-1)
Tuesday, November 17, 1998 * 7:00 pm * Joel Coliseum *
Winston-Salem, NC
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Fresh off an inspiring 81-71 victory at Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, the Wake Forest women's basketball team is looking for its second win of the young season in the Deacs' home opener against Davidson College on Tuesday night. The Wildcats are coming off their best season in school history and hope to bounce back from a tough 120-65 loss to Southwest Missouri State in the Preseason WNIT last Friday.
Deacons Explode in Second Half vs. VCU
Wake Forest kicked off the 1998-99 campaign with a thrilling 81-71 win at Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, snapping a 16-game losing streak which closed the Deacs' 97-98 season. The 81 points marked the most by a Wake Forest team since the 1995-96 campaign. The Deacs shot just 32 percent from the floor in the first period, but only trailed by two at the break (29-27) thanks to the fine shooting of junior guard Alisha Mosley (Ellicott City, MD), who scored 12 of her career-high 23 points in the first half. The Deacs then exploded for 54 points in the second period, hitting nearly 60 percent of their shots from the floor, to pull away for the win.
Sophomore forward Olivia Dardy (Norwalk, CT) collected her fourth career double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. Senior guard Heidi Coleman (Edmonton, KY) and senior forward Emon McMillian (Greensboro, NC) added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Freshman LaChina Robinson (Alexandria, VA) started her first collegiate game and contriobuted four points and six rebounds in just 11 minutes of court time.
Scouting Davidson (0-1)
Davidson finished the 1997-98 season with an 18-9 record, the best mark in school history, taking second place in the Southern Conference. The Wildcats graduated two starters but returned their top five scorers, each of whom averaged in double figures last year. Davidson opened the 1998-99 season last Friday in the Preseason WNIT Tournament, where the Wildcats fell to a strong Southwest Missouri State team by a whopping 120-65 margin. Freshman guard Janna Magette came off the bench to lead Davidson with 16 points, hitting 4-of-7 from behind the three-point arc. Junior guard Jen O'Brien added 14 points for the Wildcats. In preseason action, Davidson edged Australia-Victoria, 78-76, and topped Ft. Bragg, 86-73. Senior guard Jamie Brown had a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds vs. Australia, while senior forward Jessica Montrella netted 25 points and 11 boards vs. Ft. Bragg.
Series History
Despite their close proximity to each other, Wake Forest and Davidson have not squared off on the hardwood in over 20 years. The two teams met four times in the 1970s, with each school claiming two victories on its respective home court. In the teams' last meeting in 1977-78, WFU earned a 75-57 victory at Reynolds Gym.
Preseason Wrap-Up
The Deacs dropped both of their exhibition contests but definitely showed some promising signs for the season to come. On Nov. 5, the Deacs dropped a hard-fought game to TTT-Riga of Latvia, falling by a 63-60 margin. Wake trailed by seven at the half, 30-23, shooting just 22 percent from the floor in the first period. The Deacs stepped it up in the second half, shooting 49 percent and rallying to within two points in the game's final seconds. Sophomore forward Olivia Dardy led the Deacs with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore forward Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick (Waynesville, NC) and sophomore swing player Kristen Shaffer (Woodbridge, VA) added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Freshman center LaChina Robinson started and collected nine points and four rebounds before fouling out. On Nov. 10, Wake dropped an 82-66 decision to a strong Tapiolan Honka club of Finland. The Deacs trailed by eight at the half, 36-28, and shot an impressive 52 percent from the floor in the second period. However, the TopCats' free-throw shooting helped them pull away down the stretch. Tapiolan Honka went to the free throw line 32 times in the game (on 23 WFU fouls) and hit 22 of those foul shots. Dardy posted another double-double for Wake, collecting 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, while Kirkpatrick added 14 points. Robinson grabbed six boards, while freshman center Elizabeth Biedrycki (Charlotte, NC) added nine points and five rebounds.
The Deacs played both preseason games without the services of returning starters Emon McMillian and Alisha Mosley, who sat out for disciplinary reasons.
Mosley Hits Career-High vs. VCU
Sophomore guard Alisha Mosley made an impressive debut in her junior campaign, scoring a career-high 23 points in the win over Virginia Commonwealth. She hit a career-high nine field goals from the floor (on a career-high-tying 16 attempts), including 3-of-5 from behind the three point arc. She also contributed three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the win. It marked the 21st time in Mosley's career that she has hit double figures. An ACC All-Freshman Team selection in 1996-97, Mosley's previous career high in scoring was 18 points, which she scored vs. Georgia Tech last year.
Dardy on a Double-Double Roll
Sophomore forward Olivia Dardy has picked up where she left off last season as one of the Deacs' top scoring and rebounding threats. In Wake's three outings on the hardwood this year (two exhibitions and the season opener), Dardy has recorded a double-double in each outing. In exhibition play, she notched 16 points and 12 rebounds vs. TTT-Riga and 19 points and 11 boards vs. Tapiolan Honka. In the season opener vs. VCU, she tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the Deacs to victory. A true inside-outside threat, she scored nine of her 17 points at VCU on three-pointers. Dardy collected three-double-doubles as a freshman last year while blossoming into one of the top young post players in the ACC. Dardy led the team in both scoring and rebounding in ACC games in 97-98 and was named to ACC Athlete magazine's All-Freshmen Team.
Head Coach Charlene Curtis
Charlene Curtis enters her second 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 the University of Connecticut, where she was an assistant coach for two seasons and helped the Huskies to a 67-5 record, two Big East titles, and an NCAA Final Four appearance. Prior to UConn, Curtis was 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 compiled a 121-53 record. Curtis was also an assistant at Georgetown (1984) and Virginia (1982-83), an assistant coach with USA Basketball, and a floor coach for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
A 1976 Radford graduate, Curtis was the school's first 1,000-point scorer and a two-time team MVP. She 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 owns a 5-23 record at Wake Forest (.178) and a 167-173 overall (.491) coaching record.
Preseason Prognostications
The Demon Deacons were picked to finish ninth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 1998-99 ACC Media Preseason Poll, released on October 26th. Duke was the favorite to finish first, collecting 207 points in the voting and 17 of 24 first-place votes. Virginia placed second in the voting, followed by 1998 champion North Carolina, NC State, Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, Georgia Tech, and Wake.
Looking for Leaders to Emerge
In the hopes that the leadership of the Demon Deacon team will emerge naturally, head coach Charlene Curtis has elected not to appoint team captains for the 1998-99 season. However, game captains will be selected for each contest by the coaching staff.
Coleman Closing in On Three-Point Shooting Records
Senior point guard Heidi Coleman (Edmonton, KY) already ranks as one of the top three-point shooters in school history, and she is currently closing in on the Wake Forest records for threes made and attempted in a career. In her career as a Deacon, Coleman owns a 35.3 three-point shooting percentage, and she currently ranks second all-time in three-pointers made (144) and attempted (408). Both career marks are held by Nicole Levesque '94, who went on to play with the WNBA's Charlotte Sting. Coleman currently holds the school single-season records in both categories, hitting 61-of-179 treys as a sophomore in 1996-97. Last year she nearly matched those record-setting marks, posting the second-highest single-season numbers for treys made (57) and attempted (166). Coleman also ranks as the school's ninth all-time assist leader with 228 assists in her career. The all-time record of 488 is also held by Levesque.
Interior Improvements
The Demon Deacons expect to have a much-improved inside game this season with the return of some key post players and the addition of some new faces to the frontcourt lineup. Anchoring the post is senior power forward Emon McMillian, a fifth-year player who led the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg) in her first season as a starter last year. McMillian's game has improved in the offseason, and she recorded 11 points and six rebounds in the team's season opener this past week. Along with McMillian, the Deacs return two up-and-coming players in sophomore forwards Olivia Dardy and Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick.
Dardy is an inside-outside threat who can play the three, four, or five position, and she recorded double-doubles in both preseason games and the season opener (see above). Kirkpatrick, a redshirt sophomore, is a smart, intense player who consistently provided a spark off the bench last season. Her play and leadership on the court this fall has impressed the Deacon coaches, and she scored in double figures in both exhibition games. In addtion, three freshman centers, all standing 6-4, provide the size that Wake so desperately needed inside the paint last year (see below). With a stronger inside game, Wake hopes to take some defensive pressure off its guards, allowing them more opportunities to score.
A Look at the Rookies
Wake Forest welcomes six talented freshman to the lineup in 1998-99, all of whom are expected to contribute. True point guard Val Klopfer (Albany, NY) is a skilled ballhandler and a talented playmaker who should relieve Heidi Coleman of some playing time. A Street & Smith honorable mention high school All-American, Klopfer has good court vision plays with great intensity. Adell Harris (High Point, NC), the MVP of last year's North Carolina East-West All-Star game, is a versatile and athletic guard who should also see significant action. She has three-point range and can penetrate for short pull-up jumpers, but the strength of Harris' game is truly her pinpoint passing.
Swing player Liz Rogers (Raleigh, NC) could compete for time at either small forward or two-guard. The two-time North Carolina Independent School Player of the Year, Rogers is a great competitor with solid shooting and ballhandling skills. Three freshmen centers, all standing 6-4, will be looked to for strong defensive play inside as well as help on the boards. Elizabeth Biedrycki, the most experienced of the three, is a skilled rebounder who can also score down low. LaChina Robinson is a solid defensive player and shot-blocker who can score from 15 feet and in, while LaTisha Pearson (Birmingham, AL) is an athletic player with good rebounding skills and a strong defensive presence.
Welcome Back Carri!
Wake Forest fans will notice a familiar face on the Wildcats' bench tonight - that of former Deacon Carri Walker. A four-year letterwinner for the Deacs, Carri graduated from WFU last spring and is now an assistant women's basketball coach at Davidson College.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
Pos. No. Name Ht. Yr. GP/GS PPG RPG Other F 5 Emon McMillian 6-1 Sr. 1/1 11.0 6.0 1.0 bpg F 32 Olivia Dardy 6-1 So. 1/1 17.0 11.0 4.0 apg C 34 LaChina Robinson 6-4 Fr. 1/1 4.0 6.0 1.0 bpg G 11 Alisha Mosley 5-6 Jr. 1/1 23.0 3.0 2.0 spg G 22 Heidi Coleman 5-6 Sr. 1/1 13.0 3.0 4.0 apg
KEY RESERVES
F 12 Jenn Miklic 6-0 Sr. 1/0 2.0 3.0 3.0 apg
G/F 20 Kristen Shaffer 5-10 So. 1/0 4.0 1.0 1.0 spg
G 23 Adell Harris 5-8 Fr. 1/0 0.0 0.0 1.0 apg
C 33 Elizabeth
Biedrycki 6-4 Fr. 1/0 0.0 0.0 --
F 50 Brenda
Mock Kirkpatrick 6-0 So. 1/0 2.0 3.0 2.0 spg
