Women's Basketball, 3-1, Hosts Coppin State on Saturday
12/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2000
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Winston-Salem, NC - Game #5
Wake Forest (3-1) vs. Coppin State (2-2)
Saturday, Dec. 2, 2000 * 5:00 pm * Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,407) * Winston-Salem, NC
Broadcast: The voice of Wake Forest women's basketball, Tom Hart, will call the action on WTRU-830 AM in Winston-Salem.
Records: WFU is 3-1 overall and riding a two-game winning streak after posting a midweek road victory at Richmond on Thursday. Coppin State is off to a 2-2 start this season, having lost last Sunday to Virginia Commonwealth on the road.
The Series: This is only the second meeting between the two teams. Wake Forest won the first meeting 113-64, at home in the 1988-89 season.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Charlene Curtis is in her fourth season with the Deacs, with a 22-65 record at the school. She has a 184-215 career record in her 15th season as a head coach. Coppin State head coach Derek Brown is in his second season with the Eagles, after posting a 10-9 record last year.
Noteworthy: In each of Wake Forest's first four games, a different player has led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists.
Up Next: Saturday's game is the first of a four-game homestand for the Deacons. Wake Forest hosts Liberty on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 7:00 pm in Joel Coliseum. Other upcoming home games include Dec. 9 vs. Virginia (at Reynolds Gym) and Dec. 17 vs. New Orleans, back in Joel.
Deacons Wrap Up Busy Week at Home Versus Coppin State...
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons, off to a 3-1 start and currently riding a two-game winning streak, bring their momentum into Joel Coliseum Saturday afternoon as they looks for the first home victory of the season against 2-2 Coppin State (5:00 pm/WTRU-830 AM).
Saturday's contest marks the fourth game in eight days for Wake Forest. After dropping a two-point heartbreaker to Western Michigan at home last Saturday, the Deacs hit the road twice during the week, picking up wins at High Point (60-52) and at Richmond (87-69).
Saturday's women's game is also the first of a Deacon basketball doubleheader. The Wake Forest men's team hosts South Carolina State at the conclusion of the WFU-Coppin State contest.
The 2000-01 season marks the 30th anniversary of Wake Forest women's basketball. The Deacon program began in the 1971-72 season. WFU's first game was a 30-28 win over Elon College. Since then, Deacon women's basketball has compiled a 308-421 overall record.
A Quick Look at the Deacs...
Wake Forest brings an experienced nucleus into the 2000-01 campaign, with 10 letterwinners, including four starters, returning from a year ago. The team's top returning scorer and leading rebounder from a year ago, 6-0 senior Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, is averaging 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds through the first three games of the season. Kirkpatrick, the team's starter at power forward, leads a senior class which includes 6-1 forward Olivia Dardy and 5-10 guard Kristen Shaffer. Dardy spent much of last year on the injured list but has returned with a vengeance this season, averaging 10.8 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds. Shaffer, the starting shooting guard, is currently fifth on the team in scoring (8.5 ppg) and leads the squad in assists (3.0 apg).
The junior class is comprised of two point guards and a center. The Deacs' returning starter at point guard is 5-4 Val Klopfer. All six of Klopfer's field goals this season have been beyond the arc, and she has a team-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.75. She is backed up by classmate Adell Harris, who scored seven points on a perfect shooting night in her season debut at High Point. Junior starting center LaChina Robinson, who stands 6-4, is a continuously improving inside player who is currently averaging 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Robinson is challenged in the middle by sophomore Johanna Bj?rklund, Wake's tallest player ever at 6-5. Bj?rklund, who provides a strong presence in the post, has seen limited action so far this season, but has notched two steals and two blocks. Two other sophomores, 6-1 Tiffani Listenbee and 6-4 LaTisha Pearson, add depth as well as rebounding and shot-blocking abilities to the Deacs' post game. Listenbee nearly recorded a double-double with a nine-point, nine-rebound performance at App State, and scored eight first-half points for the Deacs at High Point. Rounding out the sophomore class is 5-10 forward Heather Miller, who has been bothered by early signs of a stress fracture in her foot, but showed signs of her sharpshooting abilities with nine points in four minutes of action at Richmond.
The Wake Forest freshman class has already played a key role in the Deacs' early success. Tracy Alston, a 5-10 forward, has proven to be a tenacious defender, averaging 4.8 rebounds a game and grabbing five steals. Tonia Brown, a 5-10 guard, is a scoring threat, averaging 9.0 ppg and 2.0 three-pointers a game. Bianca Brown, at 5-8, gives the Deacs depth at the point guard spot along with tough defensive skills, and is averaging 12.8 minutes a game. Starting small forward Eafton Hill is currently the team's leading scorer (12.8 ppg) following a 22-point performance at Richmond. She also has a team-high five blocks. As a team, the Deacs are averaging 76.8 points per game while giving up nearly 12 points less (63.7). WFU is outperforming its opponents in nearly every stat category, including field-goal percentage (.422 to .376), three-point shooting (.435 to .333), rebounds (43.5 to 38.2), assists (16.0 to 14.5), steals (10.0 to 6.8) and blocks (3.5 to 1.3).
Head Coach Charlene Curtis...
Head coach Charlene Curtis (Radford `76) is in her fourth season at the helm of the Demon Deacon women's basketball team, bringing a wealth of experience, a commitment to excellence, and a contagious enthusiasm to the program. Before coming to Wake, Curtis was an assistant coach at national powerhouse Connecticut for two seasons, helping guide 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 her alma mater, Radford, (1985-90), where she was Big South Coach of the Year twice and posted a 121-53 record. Curtis has also served as an assistant with Georgetown (1984), Virginia (1982-83) and USA Basketball, and was a floor coach for the Olympic Trials.
As a player at Radford, Curtis was the school's first 1,000-point scorer and was inducted as a charter member of RU's Hall of Fame in 1995. She earned a master's degree from UVa in 1982.
Curtis has compiled a 22-65 record at Wake Forest and is 184-215 overall.
The Series with Coppin State... Saturday's game marks just the second meeting between Wake Forest and Coppin State. Coincidentally, these two teams met exactly 12 years ago to this day, when Wake Forest defeated the Eagles 113-64 on Dec. 2, 1988.
The 113 points scored by the Deacons in that game is the third-highest single-game output in school history.
The most points ever scored by WFU women's basketball in a game was 122 versus Delaware State on Jan. 2, 1988. The Deacs have not reached triple digits since the 1995-96 campaign.
Scouting the Eagles...
Coppin State is 2-2 so far this season, with a neutral site win over Murray State (63-59) and on the road at Morgan State (67-58). Losses have come against Eastern Michigan (75-55) and Virginia Commonwealth (98-73).
Senior Kiesha Brooks leads the team statistically, averaging a double-double with 19.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The 5-10 guard/forward, a transfer from American University, has led the squad in both scoring and rebounding in three of four games. She posted 26 points in the season opener versus Murray State and pulled down 20 boards at Morgan State.
Coppin State has used the same starting lineup in each of their first four games, including 6-2 forward/center Jackie Johnson-Stewart (8.8 ppg/3.0 rpg), 5-11 guard/forward Antoinette Reese (8.5/4.3), 5-10 guard/forward Shannon Muir (5.8/4.3) and guard Nakeisha Williams (1.5/1.0) in addition to Brooks.
Wake Forest Successful on the Home Openers Tour...
On each of Wake Forest's road trips so far this season, the Deacs have been the home opener for all three opponents. The situation has worked in Wake's favor, however, as it defeated its opponents (Appalachian State, High Point and Richmond) in all three of those home openers. The win at App State was also an arena opener, as it was the inaugural women's basketball game in the Mountaineers' new Holmes Convocation Center.
Deacons Raid the Spiders' Web, Notch Third Win at Richmond...
Freshman forward Eafton Hill delivered a game and career-high 22 points and the Demon Deacons outscored Richmond 46-25 in the second half to post an 87-69 victory before a crowd of 5,579 at the Robins Center.
Hill, who also tallied three blocks, was joined in double figures by freshman guard Tonia Brown, who scored 16 points with a team season-high four three-pointers. Senior guard Kristen Shaffer added 10 points. LaChina Robinson and Tiffani Listenbee pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
The Spiders owned a 44-41 halftime advantage, then led 50-49 with 15:44 remaining. From that point, the Demon Deacons staged a 29-2 run and led 73-52 with 9:53 to go. Brown registered 10 points in that span and Hill supplied seven points in the decisive stretch.
The Spiders could get no closer than 16 points for the remainder of the game. Wake Forest's defense tightened in the second half as the Spiders shot 34.3 percent from the field and did not make a trip to the foul line after scoring 14-of-17 free throws in the first half.
Wake Forest shot a season high 50 percent (31-of-62) from the field, and blocked a season high six shots.
Wake Leads the League from Three-Point Land...
Aided by a 10-of-19 shooting performance from beyond the arc at Richmond, the Deacons now lead the ACC in both three-point field goal percentage and three-pointers made per game. Wake Forest has sunk 27 of 62 (.435) three-point attempts in four games this season, averaging 6.75 a game.
Wake's rankings in other ACC statistical categories can be found on page five.
The Starting Five...
Coach Curtis has used the same starting lineup in Wake's first four games of the year, and the combination has proven successful. The lineup of forwards Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and Eafton Hill, center LaChina Robinson and guards Val Klopfer and Kristen Shaffer currently account for 56 percent of the Deacons' scoring output (42.6 of 76.8 points) and 42 percent of rebounding (18.2 of 43.5). The starting five is also responsible for 56 percent of WFU's three-pointers (15 of 27) and 57 percent (8 of 14) of blocked shots.
A Balanced Attack...
While Wake's starting five is performing well, the real strength of the Deacon team is a deep bench. Curtis has used 11 players in all four games this season, and all 14 members of the roster have seen action in at least two games. Eleven players are averaging at least 11 minutes of playing time and every Deacon has also at least scored two points and pulled down one rebound.
Wake Forest is so balanced, in fact, that every game this season has produced a different scoring leader, rebounding leader and assist leader. This season Kristen Shaffer, Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, Olivia Dardy and Eafton Hill have all been leading scorers, while Hill, Tiffani Listenbee, Tracy Alston and LaChina Robinson have all produced team-highs on the boards. Val Klopfer, Kirkpatrick, and Shaffer have all been the assist leader in a game this season, with several players tying for high assists in one game.
On the Offensive...
Wake Forest's offensive gameplan has resulted in some higher scores for the Deacs in the early goings of the season. WFU is currently scoring 76.8 points per game, which is 19.4 points more than what it averaged last season (57.4). In fact, the Deacons have not posted a scoring average above 70 points since the 1995-96 season, when they scored 70.3 ppg. The school record for scoring average is 80.4, which was set in the 1988-89 campaign.
The 87 points Wake Forest scored against Richmond were the most since the Deacs' posted an 88-71 victory over Florida State on Jan. 20, 1996.
The Road Warriors...
Wake Forest secured its first three victories of the 2000-01 season all on the road. The three-game streak marks the first time since the 1995-96 season that the Deacs have notched three consecutive road wins. That year the team beat UNC Greensboro, UNC Asheville and Princeton in their home gyms during a stretch from Dec. 6 to Jan. 2.
The last time Wake Forest won its first three road games of the season was in 1992-93. It opened the year with road wins at East Tennessee State, Richmond and College of Charleston, and actually went on to win a school-record six consecutive road games during that stretch.
A Tale of Two Halves...
Over the first four games of the season, Wake Forest could be described as a second-half team. The Deacs have outscored their opponents 160 to 119 in the final 20 minutes of play. While they have also outscored them in the first half, the margin is decidedly narrower (147 to 141). Wake has actually been down twice at halftime (against Western Michigan and Richmond) and led High Point by just a point at the break, but visibly stepped up their offense and defense in the second halves to not only outscore, but limit its opponents' scoring.
The best example of this occurred Thursday at Richmond. The Deacs were down 44-41 at the half, then came out and outscored the Spiders 46-25 in the second period. The Deacs shot 52 percent in the second half (5-of-8) from the three-point range, and was also 75 percent from the line. On the defensive end of the floor, Richmond had three scoreless droughts of 2:54, 4:02 and 4:28 in the second half, and did not make a trip to the foul line after scoring 14-of-17 free throws in the first half.
Among the ACC Leaders...
In the ACC statistics released on Fri., Dec. 1, Wake's Eafton Hill ranks 18th in the league in scoring (12.8 ppg), while Olivia Dardy is 22nd (10.8). Dardy also ranks 20th in rebounding (5.3 rpg). Hill also ranks in two other categories - sixth in three-point percentage (.455) and fifth in blocks (1.25 bpg). Kristen Shaffer ranks third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.71), Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick ranks second in field goal percentage (.632), LaChina Robinson is third in free-throw percentage (.833), while Val Klopfer is tied for ninth (.429) in three-point percentage and tied for seventh in three-pointers made (1.50 pg). Tonia Brown ranks second in three-pointers made (2.0 pg).
As a team, the Deacs rank in the top half of the league in eight categories - scoring offense (5th), free throw percentage (4th), three-point percentage (1st), three-pointers made (1st), rebounding margin (4th), blocks (5th), assists (4th), and assist-to-turnover ratio (5th).