Women's Basketball Hosts New Orleans on Sunday
12/15/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Dec. 15, 2000
Winston-Saelm, NC - Game #8
Wake Forest (5-2, 0-1) vs. New Orleans (5-1, 0-0)
Sunday, Dec. 17, 2000 * 3:00 pm * Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,407) * Winston-Salem, NC
Broadcast: WTRU-830 AM will broadcast the game with Tom Hart calling the action and Roper Halverson providing color analysis.
Records: WFU is 5-2 overall after falling to Virginia in its ACC opener, 77-61, last Saturday. New Orleans is 5-1 , having won five straight after dropping its season opener to Tulane.
The Series: Sunday's meeting is the third between WFU and New Orleans, with the series tied 1-1. The Deacs won 58-57 last year in New Orleans. More series information is on page two.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Charlene Curtis is in her fourth season with the Deacs, with a 24-66 record at the school. She has a 186-216 career record in her 15th season as a head coach. New Orleans head coach Joey Favaloro is 339-239 in his 21st season as head coach of the Privateers.
Noteworthy: The Deacs just had the first of two eight-day breaks between games, as they took final exams all last week. The second break takes place over the holidays from Dec. 22-30.
Up Next: Wake Forest hits the road on Monday, Dec. 18, for a two-game swing in Connecticut. The Deacs take on Quinnipiac on Dec. 19, then face top-ranked and defending national champs UConn on Dec. 22.
Wake Forest Returns to Action After Final Exams...
The Wake Forest women's basketball team, after a week off for final exams, host New Orleans in a non-conference matchup on Sunday afternoon (3:00 pm) at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
The Deacons are 5-2 heading into Sunday's contest, after dropping their last outing to conference-rival Virginia in the ACC opener. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for WFU.
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 310-422 overall record.
A Quick Look at the Deacs...
Wake Forest boasts an experienced nucleus in 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 10.6 points and 4.7 rebounds through the first seven 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 10.0 points and 4.4 rebounds. Shaffer, the starting shooting guard, is currently fourth on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) and is one of the squad leaders in assists (2.6 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. Nine of Klopfer's 10 field goals this season have been beyond the arc, and she's shooting .474 from three-point range (9-of-19). Klopfer also has a team-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.73. 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 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds a game.
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 three steals and five blocks, including a three-block performance vs. Liberty. 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 displayed her sharpshooting skills 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 3.7 rebounds a game and grabbing five steals. Tonia Brown, a 5-10 guard, is a scoring threat, averaging 7.6 ppg and a team-high 11 three-pointers through six games. Bianca Brown, at 5-8, gives the Deacs depth at the point guard spot along with tough defensive skills (12 steals), and is averaging over 15 minutes a game. Starting small forward Eafton Hill is the team's leading scorer (11.3 ppg) and rebounder (6.6 rpg), including a 22-point performance at Richmond. She also has a team-high nine blocks.
As a team, the Deacs are averaging 71.3 points per game while allowing nearly eight points less (63.4). WFU is outperforming its opponents in nearly every stat category, including field-goal percentage (.441 to .371), three-point shooting (.380 to .317), rebounds (39.4 to 39.1), free throw percentage (72.7 to 66.1), assists (15.3 to 13.7), steals (10.0 to 9.1) and blocks (4.8 to 1.9).
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 24-66 record at Wake Forest and is 186-216 overall.
The Series with New Orleans...
Wake Forest and New Orleans have met just two previous times on the hardwood, with both teams winning one game apiece. The Privateers won the first meeting, in the 1983-84 season, in the championship game of the Miami (Fla.) Masonic Classic. The teams renewed their rivalry last season, with the Deacs winning by a point on the road in New Orleans (58-57).
Sunday's meeting will be New Orleans' first trip to Wake Forest.
Scouting the Privateers...
New Orleans, who returned just one starter and welcomed six newcomers in 2000-01, is currently 5-1 on the season and is currently riding a five-game winning streak after dropping its season opener to Tulane, 100-67. The Privateers bounced back with a vengeance, however, posting wins against Tulsa, Elon, Texas Southern, Centenary, and Louisiana-Monroe, with an average margin of victory of nearly 18 points. The game with UL-Monroe went into double-overtime with UNO prevailing, 86-83.
While the team is scoring 75 points a game, only one player is averaging double figures for the Privateers - 5-9 guard/forward Margit Kluibenschaedl. The senior is scoring 12.2 points per game, has hit a team-high 12 three-pointers and is shooting 81 percent from the free throw line (17-of-21). Junior 6-1 forward Andrea Haegele leads the squad on the boards with 6.7 rebounds a game. Like the Deacs, New Orleans has a balanced squad, as 11 players are averaging at least nine minutes a game.
While the numbers indicate Wake Forest is a better shooting team (.441 field goal percentage to UNO's .390), the Privateers are avergaing over five more rebounds a game (44.8 to WFU's 39.4).
The Last Meeting with New Orleans...
New Orleans, LA (Dec. 19, 1999) --- Kristen Shaffer's basket with eight-tenths of a second remaining Sunday rallied Wake Forest to a 58-57 victory against New Orleans at Lakefront Arena.
Shaffer, who scored all 10 of her points in the second half, made the game- winner from point-blank range on the right baseline after Jen Ludwicki's 10- footer gave UNO a 57-56 lead with 12 seconds remaining.
Alisha Mosley scored 14 points, Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick had 12 and LaChina Robinson contributed 11 for Wake Forest.
Ludwicki scored a game- and season-high 28 points, 23 in the second half, and made eight of her last nine field-goal attempts. Maria Brunker added 13 points for the Privateers.
Wake Forest led 22-20 at halftime and 35-23 with 13:24 remaining, but Ludwicki scored 13 points -- including a three-pointer and a pair of three-point plays -- to give UNO a 50-41 lead with 6:19 remaining. But from there the Deacs outscored the Privateers 17-7, including five points apiece by Mosley, Kirkpatrick and Robinson.
The Deacs outshot the Privateers 42-36 percent from the field, but UNO had a 38-34 rebound advantage.
Wake Forest played well against point guard Marylou Agustin, UNO's leading scorer and Division I's leader in steals for the past two weeks. Agustin scored one point in 39 minutes -- she averaged 11.4 points in the first six games but was 0 of 11 from the field against WFU -- and had three steals, half her season average.
Last Time Out: UVa Rallies to Defeat Wake, 77-61...
Down by three at the half and again early in the second period, 20th-ranked Virginia staged a 12-0 run and held on to the lead for good, defeating Wake Forest, 77-61, in Reynolds Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
Wake Forest took a 36-33 lead at the half, thanks to 52 percent shooting as a team and 10-of-11 shooting (.909) from the free throw line. Starting guard Kristen Shaffer scored 14 of her 16 total points in the first half, as she was only player for both teams in double figures after the first 20 minutes of play.
The Deacons struggled to hold on to their lead, however, as they turned the ball over on seven of their first nine possessions of the second half. The Cavaliers capitalized by scoring 13 points off WFU miscues, with Virginia's Schuye LaRue responsible for six points, three steals, a block, an assist and an offensive rebound which resulted in a three-pointer during that decisive stretch.
Wake Forest narrowed the gap to five points on two occasions later in the second half, but the Cavaliers' three-point shooting (4-of-9 in the second half), helped keep the Deacs out of reach.
Three Deacons finished with double-figure scoring. Shaffer led the Deacons with 16, while seniors Olivia Dardy and Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick provided 15 and 12 points, respectively. Freshman Eafton Hill led Wake Forest with five rebounds, while Shaffer recorded a team-high four steals and four assists.
Hill Named ACC Rookie of the Week, Notches Double-Double...
Deacon freshman Eafton Hill was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 4, Wake's first such honor in two seasons. In the team's three wins over High Point, Richmond and Coppin State, the forward from Boone, NC helped to lift the Deacons to a 4-1 start for the first time in eight seasons by averaging 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.7 assists per game while shooting over 44 percent from the field and over 71 percent from the free throw line.
Her top performance of the week came on the road against Richmond where she scored 22 points, shooting .500 percent from the floor (8 for 16) as well as grabbing five defensive rebounds and three blocked shots.
WFU's last ACC Rookie of the Week was current junior LaChina Robinson, who garnered the honor in the 1998-99 season.
A day after receiving the conference honor, Hill went out and notched her first career double-double with a 12-point, 13-rebound performance in a 54-50 win over Liberty. It was the team's first double-double of the season, as well as a individual single-game high in rebounding.
Through Wake Forest's first seven games, Hill is the leading scorer and rebounder with 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds. She also has a team high nine blocks.
Deacs Throw a Block Party...
Wake Forest set a new school record on Dec. 5 against Liberty when it blocked 11 shots. The previous record was 10 blocks versus South Carolina State on November 29, 1989. Five different Deacons were responsible for breaking the record, led by centers LaChina Robinson and Johanna Bj?rklund with three apiece. Forwards Eafton Hill and Tiffani Listenbee each had two, while guard Tonia Brown recorded one.
The 11-block performance was not only the best by an ACC team so far this season, but better than any ACC performance last season as well. The ACC record for blocked shots in a game is 15, set on two different occasions.
Wake Leads the League from the Charity Stripe...
Aided by a 13-of-16 shooting performance from behind the line versus Virginia last week, the Deacons now lead the ACC in free throw percentage. Wake Forest has sunk 72.7 percent of its foul shots (96-of-132) this season. Clemson is not far behind in second place, currently shooting .724 from behind the stripe.
Among the ACC Leaders...
In the ACC statistics released on Wednesday, Dec. 13, Wake's Eafton Hill ranks 19th in the league in scoring (11.3 ppg), while Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick is 22nd (10.6) and Olivia Dardy is 23rd (10.0). Hill also ranks 10th among rebounding leaders (6.6 rpg), fifth in blocked shots (1.29 bpg) and sixth in defensive rebounds (4.71). Dardy also leads the league in free throw percentage (.857). Freshman Tonia Brown is second in three-point field goal percentage (.423) and ranks fifth in three-pointers per game (1.57).
As a team, the Deacs rank in the top half of the league in nine categories - free throw percentage (1st), field goal percentage (5th), field goal percentage defense (5th), three-point percentage (2nd), three-pointers made (4th), rebounding offense (5th), blocks (3rd), assists (5th) and defensive rebounds (4th).
Climbing the Career Charts...
An update on several current Demon Deacons who are leaving their marks in the WFU record book:
Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick is currently 17th all-time at Wake with 443 career rebounds ... Val Klopfer is tied for eighth with 53 career three-pointers, while her 160 three-point attempts is eighth all-time ... LaChina Robinson owns sole possession of seventh place in career blocked shots with 47 ... Olivia Dardy is tied for eighth all-time with eight career double-doubles.
Scheduling Notes...
Two site changes for home games were announced recently - the Jan. 22 game vs. Coastal Carolina has been moved to Reynolds Gym on campus, while the Jan. 25 contest with Georgia Tech will be at the Coliseum Annex ... two home games will be shown on the ACC Regional Sports Network (FOX Sports South, Home Team Sports, Sunshine Network) - Sunday, Feb. 11 vs. Clemson and Monday, Feb. 19 vs. Maryland ... for the second straight year, the ACC Tournament takes place at the Greensboro (NC) Coliseum ... the Deacs posted a 3-1 (.750) record in November, their best winning percentage in November since going 2-0 in the 1993-94 season.