Women's Basketball Hosts Liberty at Joel Coliseum Tuesday Night
12/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2000
Winston-Salem, NC -
Game #6
Wake Forest (4-1) vs. Liberty (2-2)
Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2000
7:00 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 4-1 overall and riding a three-game winning streak, with the most recent win a 77-57 romp over Coppin State on Saturday. Liberty, after dropping their first two games of the season, is on a two-game winning streak with wins over West Virginia and Norfolk State.
The Series: This is the fourth meeting between WFU and Liberty, with the Deacs leading the series 2-1. Liberty won last year's meeting, 64-40, in Lynchburg.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Charlene Curtis is in her fourth season with the Deacs, with a 23-65 record at the school. She has a 185-215 career record in her 15th season as a head coach. Liberty head coach Carey Green, a former Clemson assistant, is in his second season as head coach with a 25-10 record.
Noteworthy: Wake Forest is 4-1 for the first time since the 1992-93 campaign.
Up Next: Wake is the middle of a four-game homestand, with upcoming games against Virginia (at Reynolds Gym) on Dec. 9 and New Orleans, back in Joel, on Dec. 17.
Deacons Put Three-Game Win Streak on the Line Versus Liberty...
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons, off to its best start in eight seasons, bring a three-game winning streak into a Tuesday evening tilt at home with Liberty (7:00 pm/WTRU-830 AM).
The Deacons are 4-1 in the young season, with wins over Appalachian State, High Point, Richmond and Coppin State, and the lone loss a 77-79 decision to Western Michigan. The last time Wake Forest began the season 4-1 was the 1992-93 campaign. The Deacs finished 14-14 that season.
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 309-421 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 10.0 points and 4.6 rebounds through the first five 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 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds. Shaffer, the starting shooting guard, is currently fifth on the team in scoring (8.4 ppg) and leads the squad 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. All eight of Klopfer's field goals this season have been beyond the arc, and she's shooting 50% from three-point range (8-of-16). Klopfer also has a team-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.17. 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 7.0 points and 4.6 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 4.0 rebounds a game and grabbing five steals. Tonia Brown, a 5-10 guard, is a scoring threat, averaging 9.2 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 13.0 minutes a game. Starting small forward Eafton Hill is currently the team's leading scorer (13.0 ppg) and rebounder (5.6 rpg), including a 22-point performance at Richmond. She also has a team-high seven blocks.
As a team, the Deacs are averaging 76.8 points per game while allowing over 13 points less (63.4). WFU is outperforming its opponents in nearly every stat category, including field-goal percentage (.422 to .376), three-point shooting (.435 to .333), rebounds (45.0 to 37.2), free throw percentage (71.4 to 71.1), assists (16.4 to 14.2), steals (10.2 to 7.6) and blocks (3.6 to 1.0).
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 23-65 record at Wake Forest and is 185-215 overall.
The Series with Liberty...
Tuesday's meeting is the fourth between Wake Forest and Liberty. The Deacs own a 2-1 lead in the series, winning the first two meetings in the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons.
After a 15-year hiatus, the two teams met again last season in Lynchburg, with Liberty prevailing for a 64-40 win. The Flames limited the Deacs to just seven first-half points and 26 percent shooting for the game.
Scouting the Flames...
Liberty is 2-2 so far this season. After dropping their first two games to Virginia Tech (51-72) and Richmond (67-74), the Flames have bounced back to win the next two, over West Virginia (78-67) and Norfolk State (64-58). Liberty has a young roster, with seven freshman and just one senior in addition to two sophomores and three juniors. Sophomore Michelle Fricke (6-2, F/C) has emerged as the Flames' leading scorer, averaging 17.0 points a game. Senior Irene Sloof (5-10, F) is also putting up double-figure scoring, with 10.8 points per game. Freshman Kristina Palaimaite (6-3, F) is the team's leading rebounder (8.0 rpg).
The Flames are under the guidance of second-year head coach Carey Green, a former assistant coach under Jim Davis at Clemson. Liberty is scoring 65.0 points a game and shooting 39.4 percent from the field, but also committing 27 turnovers a game.
Hill Named ACC Rookie of the Week...
Deacon freshman Eafton Hill was named ACC Rookie of the Week, Wake's first such honor in two seasons. In the team's three wins last week, 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.
Through Wake Forest's first five games, Hill is the leading scorer and rebounder with 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds. She also has a team high seven blocks.
WFU's last ACC Rookie of the Week was current junior LaChina Robinson, who garnered the honor in the 1998-99 season.
Deacs Hold Off Coppin State for First Home Win of Season...
The Wake Forest women's basketball team won its fourth game of the season and third-straight contest with a 77-57 victory over Coppin State College on Saturday evening at Joel Coliseum. With the win, the Deacs are off to their best start since the 1992-93 campaign.
While Wake Forest led the entire game, the Lady Eagles produced a couple of scoring runs in each half to narrow the deficit. The Deacon lead was just six points with 3:26 left in the first half before Wake Forest freshman Eafton Hill reeled off five points on two free throws and a trey to lift the lead to 37-25 at the half.
Coppin State refused to go away in the second half as well. After WFU built a 19-point lead in the early goings of the second period, the Lady Eagles responded with an 11-0 run to reduce the Deacon lead to eight. Wake countered with its own 12-0 run to put the game away, winning by the final margin of 20 points.
Wake once again used a balanced attack, as every player in uniform played at least four minutes and 11 Deacons put points on the board. Three players scored in double figures with Hill and senior forward Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick posting a team-high 14. Freshman Tonia Brown recorded double-figure scoring for the third time this season with a 10-point effort. Hill nearly notched a double-double as she pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. She also had a team high four assists and two blocks. Freshman Bianca Brown grabbed four steals, a high for the Deacs in 2000-01.
Wake Forest shot a season-best 54.2 percent from the field, as well as a season-best 84 percent from the free throw line, paced by senior Olivia Dardy's 7-of-8 free throws.
Dardy on Target...
Senior Olivia Dardy has been a sizzling shooter as of late, connecting on 69 percent of her field goals and 91 percent of her free throws in three games last week. Dardy's best performance came at High Point, where she was 6-of-7 from the field and nailed 3-of-3 free throws to score a team-high 15 points in the 60-52 win.
Versus Coppin State last Saturday, Dardy was 7-of-8 from the line. The one miss was her first miss of the season (13-of-14). She currently leads the ACC in free throw percentage with a 92.9 percent.
Wake Leads the League from Three-Point Land...
Aided by a 10-of-19 shooting performance from beyond the arc at Richmond last week, the Deacons continue to lead the ACC in both three-point field goal percentage and three-pointers made per game. Wake Forest has sunk 31 of 71 (.437) three-point attempts in five games this season, averaging 6.2 a game. Duke is second in the ACC in three-point percentage (.402) while Virginia is second with 6.0 treys a game.
Among the ACC Leaders...
In the ACC statistics released on Mon., Dec. 4, Wake's Eafton Hill ranks 17th in the league in scoring (13.0 ppg), while Olivia Dardy is 22nd (10.8). The duo of Hill and Dardy also rank among rebounding leaders - Hill 15th (5.6 rpg) and Dardy 19th (5.2). Hill is also fifth in blocked shots (1.4 bpg), while Dardy leads the ACC in free throw percentage (.929). Val Klopfer is tied for first (.500) in three-point percentage and is sixth in three-pointers per game (1.6). Tonia Brown leads the league in that category (2.0 3pg), and is third in three-point shooting percentage (.455).
As a team, the Deacs rank in the top half of the league in 10 categories - scoring offense (4th), free throw percentage (2nd), field goal percentage (4th), three-point percentage (1st), three-pointers made (1st), rebounding margin (4th), blocks (5th), assists (4th), steals (5th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4th).
Looking Ahead...
Wake Forest plays two more home games in the next week and a half, as it hosts Virginia on Dec. 9 and New Orleans on Dec. 17. The game with the Cavaliers, which is the ACC opener for both teams, will take place at Reynolds Gym on campus.
