Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Basketball Travels To Clemson
1/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2001
Winston-Salem,NC
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Game #15
Wake Forest (8-6, 1-3) vs. #16/19 Clemson (11-4, 2-2)
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 * 7:00 pm * Littlejohn Coliseum (11,020) * Clemson, SC
Broadcast: The game will be televised locally by the Clemson Sports Network and shown on tape delay by College Sports Southeast.
Records: WFU is 8-6 overall, 1-3 in the ACC, after suffering one of its worst losses in history at NC State on Sunday. The Tigers are 11-4, 2-2 in the league after dropping a one-point game at home against North Carolina Monday night.
The Series: Wake Forest and Clemson have met 41 previous times on the hardwood, with the Tigers holding a 34-7 lead in the series. Clemson has won the last seven meetings. 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 27-70 record at the school. She has a 189-220 career record in her 15th season as a head coach. Clemson coach Jim Davis is 308-140 in his 15th season as a head coach, and is 289-132 in his 14th season with the Tigers.
Noteworthy: The Clemson game marks WFU's fourth game against a ranked opponent over the last six contests.
Up Next: The Deacs return home to host Florida State on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3:00 pm at Joel Coliseum.
Wake Forest looks for a return to the "W" column with a victory at Clemson in a midweek ACC matchup...
The Demon Deacons, 8-6 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, head down the road to Clemson, SC to take on the 16th-ranked Tigers in a 7:00 pm Thursday showdown.
Wake Forest, in search of its second conference victory of the season, will face its fourth ranked opponent in the last six games. After facing No. 1 Connecticut on Dec. 22, the Deacons have since played No. 5 Duke and No. 13 NC State in addition to matchups with Arizona State and North Carolina.
The team is coming off a disappointing showing at NC State on Sunday, where they posted a season-low in points and were outrebounded 42-19 in a 75-35 loss. Clemson is also coming a loss, having dropped a 71-70 contest to North Carolina on Monday evening.
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 313-426 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, has been hovering around the double-digit scoring average all season, and is currently averaging 9.6 points a game, and is averaging a team-high 10.8 points in ACC contests only. She also continues to lead the squad with 5.8 rebounds a contest and also in steals (22). The team's starter at power forward, Kirkpatrick 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 8.8 points and 4.3 rebounds off the bench. Dardy currently owns WFU's best scoring performance this season with a 24-point outing at Quinnipiac on Dec. 19. Shaffer, the starting shooting guard, has scored in double-digits in five of the last seven games to take over the team scoring lead (10.6 ppg). Shaffer is also second on the squad in assists (1.9 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. Twelve of Klopfer's 13 field goals this season have been beyond the arc, and she's shooting 43 percent from three-point range (12-of-28). She is backed up by classmate Adell Harris, a flashy athlete who has seen her playing time increase over the course of the season. Junior starting center LaChina Robinson, who stands 6-4, is a continuously improving inside player who is currently averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds a game.
Robinson is challenged in the middle by sophomore Johanna Bj?rklund, Wake's tallest player ever at 6-5. Bj?rklund provides a strong presence in the post, notching four steals and six blocks this season, and has shown she can score outside the paint as well. Two other sophomores, 6-1 Tiffani Listenbee and 6-4 LaTisha Pearson, add aggressiveness and depth in the post with their rebounding and shot-blocking abilities. Listenbee recently set a career-high with 10 points at Arizona State, and is third on the team in blocks (7). Rounding out the sophomore class is 5-10 forward Heather Miller, who was bothered by early signs of a stress fracture in her foot in the beginning of the season, but has gradually increased her playing time. Miller 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 team winning eight games in the early goings of the season. Tracy Alston, a 5-10 forward, has proven to be a tenacious defender, often drawing the top defensive assignment, and is averaging 2.9 rebounds a game and has grabbed seven steals. Tonia Brown, a 5-10 guard, is a scoring threat, averaging 6.6 ppg and netting a team-high 16 three-pointers. Bianca Brown, at 5-8, gives the Deacs depth at the point guard spot along with tough defensive skills - including a team second-best 19 steals. Starting small forward Eafton Hill, who has been the team's leading scorer for most of the season, is currently averaging 10.3 ppg, and is the second-leading rebounder (5.5 rpg). She also has a team-high 14 blocked shots.
As a team, the Deacs had been averaging over 70 points a game through the first eight games of the season before dipping just below that level following the UConn loss. WFU is currently scoring 65.0 ppg. WFU is outperforming its opponents in field-goal percentage (.419 to .393), assists (14.8 to 14.3), and blocks (3.9 to 2.6).
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 27-70 record at Wake Forest and is 189-220 overall.
Scouting the Tigers...
Clemson, ranked 16th nationally, is currently 11-4 on the season, with a 2-2 ledger against ACC opponents. The Tigers upset two of the league's top teams, Duke (93-75) and NC State (67-52), while dropping an overtime game at Maryland (73-85) and losing by a point to North Carolina (70-71) in their most recent outing on Monday night. Prior to the Maryland loss, the Tigers had put together a nine-game win streak.
Sophomore guard Chrissy Floyd leads the Tigers and ranks second in the ACC in scoring with 17.7 points per game, as Clemson is averaging 74.0 points an outing. Senior center Erin Batth ranks fourth in the league with a team-high 8.7 rebounds a game, despite the Tigers being outrebounded by their opponents, 36.6 to 39.1, a game. Batth also contributes 15 points a game.
The Tigers lead the league in three statistical categories - free throw percentage (.721), three-point field goal percentage (.387) and turnover margin (+5.87), a category in which Wake Forest ranks last (-1.36).
Clemson head coach Jim Davis has tinkered with his starting lineup a little bit this season. Three players have started every contest - Floyd, junior guard Krystal Scott and senior forward Nuria Forns. Batth has missed just one game while starting the other 14, and junior forward Marci Glenney (a transfer from Connecticut) and senior guard Andrea Gaines have made 10 and six appearances in the starting lineup.
The Series with Clemson...
Wake Forest and Clemson have met 41 previous times on the hardwood, with the Tigers holding a 34-7 lead in the series. Clemson has won the last seven meetings, with Wake's last win a 69-60 decision in the 1996-97 campaign. The Deacons have actually won more games (4) on the road at CU's Littlejohn Coliseum than they have at home (3). Wake's last win at Littlejohn came in the second meeting of the 1991 season, in the form of a 59-58 victory.
The two teams first met in the 1977-78 season. Clemson dominated the series in the early years, winning the first 11 meetings by an average margin of 30 points.
A Look Back: Clemson sweeps both meetings in 1999-2000...
Clemson, SC/Jan. 25, 2000 - Freshman Chrissy Floyd scored 15 points, including 10 in the second half, to lead Clemson to a 66-55 victory over Wake Forest in Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Deacons gave the Tigers a run for their money, jumping out to a 12-5 lead and keeping the game tight through much of the second half. Clemson held a slight 27-26 lead at halftime, but the Deacs took a 42-41 lead with 14:13 left. The Tigers then went on an 18-6 run, keyed by Floyd's eight points, to go up by 11. Wake cut it back to 61-55 with 30 seconds remaining, but the Tigers hit 5 of 6 free throws in the waning seconds to seal the victory.
The Deacs held their own on the boards with the Tigers, 35-35, and hit eight three-pointers in the game. But Wake committed 18 fouls to Clemson's 7, sending the Tigers to the line 27 times while WFU went just four times.
Junior guard Janae Whiteside led the Deacs with a season-high 18 points, including four second-half three-pointers. Senior guard Alisha Mosley recorded the first double-double of her career, netting 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore center LaChina Robinson also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Deacs.
Winston-Salem, NC/Feb. 24, 2000 - The second meeting between the two teams was even tighter, but Clemson's Angie Cossey scored 18 points as the visiting Tigers held off Wake Forest, 63-59, Joel Coliseum.
Clemson jumped out to an early lead, but the Deacs rallied to tie the game midway through the half. The Tigers went on a 13-0 run bridging the first and second halves to take their biggest lead at 36-25 with 18:31 to go.
Wake Forest chipped away at the Tigers lead slowly, fighting its way back into the game. Alisha Mosley's three-pointer at the 3:23 mark tied the game at 57-57, and after an Erin Batth free throw, Mosley fed LaChina Robinson inside to give WFU a 59-58 lead. Cossey hit both ends of a one-and-one to put the Tigers back up by one, though, and Clemson hit three of eight free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
The Demon Deacons outrebounded the Tigers, 43-27, including a 24-12 advantage in the second half. Wake shot 37 percent from the floor, while Clemson hit 40 percent of its shots, including six three-pointers.
Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick led Wake Forest with 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Robinson and Mosley added 11 points apiece.
Wake-Clemson Connections...
Clemson has just one player from the state of North Carolina on its roster - freshman Kanetra Queen (Fayetteville). Queen played in the East-West All-Star Girls Basketball Game last summer in Greensboro, and one of her teammates on the East team was current WFU freshman Tracy Alston. Another Deacon rookie, Eafton Hill, played on the West squad in that game.
Last Time Out: Wake Forest Has Rough Showing At NC State...
The Demon Deacons caught a NC State team at a time when it was ripe and ready for a win after dropping three conference games. 'Pack senior Tynesha Lewis scored 19 points on Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum to help No. 13 North Carolina State rout Wake Forest 75-35 and give coach Kay Yow her 599th career win.
Lewis, who also had six rebounds and four assists in the game, scored 12 points in the first half and helped N.C. State take a 32-20 lead. The Wolfpack pulled away in the second half.
Wake's Eafton Hill posted double figure scoring for the ninth time this season, leading the team with 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
The Deacons got off to a quick start, scoring 15 points over the first three and a half minutes and led 15-11 early, but then managed only two baskets and a free throw over the last 11:28 of the first half.
Statistical Bits `n' Pieces...
With 475 career rebounds, senior Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick needs 25 more to crack the 500-rebound mark ... only 10 players in Wake Forest history have reached that mark ... all seven of sophomore LaTisha Pearson's field goals have taken place on the road (App State, UConn, Arizona State, Duke and NC State), netting a career-high four points at both Duke and NC State... three Deacons have assist-to-turnover ratios of over 1.0 - Val Klopfer (35-23, 1.52), Tonia Brown (21-19, 1.1) and Eafton Hill (21-18, 1.2) ... Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick (51-of-85) is currently scoring on 60 percent of her shots , a team-high ... although Wake's leading scorer for much of the season, Eafton Hill, was held scoreless for the first time all year at Arizona State, it gave her the chance to tie a team-high with three assists ... through 14 games, four different players have been the scoring leader, six have been the rebounding leader and seven have led the squad in assists at least once ... Eafton Hill, Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and Kristen Shaffer are the only three players who have led the team in all three categories ... although she has not gone to the line against an ACC opponent yet this season, junior Val Klopfer is still perfect from the stripe against league teams over her first two seasons (15-of-15).
Sharp-Shooting Shaffer...
The shift from the small forward position to shooting guard this year has proven to be a successful one for senior Kristen Shaffer. Shaffer, who stands 5-10, owned a five-game streak of double-figure scoring before netting just two points at Duke last week, but responded with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting against North Carolina two days later.
After leading the team with 16 points against Virginia on Dec. 9, she shattered her previous career-high of 17 with 22 points versus New Orleans. She then added a pair of 10-point performances against both Quinnipiac and Connecticut and contributed 17 at Arizona State. Over that five-game stretch, Shaffer shot a sizzling 59.3 percent from the field (32-of-54). Her 77.8 shooting percentage against the Tar Heels is the second-best performance by a Deacon player this season.
Shaffer is currently the Deacons' leading scorer with 10.6 points per game, and is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor (63-of-137).
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 10 players in all 14 games this season, and all 14 members of the roster have seen action in at least 11 games. Ten players are averaging at least 10 minutes of playing time and every Deacon has also at least scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds.
Wake Forest is so balanced, in fact, that the first four games of this season all produced a different scoring leader, rebounding leader and assist leader.
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.
At its current pace (3.9 bpg), Wake Forest is on target to shatter the school record for blocks in a season. The previous record is 93, set in the 1987-88 campaign. Through 14 games this season, Wake has 54 blocked shots.
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.
Hill's 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 14 games, Hill is the second-leading scorer and rebounder with 10.3 points and 5.5 boards a game. She also has a team high 14 blocks.
Hill is also the only non-Duke player to receive the ACC's Rookie of the Week honor this season.
Among the ACC Leaders...
In the ACC statistics released on Tuesday, Jan. 9, Wake senior Kristen Shaffer ranks 24th in the league in scoring (10.6 ppg), while freshman Eafton Hill is 25th (10.3). Senior Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick ranks 13th in rebounding (6.2) and ninth in offensive rebounds (2.7). Hill is also 16th in rebounding (5.5 rpg), ninth in blocked shots (1.0) and 10th in defensive rebounds (3.8). Freshman Tonia Brown ranks 10th in three-pointers per game (1.1).
As a team, the Deacs rank in the top half of the league in four categories - free throw percentage (5th), three-pointers made (5th), blocked shots (3rd), and offensive rebounds (4th) .
