Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Non-Conference Tilt With Coastal Carolina
1/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Wake Forest Women's Basketball News & Notes
Game #18
Wake Forest (9-8, 2-5) vs. Coastal Carolina (8-7, 2-3)
Monday, Jan. 22, 2001
7:00 pm - Reynolds Gym (2,000)
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Broadcast:
The voice of Wake Forest basketball, Tom Hart, will call the action on WTRU-830 AM. He is joined by color analyst Roper Halverson. The game will also be broadcast on the internet at www.WakeForestSports.com.
Records:
WFU is 9-8 overall, 2-5 in the ACC after dropping a road game at Maryland, 71-61, on Thursday night. Coastal Carolina is 8-7 overall, 2-3 in the Big South conference, most recently defeating Winthrop, 75-54.
The Series:
Monday's game marks the fifth meeting between the Wake and Coastal Carolina. The Deacons leads the series, 3-1, but the Chants won the last meeting in 1999. 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 28-72 record at the school. She has a 190-222 career record in her 15th season as a head coach. Coastal Carolina coach Alan LeForce is 295-225 in his 19th season as a head coach, and is 55-45 in his fourth season with the Lady Chants.
Up Next:
The Deacs return to ACC action on Thursday night, hosting Georgia Tech at the Joel Coliseum Annex (note site change from original schedule). Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
Deacons Step Out of Conference For Final Time this Season, Seek Revenge Against Coastal Carolina...
Wake Forest, 9-8 overall and 2-5 in the ACC, takes a night off from conference competition, as they host Coastal Carolina University in a 7:00 matchup in Reynolds Gym Monday evening.
The Deacons are home for a two-game set this week which also features Georgia Tech on Thursday. Wake Forest is playing two consecutive home games for the first time in over a month, as seven of its last nine contests have been on the road.
On Monday versus the Lady Chants, the Deacs will be seeking revenge for a 72-60 loss at Coastal last season, and will also be looking for their eighth win over a non-conference opponent. The Deacs have not posted eight non-ACC wins since the 1996-97 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 314-428 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 scoring 9.9 points a game, and averaging a team-best 11.1 points in ACC contests only. She also continues to lead the squad in rebounding (5.6), and steals (23). 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 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench. Shaffer, the starting shooting guard, has scored in double-digits in seven of the last 11 games to take over the team scoring lead (10.8 ppg). Shaffer currently owns WFU's best scoring performance this season with a 26-point outing versus Florida State on Jan. 14.
The junior class is comprised of two point guards and a center. The Deacs' returning starter at point guard is 5-4 Val Klopfer. Thirteen of Klopfer's 14 field goals this season have been beyond the arc, and she's shooting 41 percent from three-point range (13-of-32). She is backed up by classmate Adell Harris, a flashy athlete who has seen her playing time and statistics increase over the course of the season. Junior center LaChina Robinson, who stands 6-4, is a continuously improving inside player who is currently averaging 3.8 points and 2.8 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, who has started the last three games, recently set a career-high with 10 points at Arizona State, and is third on the team in blocks (8). 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 and scored a team-high 12 at Clemson.
The Wake Forest freshman class has already played a key role in the team winning nine games in the first half 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 2.5 rebounds a game and has grabbed seven steals. Tonia Brown, a 5-10 guard, is a scoring threat, averaging 5.7 ppg and netting a team-high 17 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 10.1 ppg, and is the second-leading rebounder (5.5 rpg). She also has a team-high 16 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 64.4 ppg, and is outperforming its opponents in field-goal percentage (.421 to .393), three-point percentage (.315 to .301), assists (14.9 to 14.0), and blocks (3.6 to 2.5).
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 28-72 record at Wake Forest and is 190-222 overall.
Scouting the Lady Chanticleers...
Coastal Carolina, located in Conway, SC, is 8-7 on the season with a 2-3 mark in the Big South Conference. The Lady Chants have won two of their last three outings, with victories over Elon (65-59) and Winthrop (75-54).
CCU and Wake Forest have three common opponents on their schedules - High Point, Liberty and North Carolina. While Wake Forest is 3-0 against those teams, Coastal has dropped decisions to conference rivals Liberty (61-44) and High Point (72-60). The Chants will face both teams again later in the season, in addition to playing the Tar Heels on Feb. 14.
A pair of seniors lead the Lady Chants in scoring - 5-7 guard Brooke Weisbrod currently owns a team-high 19.5 points per game, while 6-0 forward Alison Bach is contributing 12.0 ppg. At 6-2, freshman center Crystal Brown leas the squad in rebounding with 6.7 boards a game. Weisbrod also leads CCU with 51 steals and 51 assists. Weisbrod, Bach, Brown and 5-5 junior guard Michelle Rodriguez have all started 15 games, while four different players have also made appearances in the starting lineup at least twice.
As a team, Coastal Carolina is scoring 62 points and pulling down 33.4 rebounds a contest. The Chants are shooting over 38 percent from the field and nearly 70 percent from the line.
The Series with Coastal Carolina...
Monday's game marks the fifth meeting between Wake Forest and Coastal Carolina. The Deacons won the first three meetings, in the 1983, `87 and `90 seasons, by an average margin of over 37 points. The Chants won last year's meeting, 72-60 in Conway.
This year's meeting is just the second time the teams have played in Winston-Salem. The first time, Wake Forest handed Coastal a 101-34 loss. That win set a WFU school record for margin of victory.
A Look Back: Coastal Tops WFU, 72-60...
Conway, NC/Jan. 9, 2000 - Senior center Cheri McNeil scored a season-high 24 points to lead Coastal Carolina to a 72-60 victory over Wake Forest.
The Lady Chanticleers opened the game with a 13-2 run in just 5:22 as Alison Bach connected on a pair of treys during the stretch. Wake Forest came right back using a 13-0 spurt to take a 17-15 advantage on Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick's old-fashioned three-point play with 10:06 remaining in the first half. The Deacons built as much as a five-point advantage twice during the first half, but in the final minute of the first half, Bach connected on a pair of free throws and Kirkpatrick answered with a layup to knot the score at 30-30 at halftime. Coastal Carolina again came out hot to open the second half, going on a 9-2 run. Coastal would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way as WFU got no closer than five points. The Deacs attempted to foul the Lady Chants in the final 3:40 to close the gap, but Coastal kept them at bay by connecting on 17-of-20 from the charity stripe in the final minutes. Kirkpatrick registered a double-double as she led four Wake Forest players in double digits with 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Janae Whiteside added 13 points, while Alisha Mosley and LaChina Robinson added 11 and 10 points respectively.
Last Time Out: Halftime Leads Slips Away As Deacs Drop Road Game at Maryland...
Maryland snapped a three-game losing streak, downing Wake Forest 71-61 in Cole Field House. Wake Forest jumped out to an 11-point lead in the first seven minutes, paced by seven points from Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick.
The Terrapins began chipping away at the deficit and brought the margin to a six-point WFU advantage after a three-point basket from freshman point guard Kiki Wimbush, but Wake would enter the half up 26-19 after nine first-half points from Kirkpatrick and eight from Eafton Hill.
Maryland turned up the defensive heat in the second half, forcing 12 Wake Forest second-half turnovers. The Terps found their rhythm on the offensive end as well, going on a 21-4 run over the course of seven minutes to stretch the lead to a 47-36 Maryland advantage at the 9:34 mark.
Wake Forest cut the lead to as little as seven, but could not handle the press down the stretch. Hill and Kirkpatrick ended up with 20 and 16 points, respectively. Hill also finished the night with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to the Deacon effort.
Senior Class Stepping Up...
There are three seniors on Wake Forest's active roster, and the trio has played an integral role in the Deacons' nine wins so far this season. The three seniors - Olivia Dardy, Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, and Kristen Shaffer - are three of the team's top four scorers (Shaffer 10.8, Kirkpatrick 9.9, Dardy 9.4 ppg) while also holding two of the team's top three rebounding numbers.
Kirkpatrick leads the squad with 5.6 boards a game, while Dardy is third with 4.6. A senior has led the team in scoring in 12 of 17 games, and has been the rebounding leader six times. The three have also posted some of the team's best numbers from the line, and combined they are shooting over 80 percent from the stripe (97-of-121).
In the key games or crucial situations, it is usually one or all three members of the senior trio that has stepped up to make the big plays...
- Although the Deacs lost by two to Western Michigan, Kirkpatrick shot a career-best 3-of-3 from three-point range. (She had only scored 10 treys in the previous three seasons combined.)
- At High Point, Dardy scored a team-high 15 to help the Deacs rally from a halftime deficit and win, 60-52.
- The three seniors were the team's top scorers (Shaffer 16, Dardy 15, Kirkpatrick 12) in the ACC opener versus Virginia, a game that WFU led at halftime.
- Dardy's 24 points and 10 rebounds keyed a 22-point, second-half comeback that resulted in a 77-68 overtime win at Quinnipiac.
- All three posted double-figure scoring in a 73-71 win over UNC, and Kirkpatrick's two free throws with eight seconds remaining helped seal the victory.
- The only double-figure Deacons versus FSU, were, you guessed it, the three seniors, as Shaffer set a team season-best with 26 points, and Dardy posted her 10th career double-double.
A Shake-Up in the Line-Up...
Coach Curtis used the same starting lineup in Wake's first 14 games of the season, but made a change at the Clemson game, starting sophomore forward Tiffani Listenbee in place of LaChina Robinson. It was Listenbee first collegiate start, and she finished the game with two points and two rebounds as WFU's starters combined for just 14 points. Listenbee has also started the next two games following the Clemson start.
Wake's current starting lineup of Listenbee, forwards Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and Eafton Hill, and guards Val Klopfer and Kristen Shaffer currently account for 57 percent of the Deacons' scoring output (623 of 1095 points) and over 45 percent of rebounding (292 of 642). The starting five is also responsible for 56 percent of WFU's three-pointers (35 of 63) and 48 percent (29 of 61) of the team's blocked shots.
Kirkpatrick an All-Around Player...
Through the first half of the season, senior forward Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick has, at one point or another, topped the Deacs' cumulative stats in scoring, offensive rebounding, total rebounding, steals, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and minutes played. One of four Deacons to have started every game this season, "Mocky" currently leads the squad in five of those areas - average minutes (28.4), offensive rebounds (45), total boards (96, 5.6 pg), and steals (23). She also leads the Deacs in three-point percentage (7-of-14, .500), although she's taken significantly fewer shots than some of Wake's perimeter players.
Kirkpatrick currently ranks 11th all-time at Wake Forest with 490 career rebounds, and needs just 10 more to crack the 500-rebound mark. Only 10 players in Wake Forest history have reached that level.
Statistical Bits `n' Pieces...
Seniors Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and Kristen Shaffer played their 100th game in a Wake Forest uniform last Thursday at Maryland ... all seven of sophomore LaTisha Pearson's field goals have taken place on the road (App State, UConn, Arizona State, Duke and NC State), as she netted a career-high four points at both Duke and NC State... three Deacons have assist-to-turnover ratios of 1.0 or better - Val Klopfer (43-30, 1.43), Tonia Brown (29-25, 1.2) and Eafton Hill (25-23, 1.1) and Adell Harris (26-24, 1.1) ... Tiffani Listenbee (21-of-35) 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 17 games, five different players have been the scoring leader, seven 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.
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, has posted 10 double-figure scoring games so far this season, matching her total from a year ago.
Included in those 10 games is a five-game double-figure scoring streak from Dec. 9 to Dec. 30. 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).
Shaffer scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting against UNC - a 77.8 shooting percentage which is the second-best performance by a Deacon player this season.
Her performance versus Florida State on Jan. 14 was a career-best, as she scored 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range. The 26 points were the most by a Deacon in three seasons, and her three-point show tied a school record.
Shaffer is currently the Deacons' leading scorer with 10.8 points per game, and is shooting 47.8 percent from the floor (75-of-157).
Dean's List Deacs...
Six members of the women's basketball team were among the 101 WFU student-athletes named to the Fall 2000 Dean's List, including seniors Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, Kristen Shaffer and Janae Whiteside, junior Val Klopfer, and freshmen Bianca Brown and Eafton Hill.
Kirkpatrick, who is currently enrolled in graduate school at Wake Forest after earning two bachelor's degrees last spring, earned a perfect 4.0 for the semester.
Winning Ways Against Non-ACC Foes...
With the win over Quinnipiac on Dec. 19, Wake Forest notched its seventh victory of the season - equalling its win total from a year ago. What jumps out most from that statistic is Wake Forest's improved showing against non-conference teams. The Deacs are 7-3 outside the ACC this season, with one more non-conference game (vs. Coastal Carolina on Jan. 22) on the schedule. Wake Forest had not won seven non-ACC games since the 1996-97 campaign, when they notched eight non-conference victories. (Finishing with a 12-16 record, the 1996-97 team won three ACC games and one ACC Tournament game.)
With its ninth victory over Florida State last Sunday, the 2000-01 Deacons have qualified as head coach Charlene Curtis' most successful season in her four years with the program. (The 1998-99 team posted eight overall victories.)
