Women's Basketball Heads West to Take on Catamounts
11/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2001
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WFU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NEWS & NOTES
Game #5
Thurs., Nov. 29, 2001
Wake Forest (2-2) vs. Western Carolina (3-1)
Ramsey Center (7,826)/Cullowhee, N.C.
Tipoff: 7:00 pm
Broadcast: Broadcast on the radio on WWCU 90.5 FM in Cullowhee.
Records: Wake Forest is 2-2, while Western Carolina is 3-1. After opening the season with two wins at home, WFU fell on the road to UAB, then lost to top-ranked Connecticut at home.
The Series: Thursday's game renews a series that has not been played since the 1991-92 season. The Catamounts lead the series, 10-7. More series information on page two.
The Coaches: WFU head coach Charlene Curtis is in her fifth season with the Deacons, and owns a 194-233 career mark. Catamount head coach Beth Dunkenberger is 16-16 in her second season as a head coach.
Noteworthy: Western Carolina is one of Wake Forest's oldest rivals, as the two teams first met in 1971-72, the inaugural season of women's basketball at WFU. In fact, the Catamounts handed the Deacs their first-ever loss (39-29) in the second game of the program's history.
Up Next: Wake Forest has a six-day break, then opens ACC play by traveling to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 7:00 p.m.
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Probable Deacon Lineup vs. WCU
Pos. # Player Ht. Cl. GP/GS PPG RPG Noteworthy
F 22 Tracy Alston* 5-10 So. 4/0 2.8 4.8 Career-best 10 rebs/5 assists vs UConn
F 24 Tiffani Listenbee** 6-1 Jr. 4/4 8.0 4.5 Scored 12 of WFU's first 20 pts. vs ASU
C 34 LaChina Robinson*** 6-4 Sr. 4/4 8.0 8.3 Double-double (15 pts/20 rebs) vs RU
G 30 Tonia Brown* 5-10 So. 4/4 10.8 3.5 Set career-high with 19 points vs App St.
G 3 Bianca Brown* 5-8 So. 4/4 1.8 1.5 Had career best five steals in opener
Wake Forest Heads West to Take on Catamounts
The Wake Forest women's basketball team looks to halt a two-game losing streak by renewing one of its oldest rivalries. The Demon Deacons head west on I-40 to Cullowhee, N.C. to face the Catamounts of Western Carolina on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 7:00 p.m.
The Deacs opened the 2001-02 campaign by playing four games over an eight-day span. After beginning the season with two victories (App State and Radford), the Deacs fell to UAB on the road and suffered a home loss to No. 1 Connecticut on Monday night.
Wake Forest and Western Carolina will meet on the hardwood for the 18th time, but the first since the 1991-92 season. The series with the Catamounts is one of Wake's earliest rivalries, as WFU played WCU twice during its inaugural season (1971-72).
The Catamounts are off to a 3-1 start in the 2001-02 season, defeating Bethune-Cookman, Central Florida and Campbell with its lone loss coming at North Carolina. Thursday's game marks the home opener for WCU.
The 2001-02 campaign marks the 31st season of Wake Forest women's basketball. The Demon Deacons' all-time record is 317-439.
Injury Update
* The team's leading scorer, Eafton Hill, will miss at least the next three games with a broken bone in her right foot. Hill, who has played with pain in her foot the last two games, will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
* Freshman Jennifer Johnson will return to the court against Western Carolina. As a precautionary measure, the 6-1 guard/forward did not dress for the last two games after having breathing difficulties during a practice at UAB.
* Junior forward Heather Miller remains out of action with a nagging back injury. She will be re-evaluated in December.
Demon Deacon Details
Wake Forest returns 11 letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad which produced an 11-17 record, its best in four seasons. The team's top returning scorer a year ago, 6-0 forward Eafton Hill, returns for her sophomore campaign after earning ACC All-Freshman honors.
Although she is currently sidelined with a broken foot, Hill was the team's leading scorer (12.5 ppg) through the first four games. A strong shot-blocker, Hill is averaging 2.0 blocks per game.
The senior class consists of two point guards and two centers. LaChina Robinson, who stands 6-4, is the most experienced Deacon in the middle with 90 appearances and 71 career starts. She reached a milestone in the Deacs' win over Radford, posting her first double-double with 15 points and 20 rebounds. Another 6-4 senior, LaTisha Pearson, has seen limited action in her career but has shown flashes of strong rebounding and defense. Val Klopfer, a 5-4 senior, is the team's most experienced point guard (2.4 apg last season), but classmate Adell Harris has presented a strong challenge for playing time at the point as well as the shooting guard position, currently averaging 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Junior Tiffani Listenbee has already stepped into a much larger role this season. A 6-1 forward, Listenbee was the team's Most Improved Player last season and already broke her career scoring record with 15 points in the season opener versus ASU. Junior Johanna Bj?rklund is the tallest player on the team (6-5) and will provide depth at center as she is gradually returning from an ankle sprain suffered in preseason. A third junior, 5-10 forward Heather Miller, is sidelined in the early goings with a nagging back injury.
In addition to Hill, the sophomore class consists of three other players who saw significant action last year. Point guard Bianca Brown has gotten early starting nod, although she has been challenged by the two seniors. Brown is averaging 2.0 assists per game and owns a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio through four games. Two guard Tonia Brown will be counted on for point production, and has already delivered with a career-best 19 points in the season opener. She is currently the team's leading scorer (10.8 ppg) and is averaging a team-high 2.5 assists. Forward Tracy Alston, a 5-10, is a smothering defender and strong rebounder at the small forward position who may get the starting nod in place of Hill. Alston had a career-best night against UConn, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds and dishing five assists.
This year's freshman class consists of 5-9 shooting guard Meredith Bell, 6-0 post player Erin Ferrell and 6-1 guard/forward Jennifer Johnson. All three have seen action this season and are making an impact.
Head Coach Charlene Curtis
Head coach Charlene Curtis (Radford '76) is in her fifth season at the helm of the Demon Deacon program and just six wins shy of reaching the 200 career victories plateau. Her career coaching record of 194-233 (32-83 at WFU) also includes stints at her alma mater, Radford, and Temple.
Curtis' head coaching career began at Radford, where she posted a 121-53 mark in six seasons and was twice named Big South Coach of the Year. She then spent four seasons at Temple, producing a 41-97 record and four Atlantic-10 All-Rookie players. Before coming to WFU, Curtis spent two seasons at the University of Connecticut, serving as an assistant coach under Geno Auriemma and helping guide the Huskies to two BIG EAST titles and an NCAA Final Four appearance.
Curtis' coaching career also includes stints as an assistant coach at Virginia (1981-83), Georgetown (1984) and USA Basketball (1989-92, '94).
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.
Scouting the Catamounts
Western Carolina posted wins over Bethune-Cookman (65-52) and Central Florida (77-74) before dropping a 100-44 decision to North Carolina. The Catamounts then rebounded with a one-point victory, 56-55, over Campbell last Saturday.
Wake Forest marks WCU's second opponent this season that is coming off a loss to No. 1 Connecticut. The Tar Heels were eliminated by the Huskies in the preseason WNIT just before facing the Catamounts.
Senior forward/center Laura Echols leads Western Carolina, nearly averaging a double-double with 16.8 points/9.8 rebounds per game.
Sophomore forward Tiffany Hamm is not far behind, scoring 16. 3 points and pulling down 7.0 rebounds a contest. Freshman guard Ki-Ki Glass is averaging over four assists a contest and owns a team-high 11 steals through four games.
The Series with Western Carolina
Western Carolina leads the overall series 10-7, but Wake currently owns a three-game winning streak ... the Catamounts own a 4-1 lead in games known to have taken place in Cullowhee ... the last meeting in this series, back in the 1991-92 season, also took place at WCU, with Wake winning 75-58 ... the Deacons' margin of victory over its last three games have been by an average of 17.0 points ... Western Carolina is the second of eight in-state rivals Wake Forest will play this season, as the Deacons have already defeated Appalachian State.
Alston is All Over the Court
Although she scored only two points in Wake's loss to Connecticut on Monday night, sophomore Tracy Alston certainly made her presence known in the 22 minutes she was on the floor. The 5-10 forward grabbed a game high (and career best) 10 rebounds, the only player from either team to post double figures on the boards. She also dished a career-best five assists, after recording just two assists through the first three games of the season.
Youth Movement
Even with four seniors on the rosters, the overall makeup of the WFU women's basketball team is still quite young. Wake's starting lineup so far this season has consisted of one senior, one junior and three sophomores, while a pair of sophomores - Eafton Hill and Tonia Brown - lead the Deacs in scoring.
In fact, 26 of Wake's 38 points scored on Monday night against UConn were posted by either sophomores or freshmen.
Coming Up Next
After playing five games in 11 days, Wake Forest gets a six day break to prepare for its ACC opener against North Carolina. The Deacons travel to Chapel Hill for a 7:00 pm tipoff on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Wake's next home game is Friday, Dec. 7 against UNC Wilmington.