Wake Forest Athletics
Deacs Take On Georgia Tech
2/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2001
WAKE FOREST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NEWS & NOTES
Game #27
Wake Forest (11-15, 3-12) vs. Georgia Tech (13-13, 4-11)
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2001
12:00 noon
Alexander Memorial Coliesum at McDonald's Center (10,000)
Atlanta, GA
Broadcast:
None.
Records
: WFU is 11-15 overall, 3-12 in the conference, and on a seven-game losing streak after falling in its home finale, 69-53, against Maryland this past Monday. Georgia Tech is 13-13 after defeating Maryland, 66-62, on Thursday evening.
The Series:
Sunday's game marks the 42nd meeting between Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets lead the series, 23-18, but the Deacs halted a three-game Georgia Tech win streak by taking the earlier meeting this season, 79-71. 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 30-79 record at the school. She has a 192-229 career record in her 15th season as a head coach. Georgia Tech coach Agnus Berenato is is 247-237 in her 17th season as a head coach, and is 187-182 in her 13th season with the Ramblin' Wreck.
Noteworthy:
The Deacons have not won since defeating Georgia Tech on Jan. 25, losing seven straight games in that span ... WFU is looking for its first sweep over an ACC opponent in four seasons.
Up Next:
Sunday's game is the regular season finale for Wake Forest. Next up is the ACC Tournament, which begins Friday, March 2 in the Greensboro (NC) Coliseum.
Wake Forest Plays Regular-Season Finale on the Road at Georgia Tech...
Wake Forest, 11-15 overall and 3-12 in the ACC, plays its final game of the regular season when it travels to Georgia Tech for a high noon showdown on Sunday, Feb. 25. The Deacons are riding a season-long losing streak into Sunday's game, as they have dropped seven straight. Georgia Tech halted a three-game losing skid of its own with a win over Maryland in its most recent outing. 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 316-435 overall record.
Two Milestones Hinging on a Deacon Victory Sunday...
A win over Georgia Tech would give the Wake Forest women's basketball two important milestones in has not achieved in some time. First, it would mark the Deacons' fourth ACC victory of the season. WFU has not won four league games since the 1995-96 season, when it notched six victories. Since then it has won no more than three games a year (1997, 99 and 2000) with a winless ACC season in 1997-98. The second milestone a victory would give WFU is its first sweep over an ACC opponent since the 1996-97 campaign. The Deacs, who defeated Florida State, North Carolina and Georgia Tech in the first round of ACC competition this season, were unable to complete the sweep against the Heels or Noles. WFU's last sweep of an ACC opponent was against Florida State in the 1996-97 campaign.
ACC Standings, Tournament Seeds at Stake as Regular Season Wraps Up...
Sunday's game is of great to the two teams involved, as ACC standings and seeding for the league tournament are dependent on the outcome of this contest. The two squads sit at the bottom of the conference standings, as Georgia Tech owns a 4-11 record in eight place and Wake Forest is in ninth with a 3-12 mark. A Tech win would leave the teams in the same position heading into the Tournament. A Wake win would give both teams a 4-12 conference record, but the Deacs would have upper hand (and the No. 8 seed), having swept Tech in the regular season. The ACC Women's Basketball Tournament bracket is set up so that the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds play each other on the first day, with the winner advancing to face the second-seeded team in the bracket. Meanwhile the No. 9 seed takes on the No. 1 seed, also on the first day of the tournament, with that winner advancing to the semifinals.
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 All-ACC candidate Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, is currently scoring 10.4 points a game, and averaging a team high 10.9 points in ACC contests only. She is also first on the squad in rebounding (6.2 rpg) and steals (33). 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 in her final season, averaging 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds, mainly off the bench (although she has started the last two contests). Shaffer, the starting shooting guard, has scored in double-digits 13 times this season to rank second on the squad in scoring (10.4 ppg). Shaffer currently owns WFU's best scoring performance this season with a 26-point outing (including 5-of-5 from three-point range) 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. Seventeen of Klopfer's 21 field goals this season have been beyond the arc, and she's shooting 34 percent from three-point range (17-of-50). 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 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds a game. Also challenging for playing time in the middle is sophomore Johanna Bj?rklund, Wake's tallest player ever at 6-5. Bj?rklund, who provides a strong presence in the post, has notched 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 moved into the starting center spot in midseason, set new career-highs this year with 10 points at Arizona State and 12 rebounds at home versus Duke. She is also fourth on the team in blocks (10). 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 11 games so far this season. Tracy Alston, a 5-10 forward, has proven to be a tenacious defender, often drawing the top defensive assignment, and is averaging 2.4 rebounds a game and has grabbed 13 steals. Tonia Brown, a 5-10 guard, is a scoring threat, averaging 4.6 ppg and netting a team-high 20 three-pointers. Bianca Brown, at 5-8, gives the Deacs depth at the point guard spot along with tough defensive skills -- including a team third-best 26 steals. Starting small forward Eafton Hill, who has been one of the team's top scorers all season long, currently leads the Deacs with 11.2 points and is second with 6.0 rebounds per game. An ACC All-Freshman candidate, Hill is also one of the league's top shot-blockers with 35 on the season.
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 30-79 record at Wake Forest and is 192-229 overall.
The Series with Georgia Tech...
Wake Forest and Georgia Tech have met 41 previous times on the hardwood, with the Ramblin' Wreck owning a 23-18 edge in the series. Prior to Wake Forest winning at home against the Jackets earlier this season, Tech had the previous three meetings and nine of the last 10, dating back to the 1995-96 season. Wake now owns a 14-6 series lead in games played in Winston-Salem, while Georgia Tech has defended its home court, owning a 15-4 series lead in Atlanta. The two teams first met in the 1979 ACC Tipoff Classic in Charlottesville, and have played every season since. Wake Forest's longest win streak in the series is four games, from 1984-86. Tech's longest win streak is six games, from 1996-98.
The First Meeting: See-Saw Battle Results in Wake Win..
Winston-Salem, NC/Jan. 25, 2001 - Four Wake Forest players scored in double figures, led by Kristen Shaffer's 20 points, as the Demon Deacons defeated Georgia Tech 79-71 at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum Annex. The game was a see-saw battle for much of the way and the Yellow Jackets owned a 54-50 lead with 12 minutes left. But Deacon freshman Eafton Hill scored eight points over the next three minutes to spur a 12-2 run that gave Wake Forest a six-point cushion, and the Deacs never relinquished the lead. Hill finished with 15 points, her third straight game in double figures. Seniors Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and Olivia Dardy chipped in 15 and 13 points, respectively. Kirkpatrick also led the Deacons with eight rebounds. Wake Forest led at halftime 34-32 despite shooting just 35.9 percent >from the floor. But the Demon Deacons buried shots at a torrid 60.7 percent pace in the second stanza. A full boxscore is on page 10 of this packet.
Last Time Out: Hot-Shooting Maryland Drops Deacs on Senior Night...
Aided by a 26-1 run over eight minutes in the middle of the second half, Maryland pulled away from Wake Forest, winning 69-53 in the Deacons' final home game of the season at Joel Coliseum Monday night. Wake Forest led at halftime by a 28-26 margin, but the Terrapins unleashed a three-quarter court pressure defense and the Deacons suffered through a nine-minute drought without a field goal. Maryland's Deedee Warley led all scorers with 21 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds. For Wake Forest, Eafton Hill scored a team-high 19 points. Senior Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, playing in her final home game, contributed 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. Other Wake Forest seniors included Olivia Dardy who scored six points to go with a team-high six rebounds, and Kristen Shaffer who scored two points. All four seniors, including Janae Whiteside, who suffered a season-ending injury early in the year, were honored in a pre-game ceremony. Maryland's Terri Daniels recorded a career-high 17 points and set a new Terp record for three point percentage, connecting on all five of her attempts. In the second half, Maryland shot 61.9 percent while Wake Forest connected on just 29.7 percent of its shots.
Kirkpatrick Named to Academic All-America District III Team...
Senior Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick was named to the Verizon Academic All-America District III Basketball Team, as announced by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). Kirkpatrick, a native of Waynesville, N.C., was one of five women's basketball players selected from a district that covers Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. She was the only player from the Atlantic Coast Conference selected to the first team, and is the first Wake Forest player to earn the honor since Lindsay Seawright in 1995. Criteria for selection to the Verizon Academic All-America team include being a starter or key reserve, sophomore athletic/academic standing and a 3.2 cumulative GPA. Kirkpatrick, along with the other District III first-team selections, will now advance to the national Academic All-America ballot. Kirkpatrick is currently a graduate student in the Masters Teacher Fellow Program at Wake Forest, after earning undergraduate degrees in both history and sociology this past spring, compiling a 3.87 GPA. She has appeared on Wake Forest's Dean's List and the ACC Academic Honor Roll throughout her collegiate career. Kirkpatrick earned a 4.0 GPA this past fall in graduate school, and is spending the spring semester teaching in a local high school.
A Little Shake-Up in the Lineup...
Coach Curtis gave Wake's starting lineup a little different look against Florida State on Feb. 15, and stuck with that lineup for the next outing versus Maryland. Freshman Bianca Brown was inserted at the point guard slot, while senior Olivia Dardy got the starting nod at center. The game in Tallahassee was the first start of the season for both players, and it was the first for Dardy in two seasons.
Throwing a Block Party -- Deacs Break Single Game and Season Swat Records in 2001...
Wake Forest has stepped up its performance in the rejection category this season, breaking the school records for both single-game and season blocked shots. The team set a new WFU 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. Versus Florida State on Feb. 15, Wake Forest set the new school season record for blocked shots, tallying its 94th rejection of the season against the Noles. The previous record was 93, set in the 1987-88 campaign. The Deacs have currently totaled 100 blocked shot on the season. The zero-block performance against Clemson on Jan. 11 was the first time this season the Deacs did not record a block, while they've held five opponents to zero blocks. Wake Forest currently ranks third in the ACC (all games included) in blocks per game, while the team's leading shot blocker, Eafton Hill, ranks third in the league (all games) with 1.36 a contest.
Keyword: Improvement ...
While the Deacs would obviously like to be above .500 in the win column, the buzzword surrounding the program this season has been improvement . Wake Forest was very well prepared and they have made excellent improvement since last year, Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said on Feb. 1 after the Deacons fell to the fourth-ranked Blue Devils, 66-58. The most obvious improvement, of course, is in the win column, where the Deacs have already posted four more victories (11) than all of last season. It is also the first time in four seasons that Wake Forest has recorded double-figures in victories. Looking at the most current statistics, Wake Forest has already surpassed its season totals from a year ago in field goals, assists, steals, blocks and rebounds. The team has consistently been averaging above last years' totals in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and rebounding average as well.
Close Calls...
Fifty percent -- thirteen of Wake Forest's 26 games this season have been decided by 10 points or less, and prior to a loss to NC State on Feb. 8, the Deacons' had a stretch of six straight ACC contests that were decided by 12 points or less. The Deacons have posted a 7-6 record in the season's 13 close outings, and went 2-4 over that aforementioned stretch of close ACC contests. Comparing the average scoring output of Wake Forest and its opponents this season, the opponents are scoring 6.0 points more than Wake. While the Deacs would obviously like to be on the positive side of that statistic, that margin is the lowest in four seasons -- an end result of the number of close games this season. WFU has not outscored its opponents in the season totals since the 1995-96 campaign.
Rookie Hill Posts Three Double-Doubles in Four-Game Stretch...
Deacon freshman Eafton Hill, one of WFU's top scorers all season, has put up some big numbers as of late, averaging 14.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game over the last 10 outings. She has also posted three double-doubles during that same stretch, and has scored in double figures in nine of those 10 games, including a string of six straight contests. Hill scored a game-high 20 points at Maryland on Jan. 18 and pulled down 10 rebounds to notch the double-double. She followed that up with another double-double night against Coastal Carolina on Jan. 22, posting game-highs with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Against Georgia Tech on Jan. 25, she scored 15 points, including an eight-point spurt which lifted the Deacs to a second-half lead over Tech. Hill then contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Virginia game for her third double-double in four outings. Hill has recorded four double-doubles so far this season, and is the first player to post back-to-back double-doubles since Tracy Connor did it in January of 1997. Then a senior, Connor scored 12 points, 10 rebounds versus Clemson on Jan. 2, then followed it up with 11 points, 10 boards against Florida State in back-to-back home contests.
Kirkpatrick an All-Around Player...
Throughout the course 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 three Deacons to have started every game this season, Mocky currently leads the team in four areas -- field goal percentage (.530), average minutes (30.4), offensive rebounds (68) and steals (33). Kirkpatrick pulled down her 500th career rebound against Georgia Tech on Jan. 25, and currently ranks 10th all-time at Wake Forest with 554 career rebounds. She is just the 11th player in Wake Forest history to reach the 500-rebound level.
Statistical Bits n' Pieces...
Seniors Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and Kristen Shaffer played their 100th game in a Wake Forest uniform on Jan. 18 at Maryland ... the duo has also played every game of their collegiate careers (109) ... red shirt sophomore LaTisha Pearson scored her first home bucket against Maryland on Feb. 19 -- all seven of her previous field goals have taken place on the road ... three Deacons have assist-to-turnover ratios of 1.0 or better -- Val Klopfer (65-42, 1.55), Tonia Brown (39-32, 1.22) and Adell Harris (37-35, 1.06) ... through 26 games, six different players have been the scoring leader, seven have been the rebounding leader and seven have led the squad in assists at least once ... Olivia Dardy, Eafton Hill, Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and Kristen Shaffer are the only players who have led the team in all three categories at one point or another.
