Wake Forest Athletics
ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Preview
2/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2002
GREENSBORO, N.C. -
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WAKE FOREST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
ACC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Game #28
Fri., March 1, 2002
#7 Wake Forest (12-15, 5-11 ACC) vs. #8 Maryland (12-16, 4-12 ACC)
ACC Tournament First Round
Greensboro Coliseum (10,100)/Greensboro, N.C.
Tipoff: 6:00 pm
Radio: Locally on the flagship station of WFU athletics, WBRF 98.1 FM. Carter Blackburn calls the action with Roper Halverson providing color commentary. Also available worldwide on the internet at: www.WakeForestSports.com
Records: Wake Forest wrapped up the regular season with a 12-15 overall mark while Maryland finished 12-16. The Deacs won the final regular season meeting between the two teams last Sunday to finish seventh in the ACC standings with a 5-11 mark in league play. Maryland ended the season 4-12 in the league.
The Series: Maryland leads 39-11 in a series that began in 1976-77. Friday's meeting marks the sixth time the two teams meet in the ACC Tournament, with Maryland leading 4-1.
The Coaches: WFU head coach Charlene Curtis is 42-96 in her fifth season with the Deacons, and owns a 204-246 career mark in her 16th season as a head coach. Maryland head coach Chris Weller is 498-285 in her 27th season as a head coach, all with the Terrapins.
Up Next: The winner of Friday's game will face second-seeded North Carolina on Saturday, March 2 at 4:30 pm.
ACC Tourney Tips Off Friday, Wake Forest Faces Familiar Foe in First Round
The 25th annual ACC Women's Basketball Tournament commences Friday, March 1 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
Wake Forest will help tip off the 25th anniversary celebration, as the Demon Deacons play in the first game of the tournament. The seventh-seeded Deacs will face eighth-seeded Maryland in an opening round contest on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
The Wake Forest-Maryland matchup will have a familiar look, as the two teams met in the final regular season contest just this past Sunday in Winston-Salem, a game that was televised regionally. The Deacs prevailed, 65-47, avenging an earlier loss to the Terps this season and securing a spot in the 7-8 game of the tournament.
Wake Forest, at 12-15 overall and 5-11 in the ACC, has posted its highest number of wins in five seasons and best ACC regular-season record since the 1995-96 campaign. Maryland closed out the regular season at 12-16 overall, 4-12 in the league.
The 2001-02 campaign marks the 31st season of women's basketball at Wake Forest University. The Demon Deacons' all-time record is 327-452.
ACC Tournament Notables
* Wake Forest is one of seven league schools to have played in every ACC Tournament dating back to 1978. The Deacs own an all-time record of 6-24 in the event.
* Wake's seventh seed in 2002 is its highest since earning the No. 7 spot in the 1996 ACC Tournament. The Deacs have entered the tournament as the eight or nine seed in each of the past five seasons.
* Wake Forest owns a 4-4 record in opening round games, but has yet to post a victory as the No. 7 seed, going 0-6 at that position.
* Wake Forest is searching for its first ACC Tournament victory in the Greensboro Coliseum. The Deacs are 0-2 in Greensboro as the ACC hosts its third straight tournament in the facility.
Back to Back
Wake's matchup with Maryland marks the third time the Deacs will play back-to-back games with its ACC Tournament opening round opponent. In 1997, Wake closed out the regular season with Florida State, winning 63-69, then defeated the Seminoles four days later in the 8-9 game of the ACC Tournament, 70-59.
In 2000, Wake finished the season at Virginia, losing by six (77-71). The ninth-seeded Deacs then had to face the No. 1 seed Cavaliers in the opening round of the tourney, falling 72-47.
The Series with Maryland
Maryland holds a 39-11 lead in a series which began in the 1976-77 season ... Wake's win last Sunday halted a three-game Terp win streak ... the Terrapins opened the series by winning the first 14 meetings, the longest winning streak between the two teams ... Wake's longest winning streak is four games, from 1994-96 ... in ACC Tournament play, Maryland leads 4-1 ... Wake won the last tournament meeting, 83-66, in 1999 (also a 7/8 game) ... that, remarkably, is the closest tournament game in the series as Maryland won the first four meetings by 19, 45, 18 and 51 points ... Charlene Curtis owns a 4-9 career record against the Terrapins, including a 4-7 mark as the Deacons' head coach.
There In the Beginning
While three current ACC head coaches - Virginia's Debbie Ryan, Maryland's Chris Weller and NC State's Kay Yow - were on the sidelines with their respective teams at the first ACC Tournament in 1978, Wake Forest head coach Charlene Curtis was also there with her team. Curtis, two years after graduating from Radford University, was the head girls' basketball coach at Staunton River High School in Roanoke, Va. She took her team to the very first tournament in Charlottesville to give them a taste of collegiate life as well as basketball at the next level.
"I will never forget sitting in the stands at the University of Virginia in awe of the talent on the basketball court. The players and their coaches were so intense," Curtis recalled. "My players were amazed at the skill level and the athleticism, and I was happy to be able to share such a wonderful experience with them."
Tonia Brown Named Third-Team All-ACC
Wake Forest sophomore guard Tonia Brown was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference third team, as voted on by 46 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association and announced by the league office on Tuesday. Brown, from Roanoke, Va., was the top vote-getter on the third team and received one vote for the first team.
Brown, who is Wake Forest's leading scorer (14.0 ppg) ranked among the ACC leaders in four different categories. She was 10th in scoring, third in three-point field goal percentage (.343), third in three-pointers per game (2.26) and third in steals (2.22). Her productivity increased in ACC games only, as she ranked seventh in scoring (15.2 ppg), ninth in field goal percentage (.380), and second in three-point percentage (.362), three-pointers per game (2.88) and steals (2.38).
Heading into the ACC Tournament, Brown has knocked down 61 three-pointers this season, tying Wake Forest's single-season record set by Heidi Coleman in 1996-97 . She scored at least one three-pointer in every ACC game this season and is currently riding a streak of 16 straight games with at least one three-point field goal. She already ranks sixth on WFU's career chart with 81 treys.
Brown led the Demon Deacons in steals (60) this year, as her season total ranks 10th on Wake's single-season list. She also played a team-high 30.2 minutes per game and was second on the squad in assists (2.5).
Brown is the 13th player in Wake Forest history to be named to an All-ACC team, and the first since Tracy Connor was a first-team selection in 1996.
Robinson's Web Diary
Wake Forest senior center LaChina Robinson is doing a daily audio diary this week on the official site of Wake Forest athletics - www.WakeForestSports.com. Check daily for updates from LaChina as she prepares and participates in her final ACC Tournament.
Wake Assistant Coach Named to ACC Silver Anniversary Team
Wake Forest assistant coach and NC State graduate Sharon Manning has been named to the ACC Women's Basketball Silver Anniversary team. Manning was named to the team as a result of being selected as an ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Manning led NC State to its fourth conference crown in 1991, using a 31-point, 19-rebound performance to lead the Wolfpack to an 84-61 victory over Clemson.
Manning, along with 22 other former Tournament MVPs, will be honored together as the Silver Anniversary Team between Sunday's semifinal games.
Statistical Notables
* With 61 three-pointers this season, sophomore guard Tonia Brown needs just one more trey to break the school season record, set by former Deacon Heidi Coleman in the 1996-97 season. If Brown does break the record, it would be the first Wake Forest single-season record broken in any statistical category since Coleman set that mark five years ago.
* Senior point guard Adell Harris has dished 104 assists this season, the first Deacon to reach the century mark since Gretchen Hollifield set a school record with 181 in the 1995-96 campaign. Harris also needs three more assists for her season total to rank among the top 10 seasons.
* Wake Forest's 143 three-pointers this year as a team is the second-highest season total in school history. The WFU record is 172, set in the 1998-99 campaign.
ACC Notables
* Wake Forest finished seventh in the ACC standings for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign and posted its highest number of wins (5) since going 6-10 in the league that same season.
* Wake's 18-point win over Maryland in the regular season finale was its biggest margin of victory over an ACC opponent in 13 seasons. The Deacs defeated Georgia Tech, 70-52, in Atlanta in the 1989-90 campaign.
* The Deacons were weekend warriors this season, as they were on the road in ACC play for five of seven weekends in January and February. In fact, Wake's home finale with Maryland last Sunday was its first home weekend game since hosting NC State on Dec. 30, 2001.
* Wake Forest's 5-11 record in ACC play gave head coach Charlene Curtis her best conference record during her tenure at the school. After an 0-16 season during her first year with the Deacons (1997-98), Curtis' teams compiled a 3-13 mark in each of the three previous seasons.
* Wake Forest's win over North Carolina on Jan. 24 marked the third straight season the Deacs have defeated the Tar Heels in Winston-Salem. After halting an 18-game UNC win streak in the 2000, the two teams have split the last six meetings, with the home team emerging as the winner in those games.
* The win over the Tar Heels marked the Deacons' first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating UNC in the 2000 season.
Injury Update
Wake Forest has been in good shape over the second half of the season, as junior forward Heather Miller, who will miss this season with a stress fracture in her back, is the only player listed on the injury report right now.
Head Coach Charlene Curtis
Head coach Charlene Curtis (Radford '76) is in her fifth season at the helm of the Demon Deacon program. Her career coaching record of 204-246 (42-96 at WFU) also includes stints at her alma mater, Radford, as well as 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.
Sophomore Sensations
Last year's freshman class of Eafton Hill, Tonia Brown, Tracy Alston and Bianca Brown saw significant action last season. And this year they are proving the experience they gained last season is paying dividends, as all four have started at least seven games this year and have each led the Deacs in either scoring, rebounding or assists at least once so far this year. In fact this sophomore group provided the spark for the Deacons' win over Clemson on Jan. 17, as they finished as Wake's top four scorers, Hill was the leading rebounder, and Alston and Tonia Brown led the team in assists.
Sophomores Leading the Team
Five times this season, WFU's sophomore class has led the team in all three categories - points, rebounds and assists. WFU has gone 3-2 over those games, with the two losses both to top five teams.
Points Rebounds Assists
Connecticut Hill (10) Alston (10) Alston (5)
Clemson B. Brown/T. Brown (12) Hill (8) Alston/T. Brown (5)
Georgia Tech B. Brown (20) Alston (12) Alston/Hill (2)
Duke T. Brown (17) Alston (7) Alston/T. Brown (4)
Maryland T. Brown (17) Alston (9) T. Brown (7)
Scouting the Terrapins
Maryland is 12-16 overall and finished ACC play in eighth place with a 4-12 mark. During its conference slate, the Terps have defeated the same three of the same four league opponents as Wake - Clemson, Florida State and Georgia Tech - while also splitting the two meetings with the Demon Deacons.
Like the first two meetings, Friday's game will most likely be a low-scoring affair, as these two teams continue to rank 8th-9th in the ACC scoring offense statistics. Maryland averaged 52.0 points while Wake averaged 55.5 in the two meetings between the teams.
While Maryland is not scoring a lot of points, what it's putting up is usually going in, as the Terps rank third in the league in field goal percentage (.430), despite being limited to 35 percent in its last outing with Wake. The Terps also rank third in three-point field goal percentage (.333), although they scored the second-lowest total in the league this season (100).
Two Terps are averaging double-figures in scoring, as All-ACC third-teamer Marche Strickland puts up 12.9 points an outing and senior forward DeeDee Warley is scoring 12.3 points to go with a team-high 6.8 rebounds a game, a mark that ranks seventh in the ACC. Strickland is one of the ACC's top three-point shooters, averaging 1.79 treys per game. In fact, she has scored 50 percent (50-of-100) of Maryland's total three-pointers this season. Warley was the star for Maryland in the game with the Deacs last Sunday, notching a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Deacon-Terrapin Connections
Wake Forest freshmen Meredith Bell (Waldorf) and Erin Ferrell (Gaithersburg) both hail from the state of Maryland ... combining the two rosters, nine players from Maryland are involved with Friday's game ... WFU senior LaChina Robinson is from nearby Alexandria, Va. ... Maryland junior Brie Jackson attended The Bullis School, the same school Ferrell attended ... Jackson was coached there by Ferrell's father, Wayne.
Coming Up Next
The winner of Friday's game will face second-seeded North Carolina on Saturday, March 2 at 4:30 pm. The game will be televised on the ACC regional sports network.
Looking Ahead to 2002-03
Although Wake Forest will lose four seniors, including two starters, to graduation, here is what this year's underclassmen will bring to the table next season:
* 77 percent of its scoring (1,252 of 1,635 points)
* 74 percent of its rebounding (788 of 1,066)
* 90 percent of its three-pointers (129 of 143)
* 62 percent of its assists (232 of 375)
* 63 percent of its shot-blocking (49 of 78)
* 73 percent of its steals (169 of 231)
* 70 percent of its minutes (3,820 of 5,425)
