Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Hoops Hosts NC State Thursday
1/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Jan. 22, 2003
WAKE FOREST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
NEWS & NOTES
Game 16
Thurs., Jan. 23, 2003
Wake Forest (10-5, 1-4 ACC) vs. NC State (8-8, 3-2 ACC)
Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,665)/Winston-Salem, N.C.
Tipoff: 7:00 pm
Radio: Broadcast on the internet at www.WakeForestSports.com. Carter Blackburn calls the action, with Roper Halverson providing color analysis.
Records: WFU is 10-5 and 1-4 in the ACC after battling top-ranked Duke to a 10-point loss last Thursday. NC State is 8-8 overall with a 3-2 mark in league play.
The Series: Thursday's game is the 53rd meeting between the two teams. NC State leads the series 46-6 and has reeled off 12 straight victories dating back to the 1996-97 season.
The Coaches: Deacon coach Charlene Curtis is in her sixth season at WFU, where she has compiled a 52-102 record. Her 17-year career has produced a 214-252 mark. NC State coach Kay Yow is 633-276 in her 32nd overall season as a head coach, 576-257 in her 28th season with the Wolfpack.
Up Next: Wake Forest travels to Clemson for a 4:00 tipoff on Sunday, Jan. 26 against the Tigers. The game will be televised regionally.
Tentative Deacon Lineup
Pos. # Player Ht. Cl. GP/GS PPG RPG NoteworthyF 14 Heather Miller 5-10 Sr. 13/4 3.0 2.1 Averaging 5.7 points, 4.3 rebounds over last three gamesF 24 Tiffani Listenbee 6-1 Sr. 15/15 9.1 6.3 Had a team season-best 12 rebounds at Duke in last gameC 12 Johanna Bj?rklund 6-5 Sr. 15/13 3.9 2.6 Set a career-high with a team-best 14 points vs. High PointG 3 Bianca Brown 5-8 Jr. 15/13 4.7 2.1 Averaging 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals a game as wellG 13 Cotelia Bond-Young 5-7 Fr. 15/4 12.1 3.7 ACC's top frosh scorer; ranks 1st in league in 3-pt. shooting
Key Reserves
F 40 Eafton Hill 6-1 Jr. 15/11 12.6 6.8 Recorded her third double-double of the season vs. WCUG 30 Tonia Brown 5-10 Jr. 14/11 10.6 4.3 The team's assist leader (4.3 apg) with a 1.4 assist/TO ratioF 43 Erin Ferrell 6-0 So. 15/0 7.4 4.7 Had first career double-double with 12 pts., 10 reb. at UNCWG/F 4 Liz Strunk 6-1 Fr. 14/0 5.0 3.2 Strong shooter; saw significant action in early goingsF 22 Tracy Alston 5-10 Jr. 7/4 4.4 4.7 One of the team's top rebounders back after sitting out fallG 33 Meredith Bell 5-9 So. 11/0 1.3 0.5 Explosive scorer, 3-pt. shooter looking for more consistencyF 23 Keila Evans 6-3 Fr. 6/0 1.0 1.3 Joined squad after fall semester, potentially strong rebounderG/F 32 Jennifer Johnson 6-1 So. 11/0 0.5 0.9 Seeing more playing time after battling injuries in preseasonG 21 Kara Sax 5-6 So. 6/0 0.0 0.0 Walk-on joined the squad in October
Wake Forest Hopes To Halt Skid; Hosts NC State Thursday
The Wake Forest women's basketball team, which has lost three straight games for the first time since February of last season, will try to get in the win column as it hosts ACC-rival NC State on Thursday at Joel Coliseum (7:00 p.m/Internet broadcast).
NC State struggled a bit in the early goings of the season with a tough non-conference schedule, but have fared better in league play. The 'Pack is 3-2 with ACC wins over Maryland, Virginia and Clemson and currently stands at 8-8 overall.
The Demon Deacons, who return to the court for the first time in a week, lost a close one at No. 1 Duke last Thursday.
Under sixth-year head coach Charlene Curtis, Wake Forest is looking to continue its steady improvement of the last few years. The Deacons posted a 12-16 record last year, their best mark in six seasons, and are already over three-fourths of the way to reaching that win total this season.
Last Outing: WFU Keeps It Close at No. 1 Duke
The Demon Deacons performed well from beyond the arc and responded to Duke runs with streaks of their own, but still came up short in a 71-61 loss to the nation's top-ranked team at Cameron Indoor Stadium last week.
The Blue Devils built big leads in the first half, going up 20-8 and later 33-20. But both times, the Deacons responded with scoring runs (8-0 and 10-2) to keep themselves in the game. WFU trailed just 35-30 at halftime.
Wake Forest took the lead, 41-40, with 16 minutes left in the game. Although Duke regained the lead and held it for most of the second half, the Deacs trailed by just two, 61-59, going into the final minute. The Blue Devils converted on 8-of-8 free throws down the stretch, however, to win by 10.
Deacon freshman Cotelia Bond-Young was impressive in her first trip to Cameron, scoring a team-best 17 points, including three three-pointers. Tiffani Listenbee pulled down a team season-best 12 rebounds.
Deacs Look To Halt Another Long Opponent Streak
With the NC State matchup this Thursday, WFU is looking to halt another long series win streak for its opponent. Earlier in the season the Deacons stopped Virginia's 49-game win streak in the series with a 77-66 victory. The Wolfpack have won 12 straight in this series, with Wake's last win coming in the 1995-96 campaign.
With its win last week, Duke now owns a 21-game win streak in its series with the Deacons. WFU will get another crack at it on Feb. 17, when the Blue Devils come to Cameron.
Listenbee: The Iron Deac
Thursday night against NC State, senior forward Tiffani Listenbee should play in her 100th career game as a Demon Deacon. In fact, Listenbee has not missed a game during her entire collegiate career -- seeing action in 99 contests thus far. She is the only current player on the squad who can claim this accomplishment.
If Listenbee should play in every game the rest of the season, she will become the second Demon Deacon in as many years to see action in every outing of her career. Last season, LaChina Robinson closed out her career playing in all 112 games possible, a mark that ties for seventh at WFU in career games played. Depending on the team's progress in the postseason, Listenbee could do no worse than tie that mark.
Brown Nets 100th Three-Pointer
Junior guard Tonia Brown scored just one three-pointer against Maryland on Jan. 12, but that was all she needed to notch her 100th career trey. Already listed on WFU's career three-pointers chart, Brown is the sixth player in school history - and first since Alisha Mosley (1997-00) - to reach the century mark in that category.
Brown also ranks fifth all-time at WFU with 316 career three-point attempts, and her .316 percentage ranks ninth.
After setting the school's single-season record with 62 three-pointers last season, Brown's shot versus the Terps was her 18th of the 2002-03 campaign. Freshman Cotelia Bond-Young leads the squad with 33.
Scouting NC State
NC State enters Thursday's tilt with an even 8-8 record, but 3-2 in ACC play and winners of three of its last five games.
The Wolfpack played a tough non-conference schedule, with losses to nationally-ranked UC-Santa Barbara, UConn and BYU.
Redshirt junior center Kaayla Chones leads the Wolfpack in both scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.5). In ACC games only, she is averaging a double-double with 11.8 points, 10.4 rebounds. Chones ranks in the ACC's top five in both categories while leading the league in defensive rebounds. She also has a team-best 23 blocked shots.
Junior forward Alvine Mendeng, a transfer from Kentucky, became eligible for action after the fall semester. Her presence has bolstered the Wolfpack numbers, as she is second on the team with 10.1 points (11.2 in ACC games only) and is pulling down 6.4 boards an outing.
Wake Forest and NC State are nearly equal in field goal percentage -- the Deacs are shooting .402 to the 'Pack's .403. But WFU has the advantage beyond the arc, shooting 33 percent to NC State 28.3 percent. The Deacons also have better rebounding (41.4 to 37.8) and defensive numbers -- 10.4 steals per game to NCSU's 7.6, and 3.7 blocks to 2.9.
The Series With NC State
The series with NC State is one Wake's oldest rivalries, as the two teams have met 52 previous times on the hardwood ... the Wolfpack leads the series 46-6, and is riding a 12-game winning streak against the Deacs. ... the teams first met in the 1972-73 season, with Wake winning the first matchup, 65-50 ... the rivals have met at least once every year since the 1974-75 campaign ... Wake Forest's last victories over the 'Pack were a two-game sweep in the 1995-96 season ... the Deacs won 76-72 in the first meeting that year in Winston-Salem, then posted a 75-64 victory at NC State in Reynolds Coliseum ... that game was WFU's first and only win in Raleigh in the series ... NC State leads 25-1 in games in Raleigh and owns a 20-4 lead in Winston-Salem ... head coach Charlene Curtis is has not yet defeated NC State during her tenure at WFU.
Deacon-Wolfpack Connections
Wake Forest assistant coach Sharon Manning was a standout player for the Wolfpack from 1988-91 and was MVP of the 1991 ACC Tournament ... Wake Forest junior forward Tracy Alston is a Raleigh native who grew up an NC State fan ... Alston helped lead Southeast Raleigh High School to the 4A state championship in 1999 ... NC State assistant coach Charisse Mapp served as an assistant coach for four years under Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis at Temple University ... current NC State senior associate athletic director and senior women's administrator, Nora Lynn Finch, served as Wake Forest's women's basketball coach during its first two seasons of existence (1971-73) ... Finch directed the Deacons to a 17-10 record during those seasons.
The Last Meeting with NC State ... January 31, 2002
NC State placed three players in double figures, and jumped out early to march on to a 69-57 victory over Wake Forest at Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack played with a much higher intensity early, as it racked up 13 quick points before the Demon Deacons could finally get on the board. Despite a rally by Wake midway in the second half that cut its lead to six, NC State picked the tempo back up due to the three-point shooting of Amelia Labador. Connecting on two back-to-back shots from downtown, Labador went on to score a career-high 16 points for the game.
As for the Deacons, Tonia Brown and Eafton Hill both finished in double figures. The two help lead Wake's second half run, with Brown scoring a game-high 17 points and Hill tallying up another 12.
But the damage had already been done, as the Deacons couldn't quite get over the hump, shooting 33.9 percent for the game. The Wolfpack shot an amazing 59.3% in the first half to go on to 49.1% on the game overall. The real tale of the game though, was that of its three-point shooting, with State hitting 55.6% as opposed to Wake's 26.3%.
Bond-Young: ACC Freshman Scoring Leader
Wake Forest rookie Cotelia Bond-Young is certainly making a case for ACC Rookie of the Year honors.
Bond-Young, a 5-7 guard, is currently the ACC's top scoring freshman with 12.1 points per game, a mark that also ranks second on the Deacon squad and 13th among all league players. Her 33 three-pointers this season also ranks first in the ACC in treys per game (2.2), while her three-point shooting percentage (.440) also leads the conference.
Bond-Young has quickly proven to be a solid all-around player, as she also ranks among the league's leaders in assists (10th), field-goal percentage (13th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (6th).
Only three ACC freshman rank among the league's top 30 scorers, including Bond-Young, 16th-place La'Tangela Atkinson of UNC (10.9 ppg) and Mistie Bass of Duke (21st with 9.5 ppg). In ACC games only, Bond-Young is the only freshman putting up double-figures in scoring (12.0).
She owns a team-high 11 double-figure scoring games and has led WFU in scoring four times this season.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest will make its second TV appearance of the season, traveling to Clemson to face the Lady Tigers on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 4:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast regionally (locally on Fox Sports Net South).
