Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Basketball Faces No. 9 North Carolina
1/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2003
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WFU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
NEWS & NOTES
Game 13
Thurs., Jan. 9, 2003
Wake Forest (10-2, 1-1 ACC) vs. #10/9 North Carolina (12-1, 2-0 ACC)
Carmichael Auditorium (10,180)/Chapel Hill, N.C.
Tipoff: 7:00 pm
Radio: Broadcast live on the internet at www.WakeForestSports.com. Carter Blackburn calls the action with Roper Halverson providing color commentary.
Records: WFU is 10-2 and 1-1 in the ACC with a win over Virginia in its last outing on Sunday. The Tar Heels sit atop the ACC standings as the only team with a 2-0 league mark and are 12-1 overall.
The Series: Thursday??s game is the 59th meeting between the two teams. UNC leads the overall series, 47-11, but the two teams have split their last six meetings.
The Coaches: Deacon coach Charlene Curtis begins her sixth season at WFU, where she has compiled a 52-99 record. Her 16-year career has produced a 214-249 mark. Tar Heel coach Sylvia Hatchell is 342-170 in her 17th season at UNC, 614-250 overall in hr 28th season as a head coach.
Noteworthy: WFU is looking for its first win in Chapel Hill since the 1990-91 season.
Up Next: WFU returns home to host Maryland on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2:00 p.m. in the Coliseum Annex.
Wake Forest Travels to Chapel Hill to Face No. 9 UNC
The Wake Forest women??s basketball team takes in 10-2 record (1-1 ACC) on the road this week, traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C. for a showdown with nationally-ranked North Carolina (10th AP/9th Coaches). The Tar Heels are 12-1 overall, 2-0 in league play.
The Demon Deacons also look to make it two in a row over ACC opponents after defeating Virginia, 77-66, in its last outing on Sunday. WFU??s win was its first over the Cavaliers since 1978 and halted a 49-game Virginia win streak in the series.
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: Wake Forest Halts The Streak
Wake Forest took an early lead and fought off a second-half Virginia rally to defeat the Cavaliers, 77-66, for their first ACC win of the season.
The Demon Deacons jumped out to a 9-0 lead then led by 11, 35-24, at the half. After the Cavs went up by one point midway through the second half, WFU responded with a 7-0 scoring run and converted 12-of-15 free throws down the stretch for the 11-point victory margin.
Five double players scored in double-figures for WFU, led by senior Tiffani Listenbee, who had a team-high 15 points. The Deacon defense limited UVa to 36 percent shooting, including 1-of-12 from beyond the arc.
WFU Launches Three-Point Attack on Breast Cancer
On Sunday, Jan. 12, Wake Forest will host Maryland in an ACC contest at the Joel Coliseum Annex (2:00 p.m.). In that game, the Demon Deacons will be launching a ??three-point attack?? on breast cancer. Fans are invited to pledge donations ($10 or more) to match each three-point shot made in the contest. All proceeds will go to Friends ... You Can Count On, a local non-profit organization dedicated to funding research for the earlier detection of breast cancer. The Demon Deacon squad will also be recognizing local cancer survivors in a pre-game ceremony. For tickets and more information, contact (336) 758-3322.
A Quick Look at the Lineup
Nine letterwinners and three starters return from the 2001-02 Demon Deacon squad which posted a 12-16 mark and 5-11 ACC record.
Junior guard Tonia Brown, the team??s leader in scoring, three-pointers, steals and minutes played last season, headlines the returning cast. Brown was a 2002 All-ACC third team selection and set the school??s single-season record with 62 three-pointers a year ago. Once again, she??s making an all-around impact, currently averaging 11.8 points and 4.7 assists, while shooting 43 percent from the field, 33 percent from beyond the arc. She missed the UNCW game with a thumb injury, but came off the bench for 33 minutes versus Florida State and returned to the starting lineup against Virginia.
Senior forward Tiffani Listenbee, also a returning starter, helps fill Wake??s needs in the post with her strong rebounding skills, in addition to really stepping up her offensive production. She has improved upon her season averages from a year ago, currently contributing 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game. Listenbee has posted double-figure scoring in five of the last seven games, including a career-best 20 points at Radford.
The third returning starter from last season, junior forward Tracy Alston, rejoined the team in mid-December (see note on next page). Alston has not missed a beat despite sitting out the fall, pulling down 10 rebounds to go with seven points at UNCW in just her second game back. She rejoined the starting lineup versus Virginia, and is currently tied for second on the team with a 5.8 rebound average.
The Demon Deacons are in better shape, health-wise, than they were a year ago. Junior forward Eafton Hill, after a stellar rookie season that earned her ACC All-Freshman team honors, was plagued by injuries last year. She is back to freshman-year form and beyond, earning All-Tournament honors at the SMU Classic and leading the team with 13.1 points. She is also one of the ACC??s top rebounders with 7.1 rebounds a game.
2002 graduate Adell Harris vacated her starting spot at the point guard position, but junior Bianca Brown has had no problem stepping up in the role, as she??s actually started 14 games over the course of her career prior to this season. Named the team??s Most Improved Player at the conclusion of last year, Brown has kept up the momentum, scoring 5.2 points an outing and grabbing a team-high 24 steals (2.0 per game).
Ferrell Finds a Way
While sophomore forward Erin Ferrell appears to have settled into her role as a defensive stopper off the bench, she??s been making some noise on the offensive end of the floor as well. Ferrell is currently averaging 7.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, 2.7 points and 2.0 boards over her averages last season.
Ferrell already has five games of double-figure scoring (including three straight heading into Chapel Hill), surpassing her mark of three double-figure games from all of last season. In the team??s win at UNC Wilmington, she set a new career high in rebounds (10) and recorded her first double-double with 12 points as well. Versus FSU on Jan. 2, she was Wake??s leading scorer with a season-best 15 points.
Ferrell has not started a game this season, but is usually the sixth or seventh player to come in for WFU, and is expected to provide a defensive presence in the post.
Scouting the Tar Heels
North Carolina enters Thursday??s tilt atop the ACC standings with a 2-0 mark in league play. The Tar Heels have also put together an impressive 12-1 overall record, with its only loss to then 22nd-ranked Oklahoma in Hawaii.
UNC??s conference victories have come over Georgia Tech (72-67) and NC State (80-59). The five-point win over the Yelllow Jackets was its closest margin of victory so far this season.
Four players are averaging double-figures in scoring for UNC, led by All-ACC guard Coretta Brown with 12.8 points per game. Center Candace Sutton is scoring 11.5 points per game, while freshman La??Tangela Atkinson, the preseason pick for ACC Rookie of the Year, is putting up 11.2 points while grabbing a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game.
North Carolina is the nation??s top team in rebound margin (+13.6), pulling down 47.5 boards per game to its opponents?? 33.9. The Tar Heels also ranks first in the ACC in field goal defense (.325 percent from the field, .262 from three-point range).
The Series With the Tar Heels
North Carolina is Wake Forest??s most-played rivalry, as the two teams meet for the 59th time ... after first meeting in the 1973-74 campaign, the Deacs and Tar Heels have played at least one time every year since ... UNC won the first 25 games, with Wake then reeling off six straight victories from 1987-1990, its longest winning streak in the series ... Carolina then won 18 straight from 1991-99 ... the home team has pulled off the victory in the last six meetings ... North Carolina owns a 22-3 advantage on its home court and a 17-7 series lead at WFU, although the Deacs have won their last two home games against the ??Heels ... Sylvia Hatchell is 24-11 versus Wake as UNC??s head coach ... WFU??s Charlene Curtis is 3-7 against the Tar Heels.
A Look At The Rookies
Thursday night??s game will provide a head-to-head look at two of the ACC??s top freshman -- WFU??s Cotelia Bond-Young and UNC??s La??Tangela Atkinson. Bond-Young is the ACC??s top freshman in scoring (11. 6 ppg) and leads the league overall in three-pointers. Atkinson is the conference??s top rookie in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and is second behind Bond-Young in scoring.
A Balanced Scoring Attack
Last season, guard Tonia Brown was the Deacons?? leading scorer with 13.9 points per game -- and she was the only WFU player in double figures. This year, she??s averaging 11.8 points per game, but she??s also getting a lot more help with offensive production. Look at these numbers:
* Three players are averaging doubles figures in scoring, including Brown, Eafton Hill (13.1 ppg) and Cotelia Bond-Young (11.6).
* A fourth player, Tiffani Listenbee, is averaging 9.3 ppg after putting up double figures in five of the last seven outings.
* Ten of the 14 active members of the roster have posted at least one double-figure scoring game this season. Five have posted at least five such games.
* Twice this season -- versus High Point and Virginia -- the Deacons have had five players with double figures in points.
Bond-Young: ACC Freshman Scoring Leader
Wake Forest rookie Cotelia Bond-Young is currently the ACC??s top scoring freshman with 11.6 points per game, a mark that also ranks third on the Deacon squad and 15th among all league players. Her 25 three-pointers this season also ranks first in the ACC in three-pointers per game (2.08). Bond-Young also ranks 28th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.439).
Bond-Young has quickly proven to be a solid all-around player, as she also ranks among the league??s leaders in assists (12th), field-goal percentage (11th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (6th).
Only three ACC freshman rank among the league??s top 30 scorers, including Bond-Young, 17th-place La??Tangela Atkinson of UNC (11.8 ppg) and Mistie Bass of Duke (19th with 10.7 ppg).
Coming Up Next
The Demon Deacons return home to host ACC oppnent Maryland on Sunday, Jan. 12 in the Coliseum Annex. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
