University of North Carolina Athletics
Women's Basketball Preps for Wake Forest
June 21, 1999 | Women's Basketball
January 29, 1999
News to note
On the Air
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network; Flagship station: 1360*WCHL (Play-by-play: Stephen Gates)
The UNC-Wake Forest rivalry
UNC Head to Head WFU
20-4 record 6-13
.437 fg % .376
.415 opponent fg % .421
.311 3 pt fg % .314
.287 opponent 3 pt fg % .302
5.0 3 pt fg per game 5.6
16.0 3 pt attempts per game 17.9
.669 free throw % .636
43.9 rebound average 41.3
+2.3 rebound margin +1.1
85.1 points per game 63.8
69.6 opponent points per game 70.9
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Last time out for UNC
The Tar Heels broke a two-game losing streak, their first in over a year, with an 87-76 homecourt win over Florida State. Jessica Gaspar led the team in scoring with a season-high 22, despite lingering traces of a virus she had battled since Monday. She was 5-for-7 from the floor, 3-for-4 from three-point range, and scored 19 of her points in the second half. She also grabbed three steals
Both Gaspar and Nikki Teasley (13 points, eight assists) were unable to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday and neither started Thursdays game. *Im proud of the way they stepped it up because both of them have been sick,* coach Sylvia Hatchell said. *Its good to see Jessica shoot so well*weve got some big games coming up and were going to need her.*
Brown back in action
Sophomore guard Juana Brown is back in the lineup after missing the Jan. 24 Georgia Tech game with a sprained left ankle. X-rays performed on Jan. 25 proved negative and Brown was listed as day-to-day leading up to the Jan. 28 game against FSU. She was able to start that game and scored 17 points.
Brown initially injured her left foot and ankle in the Jan. 18 game at Virginia, then aggravated the injury during the Jan. 22 game against Duke. For the season, she is averaging 14.1 points and has started every game except Georgia Tech.
Scouting the Demon Deacons
Wake Forest is led in scoring by 6-1 sophomore forward Olivia Dardy with 9.7 points per game and 9.3 against ACC opponents. Senior Emon McMillian and junior Alisha Mosley both average 8.9 points per game.
Wake has lost its last five games, dating back to a homecourt win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 4.
Quite a crowd
The Tar Heels' Jan. 22 game with Duke drew a Carmichael Auditorium capacity crowd of 10,000, the largest ever at a North Carolina womens home game and the fourth-largest in ACC history. The Tar Heels previous high in attendance (and the previous No. 4 ACC crowd) was 9,450, set Feb. 5, 1995, against Virginia.
Falling records
Nikki Teasley's 15 assists against Georgia Tech established a UNC single-game record. The old mark of 14 was set by Emily Johnson Murphy, now the teams director of basketball operations, on Jan. 20, 1990, against Duke.
High (scoring) Heels
The Tar Heels' scoring average of 85.1 points per game is the highest in the ACC and seventh-highest in the country. Three times this season Carolina has scored 100 or more points and only three times*in losses to UCLA (86-68), N.C. State (87-70), and Duke (93-71)*has UNC failed to score at least 75 points.
Lights + camera = action for Brown
Television may add 10 pounds to most people, but for sophomore guard Juana Brown it adds nine points. Brown is averaging 20 points in the seven Tar Heel games that have been televised this season, compared with 11.4 in the 14 that havent and 14.1 for all 21 games. With cameras there to capture the action, shes shooting 56.1 percent from three-point range and is averaging 3.3 three-pointers per TV game.
Three times this season Brown has led the team in scoring, all in televised games. Most recently, she hit four second-half threes to lead the team with 20 points in a 79-68 win over Virginia (Home Team Sports) on Jan. 18. She was also the leading scorer with 27 points against Kansas (ESPN2) on Nov. 15 and 26 points against Alabama (Fox Sports South) on Dec. 20.
Brown, who is from Memphis, earned a reputation last season as the teams toughest defender. This year, she has broadened her repertoire. She earned ACC Player of the Week honors in the first week of the season after averaging 22 points in wins over Akron and Kansas.
Against Florida State on Dec. 5 (Sunshine Network, incidentally), she scored a career-high 28 points and hit one of two three-pointers that closed a six-point gap in the games final 30 seconds. Against Alabama, she hit six three-pointers, all in the first half.
Brown has hit 36 three-pointers this season, more than double last years total. She put extra work into her shooting over the summer, aiming to become more of an offensive presence, and it looks as though her additional hours in the gym are paying off. Particularly when theres a television audience looking on.
Watching the polls
After two losses in a three-day span last weekend, North Carolina fell to 14th in the AP poll, the teams first time out of the top 10 all season. UNC is 10th in the USA Today/ESPN poll, the lowest since the preseason poll.
Week AP USA Today
preseason 10 7
11/16 5 7
11/23 5 5
11/30 9 8
12/7 7 7
12/14 7 6
12/21 6 6
12/28 6 6
1/4 6 6
1/11 7 6
1/18 7 6
1/25 14 10
Teasley in the lead
As she did last year, Nikki Teasley leads the Tar Heels in assists with 5.8 per game. This year, however, she is also leading the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game.
Teasley has been the teams high scorer nine times this season. Against Florida State on Dec. 5, she hit the three-pointer that tied the game at 94-94 with 13 seconds to play and forced the overtime, then scored seven points in overtime as UNC pulled away to win 112-101. She scored a career-high 32 points in that game and earned ACC Player of the Week honors the following Monday.
Teasley also leads the team, and the conference, in steals with 65. That total is already eight more than she stole all of last year and puts her on pace to earn a place among UNCs top-10 season totals for steals.
Teasleys 15 assists against Georgia Tech were a career high and a school record. Her single-game assist total is the best in the ACC this season and is tied with three other players for the best in the NCAA.
Wright moves into 9th
Upon hitting a three-pointer with 4:42 left to play against Hampton on Dec. 31, senior Chanel Wright moved onto UNCs top 10 alltime scoring chart. Her 13 points in that game bumped her career total up to 1,556, surpassing the 1,551 points scored by 10th-place Kathy Wilson from 1985-88.
Her total now stands at 1,670, ninth overall and 46 points behind eighth-place Marion Jones.
Wright, who also celebrated her 21st birthday on the day she moved into 10th place, is averaging 14.4 points per game. A preseason pick for All-ACC honors and a candidate for the Naismith Player of the Year award, she boasts a career scoring average of 14.3. This season, she has established new career highs for scoring (33 against St. Johns) and rebounding (11 against Kansas).
North Carolina Career Scoring1. Tracy Reid (1995-98) 2,200 2. Tonya Sampson (1991-94) 2,143 3. Charlotte Smith (1992-95) 2,094 4. Pam Leake (1983-86) 2,001 5. Tresa Brown (1981-84) 1,931 6. Kathy Crawford (1980-83) 1,806 7. Dawn Royster (1984-87) 1,778 8. Marion Jones (1994-97) 1,716 9. Chanel Wright (1996-99) 1,670 10. Bernie McGlade (1977-80) 1,604
Welcome back to the team
Tracy Reid, Carolinas alltime leading scorer, will work with the team this semester as a student assistant coach while enrolled in classes to finish up her undergraduate degree in communications. Reid, who played for the Tar Heels from 1995-98, earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors last summer while playing for the Charlotte Sting. While at UNC, she was named ACC Player of the Year in both 1997 and 98.
Barksdale does it all
Sophomore forward LaQuanda Barksdale, who averaged 10 minutes a game last season backing up All-American Tracy Reid, has made the most of her expanded role. Starting at forward, Barksdale is averaging 13.2 points and 8.6 rebounds. She set new career highs in scoring in consecutive games with 22 points against Hampton and then 26 against Wake Forest two days later. Against Hampton, she hit her first eight field goal attempts and also grabbed 11 rebounds. At Wake Forest, she was 10-for-17 from the field in the return to her hometown of Winston-Salem and also added six rebounds and three blocks.
She has totaled eight double-doubles, tied for most in the ACC this season. Her standout performances include a 16 point, 19 rebound outing against Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Her boards (9 offensive) in that game tied a Hart Recreation Center record. Against Virginia on Jan. 18, she had a double-double before halftime and went on to total 17 points and 15 rebounds for the game.
Diagnostic surgery for Davis
Senior center Natasha Davis underwent diagnostic arthroscopic surgery on her right knee Jan. 21st and is expected to resume practicing within approximately three weeks.
Davis had been experiencing pain and weakness in her knee since a fall during a game in mid-December. The surgery, performed by Dr. Tim Taft, Director of Sports Medicine at UNC, revealed bruising of the bone in Davis knee. The injury did not need to be surgically repaired and was expected to require several weeks of rehabilitation.
Busy schedule
The Tar Heels played 16 games in November and December, more than any other Division I womens team in the country and more than any Tar Heel team had ever played before the start of the new year.
Upping the total were four exempt games*one in the State Farm Tip-off Classic and three in the Rainbow Wahine Classic*plus two December conference games.
UNC in the NCAA Standings (Jan. 25):Team scoring offense 7th (85.0) Scoring margin 15th (18.6)UNC in the ACC Standings (Jan. 29):
Team scoring offense 1st (85.1) Steals 1st (12.3) Turnover margin 1st (6.8) Scoring margin 3rd (15.5) Three-pointers per game 3rd (5.0) locked shots 4th (3.2) Field goal percentage 4th (.437) Scoring defense 5th (69.6) Three-point percentage 5th (.311) Field goal percentage defense 6th (.415) Free throw percentage 6th (.669) Rebound margin 6th (2.3)
Individual ACC rankings:
Scoring: Nikki Teasley, 6th (15.6), Chanel Wright, 11th (14.4), Juana Brown, 12th (14.1); LaQuanda Barksdale, 13th (13.2)
Rebounds:Barksdale, 4th (8.6)
Free throw percentage:Jessica Gaspar, 3rd (.802) Wright, 7th (.744); Teasley, 8th (.731)
Assists: Teasley, 2nd (5.8)
Steals:Teasley, 1st (2.8); Gaspar, 4th (2.0)
Blocks: Barksdale, T4th (1.1)
Three-point %: Brown, 4th (.400); Teasley, 7th (.314)
Threes per game: Teasley, 4th (1.8); Brown 7th (1.6)
Hatchells 250th UNC win
North Carolinas win over Florida State on Dec. 5 marked Sylvia Hatchells 250th victory at the Tar Heel helm.
Additionally, the win over Georgia Tech on Dec. 3 was Hatchells 100th regular season ACC victory at North Carolina. Hatchell took over the reins prior to the 986-87 season and earned her first win in the season opener, 96-79 over Northwestern State in the LSU Crawfish Classic on Nov. 28, 1986.
Over her 12 years in Chapel Hill, Hatchells teams have averaged 20 wins per season. In the past seven seasons, the Tar Heels have averaged 25 wins.
Hatchell, a native of Gastonia, N.C., and a 1974 graduate of Carson-Newman, has a career record of 532-208. She began her career as a junior varsity coach while earning a masters degree at the University of Tennessee, then went on to earn AIAW and NAIA national championships at Francis Marion before settling at North Carolina. Upon leading the Tar Heels to an NCAA title in 1994, she became the only basketball coach to claim AIAW, NAIA and NCAA Division I titles She earned her 500th career win on Jan. 22, 1998, with a 67-64 win over N.C. State.
Gaspar great at the line
Senior guard Jessica Gaspar is shooting .837 from the line in ACC games, third-best in the league. Her average of .802 for all games ranks third in the ACC overall and best on the UNC team. Gaspar is within shooting range of the best free throw season ever by a UNC player, a record currently held by Tonya Sampsons .818 during the 1993-94 season.
Her current career average of .785 is equal to the UNC record, set by Eileen McCann from 1981-84.
Gaspar is 73-91 from the line this season and 36-43 in the teams ACC games. Dating back to the Florida State game on Dec. 3, she has hit 46 of her last 53 attempts.
Aloha, Hawaii
The Tar Heels spent Thanksgiving week in Hawaii, competing in the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. There, the Tar Heels beat St. Johns 77-67 on Nov. 27, lost 86-68 to UCLA on Nov. 28 and beat host Hawaii 75-72 on Nov. 29 to claim third place in the tournament.
Senior Chanel Wright scored a career-high 33 points in the St. Johns game and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
Other standout performances:
In line for honors
Senior Chanel Wright and sophomore Nikki Teasley were both named preseason candidates for the Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year award and for All-ACC honors.
North Carolina is one of only three schools nationally and the only one in the ACC to place two players among the top 20 candidates for the Naismith award. UNC is also the only school to place two players on the preseason All-ACC team.
Both Wright and Teasley are former ACC Rookies of the Year.
New career highs
Four of UNCs regular starters have already logged career-high performances this season.
Team captains
The Tar Heel captains for this season are seniors Yanick Clay, Jessica Gaspar and Chanel Wright, and sophomore Nikki Teasley.
Holiday cheers
Since 1986, when Sylvia Hatchell took over as UNCs coach, the Tar Heels are a combined 83-13 in games played during the month of December. Seven times in the last nine years, including both the 1998-99 and the 1997-98 seasons, Carolina has made it through December undefeated.
Higgins on target
Sophomore forward Jackie Higgins, a junior college All-America last season, is shooting a team-best 51.1 percent from the field and providing 9.4 points per game off the bench. Her 6.0 rebounding average is second best on the team.
At 6-feet, shes regularly asked to defend and shoot over players four, six and even 10 inches taller. Still, Higgins has put in her share of strong performances, and not just in the weight room, where she has broken most of the teams lifting records. During the Tar Heels three games in Hawaii, Higgins came off the bench to average 12 points and 7.6 rebounds. Against Tennessee State, she grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds and against Hampton she totaled a season-high 14 points. Against Clemson on Jan. 4, she scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Against N.C. State, she tied her career high with 14 points.
Early signees for the Tar Heels
ACC Champs Again and Again
In an impressive run, North Carolina has won four of the past five ACC Tournament championships. To claim their most recent, in 1998, the Tar Heels won three straight games against ranked teams: 76-56 over No. 15 Virginia, 56-52 over No. 8 Duke and 81-50 over No. 16 Clemson. Tracy Reid was the tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by Nikki Teasley and Chanel Wright. Juana Brown earned second-team honors.
Recapping UNCs NCAA Tournament
North Carolina reached the Mideast Regional Final last season before falling 76-70 to the Tennessee team that went on to win the NCAA title. UNC led by 12 with 7:34 to play before the Lady Vols stormed back to win the game. Even though UNC didnt reach the Final Four, the Tar Heels were ranked No. 3 in the final coaches poll.
En route to the regional final, North Carolina toppled Howard 91-71 in the first round, Florida International 85-72 in the second and Illinois 80-74 in the regional semifinal.
The NCAA appearance was North Carolinas 11th overall and its seventh in 12 years under coach Sylvia Hatchell.
