University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Women's Basketball Looks For Its First Win
November 18, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2000
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Tipoff
North Carolina plays its second game of the 2000-01 season on Sunday, Nov. 19, at Syracuse University. The game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. at Manley Field House (cap. 9,500).
UNC's home opener is Tuesday, Nov. 21, against North Carolina A&T. Tipoff for that game is 6:30 p.m.
Quick Facts on the Tar Heels
2000-01 Record: 0-1
1999-2000 Record: 20-13
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell
Hatchell's Career Record: 561-227 (26th year)
Hatchell's Record at UNC: 289-147 (15th year)
Assistant Head Coach: Andrew Calder
Assistant Coaches: Tracey Williams, Sylvia Crawley
Team Captains: LaQuanda Barksdale, Juana Brown, Leah Sharp
National Rankings: #22 Associated Press, #25 USA Today
Coaches Poll
Sports information contact: Dana Gelin
Phone/email: (919) 962-0083/dgelin@uncaa.unc.edu
UNC website: www.TarHeelBlue.com
On the Air
Sunday's game will be broadcast on radio by the Carolina Women's Basketball Network. The flagship station is 1360-AM WCHL. Stephen Gates will handle the play-by-play.
News to Note
* Carolina is 0-1 coming off a 95-89 loss Friday at Buffalo. Never has UNC opened 0-2.
* This is the second meeting between North Carolina and Syracuse.
* The Tar Heel roster boasts two preseason candidates for the Naismith National Player of the Year Award. Seniors LaQuanda Barksdale and Juana Brown both are among the 30 women's players named as favorites for the post-season honor.
Scouting the Orangewomen
Syracuse is 1-0 following an 85-84 double-overtime win at Old Dominion on Friday. The game was tied at 72-72 at the end of regulation. The Orangewomen were led by Beth Record and Leaf Newman, who contributed 24 points each.
The matchup with UNC is the home opener for Syracuse, which was 10-18 in 1999-2000.
UNC vs. Syracuse
The Tar Heels and Orangewomen have met just once before, in the third game of the 1998-99 season. On Nov. 17 at Carmichael Auditorium, UNC defeated Syracuse 85-68 to improve to 3-0 on the season. Forward LaQuanda Barksdale, then a sophomore, had 14 points and 11 rebounds in that game.
Last Time Out
The Tar Heels opened the season with a 95-89 loss at the University at Buffalo on Friday evening. UNC shot 52.1 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bulls, 39-37. Buffalo, however, was 29-for-34 from the free throw line while Carolina was 7-for-18 for a .389 percentage.
Carolina started the season 0-1 for the second consecutive year, but just the fifth time in team history. Not once have the Tar Heels opened the season 0-2.
Familiar Face on the Bench
In addition to four freshmen on the roster, the Tar Heels have added a new face to the lineup on the bench. Sylvia Crawley, a former Carolina player who graduated in 1994, is in her first season on the coaching staff. As a UNC player, she captained the `94 NCAA championship team and now plays professionally, last season as a member of the WNBA's Portland Fire.
Warming Up
The Tar Heels won both of their exhibition games, beating Athletes in Action 90-66 on Nov. 5 and Dynamo Kiev 78-65 on Nov. 9.
Nov. 5, vs. Athletes in Action:
Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale scored 27 points on 11-for-13 shooting and added eight rebounds. She was 4-for-4 from three-point range. Senior guard Juana Brown scored 24 points on 10 of 12 attempts. "As senior leaders and captains, that's their role," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "I thought they did a good job of setting the tone."
As a team, UNC shot 56.5 percent from the field. Twelve players saw action, with the exception being senior center Jackie Myers, who was held out with a concussion sustained in Friday's practice. Freshman Candace Sutton started at center and grabbed nine rebounds to go with seven points. Also in the starting lineup were senior guard Leah Sharp, who is the third team captain and scored nine points, and sophomore point guard Coretta Brown, who had eight assists and just two turnovers in addition to nine points.
"I saw a lot of good things today and I thought our first five played well," Hatchell said. "I also saw a lot we can work on, but our breakdowns were on things we can control."
Nov. 7, vs. Dynamo Kiev:
Playing with the same starting lineup, the Tar Heels again were led by Barksdale, who scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Three other UNC players scored in double figures, led by Coretta Brown with 18 points. Brown also had eight assists and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Jennifer Thomas came off the bench to score 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting and Juana Brown added 13 points.
"There are two things I've asked our players to do, and that's to have a great attitude and give a great effort," Hatchell said following the game. "They did that tonight. We did some good things, but didn't shoot nearly as well as we did against Athletes in Action in our first exhibition."
The game was tied at halftime, 32-32. Coretta Brown scored 14 of her points in the second half and Thomas added 12 to the four she had scored in the first half to help UNC to the win.
Preseason Expectations
Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale was voted to the preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference team by a poll of the media in October. The media predicted that the Tar Heels will finish the 2001 season fourth in the ACC.
Both Barksdale and Juana Brown are among the preseason candidates for the Naismith Player of the Year Award
Tar Heels in the Polls The Tar Heels opened the season ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll and No. 25 in the USA Today coaches poll. This season marks the ninth consecutive time that UNC has been ranked in the preseason AP poll and the seventh time in the last eight years the Tar Heels have been ranked in the preseason coaches' poll.
Carolina finished the 1999-2000 season ranked No. 18 in the final coaches' poll. The Tar Heels were not ranked in the AP poll.
UNC was ranked No. 1 in the final coaches' poll of the 1994 season. Carolina's highest-ever spot in the AP poll has been No. 3, four weeks during the 1993-94 and `94-95 seasons.
UNC in the Associated Press poll
Preseason-22
Nov. 14-22
UNC in the USA Today/ESPN poll
Preseason-25
Nov. 15-25
Coming to Campus in 2001
The Tar Heels signed four players to letters of intent during the early signing period in November. They will replace UNC's four current seniors on the 2001-02 roster.
The incoming class is made up of:
Nikita Bell, F/G, 6-0, Columbus, Ga. (Spencer)
Kenya McBee, F, 6-2, Greenville, S.C. (Wade Hampton)
Leah Metcalf, G, 5-7, Charlotte, N.C. (Charlotte Christian)
Tiffany Tucker, C, 6-5, Colonial Heights, Va. (Matoaca)
Season Ticket Sales Benefit Cancer Research
Coach Sylvia Hatchell, who is in her 15th season at UNC, has pledged to donate $5 to ovarian cancer research for each 2000-01 season ticket sold. Her donation will benefit the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she was treated last summer. Hatchell's saga began in May, when she underwent tests that revealed concerning abnormalities. She had surgery at UNC on June 2nd, knowing there was a possibility she would awaken to the news that she had ovarian cancer. The tumor the doctors found was benign, however, and she received a clean bill of health.
"What happened this summer has given me a new perspective and made me realize how fortunate I am," Hatchell says. "I was one of the lucky ones-I am not battling cancer. I'd like to help others fight it by doing what I can for the great programs here at UNC." For more information on the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and its programs, go to http://cancer.med.unc.edu.
