University of North Carolina Athletics
Women's Basketball To Host Winthrop Saturday at 7 p.m.
December 14, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2000
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Tipoff
On Saturday, Dec. 16, the UNC women's basketball team will host Winthrop at Carmichael Auditorium in a non-conference matchup. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
Next up for UNC is a game against South Carolina at the Carolina Classic on Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. The event will be played at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Following the matchup between North and South Carolina, Clemson will take on Auburn. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 9 p.m.
Quick Facts on the Tar Heels
2000-01 Record: 4-3 overall (1-0 ACC)
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell
Hatchell's Career Record: 565-229 (26th year)
Hatchell's Record at UNC: 293-149 (15th year)
Assistant Head Coach: Andrew Calder
Assistant Coaches: Tracey Williams, Sylvia Crawley
Team Captains: LaQuanda Barksdale, Juana Brown, Leah Sharp
National Rankings: Not ranked in either poll
Sports information contact: Dana Gelin
Phone/email: (919) 962-0083/dgelin@uncaa.unc.edu
UNC website: www.TarHeelBlue.com
On the Air
Saturday's game will be broadcast on radio by the Carolina Women's Basketball Network. The flagship station is 1360-AM WCHL. Stephen Gates is the Tar Heels' play-by-play announcer.
News to Note
* Carolina is 4-3 following an 87-69 win over Maryland last Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
* UNC leads the series with Winthrop 5-0.
* The Tar Heels currently are in the middle of final exams. After the Winthrop game, they won't play again until Dec. 21, after exams are over.
* Senior guard Juana Brown sprained the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in her right knee during the Notre Dame game on Dec. 3 and did not appear in the game against Maryland. She is questionable for the Winthrop game.
* Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale continues to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring and rebounding, with 18.3 points and 10.4 boards per game. Sophomore guard Coretta Brown ranks second in the conference with 16.7 points per game.
* Through six games, freshman center Candace Sutton has 15 blocks, six more than any Tar Heel player did in all of last season. She ranks 13th in the nation with 2.3 blocks per game.
* Carolina is averaging 82.0 points per game, tied for 18th in the nation.
* The Tar Heel roster boasts two preseason candidates for the Naismith National Player of the Year Award in seniors LaQuanda Barksdale and Juana Brown.
Carolina's Statistical Leaders
Scoring: LaQuanda Barksdale, 18.3 points per game
Rebounding: LaQuanda Barksdale, 10.4 per game
Assists: Coretta Brown, 7.3 per game
Steals: Leah Sharp, 2.0 per game
Blocks: Candace Sutton, 2.3 per game
Minutes: Coretta Brown, 37.3 per game
Field goal percentage: Jennifer Thomas, 52.8 percent (19-36)
Three-point percent.: Coretta Brown, 43.5 percent (10-23)
Free throw percent.: LaQuanda Barksdale, 76.5 percent (13-17)
Scouting the Winthrop Lady Eagles
Winthrop is 1-5 on the season following a Dec. 5 loss (88-67) at Georgia Southern. The Lady Eagles have had an 11-day lay-off between that game and their matchup with UNC.
Junior guard Charlotta Wennefors (Bankeryd, Sweden) leads the team in scoring with 12.2 points per game. Also in double figures is senior post player Meredith Smith with 10.5 points per game.
Smith is Winthrop's top rebounder with 7.5 per game. Senior Crystal Greene averages 7.0 per game.
Wennefors leads the team in assists with 2.3 per game.
The Lady Eagles are coached by Cheryl Nix, who is in her first season with the program. Nix already is familiar with Carmichael Auditorium, having appeared there as a Clemson player from 1985-88.
UNC vs. Winthrop
Saturday's game is the sixth meeting between North Carolina and Winthrop. UNC has won all five of the previous meetings, most recently on Feb. 1, 1994. At Carmichael Auditorium, the Tar Heels won the matchup 85-34. Sylvia Crawley, now a Tar Heel assistant, started at center for UNC in that game. She had 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes of play.
Carolina blocked 14 shots in that game to set a team single-game record that still stands.
UNC's Most Recent Action
The Tar Heels opened their Dec. 9 game against Maryland with a 10-0 run and went on to earn an 87-69 conference win, despite playing the second half without their two Naismith Player of the Year candidates. With the homecourt victory, UNC improved to 4-3 on the season (1-0 in the ACC), while Maryland fell to 6-2 (0-1 ACC).
On an afternoon when senior junior Juana Brown did not dress because of a sprained knee and senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale missed the second half because of an allergic reaction, the Tar Heels were led by sophomore guard Coretta Brown, who scored a career-high 27 points. Senior guard Leah Sharp added 21, also a career high.
"I felt everyone had to step up with Juana and LaQuanda out," Coretta Brown said. "We all just had to step up and play hard."
Juana Brown sprained her right knee in Carolina's Dec. 3 loss to Notre Dame and was not cleared to play against Maryland. Barksdale scored 13 points-including the first 10 of the game-and grabbed seven rebounds in 15 minutes of play before she began to feel the effects of an allergic reaction. She suffered swelling in her face and neck and did not return in the second half. (The cause of her reaction is unknown. However, she responded well to on-site treatment by team medical staff and is not expected to miss further action.)
That left the Tar Heels without their top scorer and rebounder (Barksdale) and their third-leading scorer and top defender (Juana Brown). "I'm really proud of our team and the way we won the game without Juana and LaQuanda," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "I thought the team played with a lot of heart."
Maryland was led by junior guard Marche Strickland, who had a season-high 24 points. Junior center Jamecca Harrell scored 12 and led the Terrapins with 10 rebounds. Maryland shot 34.7 from the field for the day, compared with 44.6 for UNC.
Carolina, which came into the game shooting 56.1 from the foul line, was 32-for-40 (80.0 percent) against Maryland.
In addition to a career-high in scoring, Sharp played a career-high 36 minutes. For the game, she was 15-for-16 from the foul line, one short of tying the UNC record for free throws made in a game. Sophomore guard Cherie Lea, starting in place of Juana Brown, scored a season-high 11 points and played a career-high 37 minutes. Coretta Brown played all 40 minutes for the third time this season.
Injury Report
Senior guard Juana Brown sprained a ligament in her right knee during the game against Notre Dame on Dec. 3 and was not cleared to play against Maryland on Dec. 9. She twisted her knee just over five minutes into the game when she fell out of bounds while attempting to defend a lay-up by a Fighting Irish player and did not return to the game.
Brown was diagnosed with a sprain of the lateral collateral ligament in her right knee. The knee had not healed enough to allow her to play against Maryland, and she has been listed as day-to-day in the week leading up to the Winthrop game.
* Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale missed the second half of the Maryland game after suffering an allergic reaction that began to affect her late in the first half. Barksdale suffered a generalized allergic reaction, including swelling in her face and neck, and was treated on-site by team medical staff. The cause of the reaction is unknown. She was not able to return to the Maryland game, but is not expected to miss any further action.
Career Highs
Several Tar Heel veterans already have set new career highs this season:
* Sophomore guard Coretta Brown scored 27 points against Maryland on Dec. 9, eclipsing the 23 points she had scored against Syracuse in the second game of the season. Brown's nine rebounds against Syracuse remain a career high.
Against North Carolina A&T, she passed out 16 assists to set a school single-game record. Brown's previous high was 10, set against Richmond last season.
* Senior Juana Brown handed out eight assists against Buffalo, topping her old high of seven, set during her sophomore year.
* Senior Leah Sharp scored a career-high 21 points-including 15-for-16 shooting from the foul line-against Maryland on Dec. 9 to better her previous high of 19, set during her freshman season. Her five steals against Maryland also set a career record.
* Redshirt freshman Courtney Chambers, who appeared in six games last season, scored nine points against N.C. A&T to eclipse her former scoring high of four points. Her two assists and three steals against the Lady Aggies also were career bests.
* Sophomore Cherie Lea grabbed a career-high seven rebounds against Old Dominion. Her previous best was six.
* Sophomore Jennifer Thomas' 20 points (on 9-for-9 shooting from the field) and three steals against Buffalo bettered previous top performances of 18 points and two steals.
Slow Start for the Tar Heels
With three losses it its first six games, UNC got off to its slowest start since the 1988-89 season. That year, Carolina opened 1-3 before winning its next seven.
In 1999-2000, UNC suffered its third loss of the season in its 12th game. In the previous two years, the Tar Heels had not lost a third game until mid-January (`99, `98). In 1997, UNC finished the season 29-3, losing its third game in the NCAA regional semifinal.
Freshmen Step Up
All four true freshmen on the roster have seen action already, with center Candace Sutton starting all seven games. Chrystal Baptist has appeared in six, Joy Hairston in three and Carrie Davis in one, the game against North Carolina A&T.
Baptist shined against N.C. A&T in her home debut, coming off the bench to score 10 points and grab 10 rebounds in just 11 minutes of play. Hairston and Davis also scored their first points as Tar Heels in that game: Hairston was 2-for-4 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free throw line for 6 points, and Davis was 0-for-1 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free throw line for 1 point.
Free for the Taking
Carolina has struggled from the foul line this season, shooting just 56.1 percent through the first six games of the season. The Tar Heels boosted that figure significantly, however, with their performance against Maryland. Against the Terrapins, UNC was 32-for-40 from the foul line for a season-high shooting percentage of 80.0, which improved the team's average to 62.0 for the season.
Senior guard Leah Sharp had the standout performance in the Maryland game, hitting 15 of 16 free throws for the game and 13 of 14 in the final 2:46 of play. Her 15 makes fell just one short of tying the UNC single-game record.
Sophomore guard Coretta Brown was 8 of 10 from the line and sophomore guard Cherie Lea was 5 of 6.
Balanced Attack
Through the first five games, five UNC players are averaging 8.6 points or better per game. Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale leads the team with 18.3 points per game and sophomore guard Coretta Brown is next with 16.7. Senior guard Juana Brown is averaging 13.2. Freshman center Candace Sutton and senior guard Leah Sharp chip in 8.6 per game.
Barksdale also leads the team in rebounds, averaging 10.4 per game, despite playing just 15 minutes against Maryland. Sutton is next with 6.0.
Presence in the Middle
Freshman center Candace Sutton began her UNC career as a part of the starting lineup and has made the most of that opportunity. Over her first seven games, Sutton is averaging 8.6 points and 6.0 rebounds and playing 24.1 minutes per game.
Against Buffalo, in her first game as a Tar Heel, Sutton scored 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting in 18 minutes of play.
Sutton has made an early difference for UNC in blocked shots. The Tar Heels averaged 1.5 per game last season and LaShonda Allen led the team with a total of nine. Through seven games, Sutton already has 16 and the team has a total of 28, or 4.0 per game. Sutton has had at least one block in every game this season and ranks 13th in the nation with 2.3 per game.
