University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Women's Basketball Travels To Duke
February 25, 2001 | Women's Basketball
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Feb. 25, 2001
Tipoff
North Carolina will wrap up the 2000-01 regular season with a road game at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
The Tar Heels are 14-12 overall and 7-8 in the ACC after losing their last three conference games.
Next up for both teams is the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which begins on Friday, March 2, in Greensboro, N.C.
Quick facts on the Tar Heels
2000-01 Record: 14-12 overall (7-8 ACC)
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell
Hatchell's Career Record: 575-238 (26th year)
Hatchell's Record at UNC: 303-158 (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
Monday's game will be televised by the Regional Sports Networks as part of the ACC women's basketball television package. The broadcast will be carried live by Home Team Sports, Fox Sports South and the Sunshine Network.
Beth Mowins will handle play-by-play and Debbie Antonelli will provide color commentary.
The Duke game also 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 14-12 (7-8 ACC) following an 84-73 loss to NC State on Wednesday.
* Three Tar Heels rank among the ACC's top 10 scorers: LaQuanda Barksdale is first (19.1 ppg), Coretta Brown is fifth (16.2 ppg) and Juana Brown is 10th (13.9 ppg).
* Coretta Brown has 170 assists this season, the second-highest total in UNC history. She is 37 from setting a single-season school record and needs 15 to break onto the ACC's list of top 10 single-seasons.
* Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale is three points away from hitting the 500 mark for this season. If she does that, she will become just the second UNC player to score 500 or more points in three consecutive seasons.
* At 7-8 in ACC play, Carolina needs a win against Duke Monday to avoid finishing conference play with a losing record for the first time since 1990-91.
* Freshman center Candace Sutton has scored in double figures in 10 of the team's last 11 games.
* The Tar Heels lead the ACC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.05, with 440 assists (16.9 per game) and 419 turnovers (16.1 per game) this season. Over the last five conference games, UNC has averaged 12.4 turnovers per game.
* In this week's NCAA statistics, LaQuanda Barksdale ranks seventh nationally in rebounding and is tied for 33rd in scoring. Coretta Brown ranks 13th in assists.
* Tar Heels lead the ACC in scoring (LaQuanda Barksdale, 19.1 points per game), assists (Coretta Brown, 6.7) and assist-turnover ratio (Coretta Brown, 1.79). Barksdale ranks second in rebounding with 11.5 per game and Candace Sutton ranks second in blocks with 1.5 per game.
* Carolina leads the ACC in scoring (77.5 points per game), rebounding (44.2 per game) and assist/turnover ratio (1.05). The Tar Heels rank last in scoring defense (71.9 points per game by opponents), rebounding defense (44.2 per game by opponents) and steals (8.1 per game).
Carolina's statistical leaders
Scoring: LaQuanda Barksdale, 19.1 points per game ( 1st ACC)
Rebounding: LaQuanda Barksdale, 11.5 per game (2nd ACC)
Assists: Coretta Brown, 6.7 per game (1st ACC)
Steals: Juana Brown, 1.9 per game (T7th ACC)
Blocks: Candace Sutton, 1.5 per game (2nd ACC)
Minutes: Coretta Brown, 38.7 per game
Field goal percentage: Candace Sutton, 48.3 percent, 98-203
Three-point percentage: Coretta Brown, 36.4 percent, 44-121 (3rd ACC)
Free throw percentage: Juana Brown, 72.5 percent, 37-51
Scouting the Duke Blue Devils
Duke is 24-3 overall, 12-3 in the ACC, following a 76-53 win over Virginia on Thursday night. Senior guard Georgia Schweitzer led the Blue Devils with 19 points, sophomore guard Sheana Mosch scored 17 and freshman guard Alana Beard scored 12. Senior forward Rochelle Parent led the team in rebounds with nine.
For the season, Beard leads the team in scoring with 16.9 points per game. Schweitzer averages 13.6 and Mosch adds 11.1. Freshman center Iciss Tillis leads the team in rebounding with 5.9 per game and Parent averages 5.7.
Duke is coached by Gail Goestenkors, who is 200-77 in her ninth season with the program.
UNC vs. Duke
Monday's game is the 55th meeting between North Carolina and Duke. The Tar Heels lead the series 36-18, but Duke has won five of the last six matchups.
In the Tar Heels' last trip to Durham, on Jan. 27, 2000, Duke won 101-58 as five Blue Devils scored in double figures. The margin of 43-point margin of defeat was the largest for UNC since 1990 and third-largest ever. LaQuanda Barksdale scored 15 points and Cherie Lea also totaled 15, her career high. UNC had a season-low 27 rebounds.
A look at the season's first matchup
Duke's Sheana Mosch scored 13 of her 29 points in overtime as the No. 4 Blue Devils beat North Carolina 92-85 in overtime on Jan. 25. Mosch scored Duke's final 13 points, including a 3-pointer to tie the game at 82 with 1:59 left, and made 4-of-5 free throws in the last 38.9 seconds.
UNC's LaQuanda Barksdale hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 1.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 76.
Barksdale led North Carolina (10-8, 4-4) with 31 points-hitting 12-of-19 shots-and had 15 rebounds. Candace Sutton added a career high 19 points for the Tar Heels. Juana Brown had nine points, nine rebounds and a career-high 10 assists.
Georgia Schweitzer had 18 points and nine assists for Duke. Rometra Craig added 17 points and five assists.
North Carolina trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before hitting 21-of-41 shots in the second half. UNC shot 51.5 percent for the game, it second highest percentage of the season.
North Carolina led 80-76 on a hook by Barksdale early in overtime, but had five turnovers in the final 2:30. The Tar Heels had 24 turnovers overaall, while Duke had just 11.
Battle for the Carlyle Cup
An extra incentive has been added to the North Carolina-Duke rivalry this season by the establishment of the Carlyle Cup. The first Cup will be awarded based on head-to-head UNC-Duke results in 20 sports during the 2000-01 school year. Duke claimed 1.5 points for winning the season's first women's basketball matchup and another 1.5 points are at stake in Monday's game.
UNC currently leads the standings 18.5 to 3.5.
UNC's most recent action
On Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C., 17th-ranked North Carolina State avenged a loss in the first matchup of the season with an 84-73 win over UNC. The 11-point margin was the largest for UNC this season in an ACC defeat.
NC State senior Tynesha Lewis led the Wolfpack with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the second triple-double in school history.
North Carolina led 30-26 with 6:15 left in the first half. But Lewis scored five points in a 9-1 run to give the Wolfpack a 35-31 halftime lead.
Freshman center Candace Sutton scored two consecutive baskets at the start of the second half to tie the game, but those were the Tar Heels' only field goals in the first 6:42 of the half.
NC State took control with a 18-5 run and North Carolina never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Carisse Moody added 15 points and Talisha Scates had 11 for the Wolfpack.
LaQuanda Barksdale had 18 points to lead five Carolina players in double figures. Coretta Brown and Juana Brown each scored 13 for the Tar Heels, while Sutton added 11 and Chrystal Baptist had 10, all in the second half.
NC State shot 64.5 percent from the floor in the second half and 51.6 for the game, the highest by a UNC opponent this season.
Playing for .500
Carolina heads into the game against Duke needing a win to finish 8-8 in ACC play and avoid its first losing record in the conference since 1990-91. That season, the Tar Heels finished 2-12 in ACC play for their fourth consecutive sub-.500 conference mark.
Since ACC play began in 1977-78, UNC has finished just five seasons with a losing record in conference play: 1978-79 (4-5), 1987-88 (4-10), 1988-89 (1-13), 1989-90 (3-11), and 1990-91 (2-12). Three other times, including last season, the Tar Heels have finished with a .500 record in ACC games.
In 1999-2000, Carolina won its last four games of the conference schedule to finish 8-8. The season finale was a 73-64 win over Duke on Feb. 27.
Top of the charts
For the second consecutive season, senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale has the led ACC through nearly all of the season in both scoring and rebounding. (She currently ranks second to Virginia's Schuye LaRue on the rebounding chart.)
Should Barksdale finish the year at the top of both lists, she would be just the second player in league history to repeat as the conference leader in both categories. The only other player to have accomplished that feat is UNC standout Tracy Reid, who in 1997 led the ACC in both categories and in 1998 led the conference in scoring and tied for the rebounding lead. Reid won ACC Player of the Year honors in both 1997 and `98.
Miss Consistency
With three more points, senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale will become just the second player in UNC women's basketball history to score at least 500 points in three consecutive seasons. Barksdale scored 500 as a sophomore and 581 as a junior, and has scored 497 this season.
The other player to accomplish that feat was Tonya Sampson, who scored 500 as a sophomore, 631 as a junior and 594 as a senior in 1994. She finished her career with 2,143 points, then the highest total in Carolina history but since surpassed by Tracy Reid. Reid scored 2,200 points in her career but passed the 500-points mark only in her junior and senior seasons.
Doubling up
Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale has 16 double-doubles in this season's 26 games. After 30 points and 15 rebounds against Florida State on Feb. 18, she now has a career total of 36, best among active ACC players.
She is averaging a double-double for the season, with 19.1 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
* Sophomore guard Coretta Brown has three double-doubles this season, one on points and rebounds (17-10 vs. Winthrop) and two on points and assists (17-16 vs. North Carolina A&T, 11-11 vs. Virginia on 2/11).
* Freshman center Candace Sutton tallied the first double-double of her career with 18 points and 11 rebounds against Wake Forest on Feb. 4. Her 11 rebounds marked a career high.
Barksdale climbing career rebounds chart
Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale, who led the ACC in rebounding last season and has topped the category for most of this year, is now in sixth place on North Carolina's career rebounds chart. Barksdale, who is averaging 11.5 rebounds per game this season, has a career total of 941.
Career Rebounds Games Rebounds
1. Bernie McGlade (1977-80) 121 1,251
2. Charlotte Smith (1992-95) 129 1,200
3. Dawn Royster (1984-87) 110 1,108
4. Tracy Reid (1995-98) 121 1,065
5. Henrietta Walls (1980-83) 123 1,024
6. LaQuanda Barksdale (1998-01) 127 941
7. Tonya Sampson (1991-94) 123 924
8. Tresa Brown (1981-84) 121 901
9. Kathy Crawford (1980-83) 124 870
10. Tia Poindexter (1985-88) 117 852
Brown climbing season assists chart
In her first season as UNC's regular starter at point guard, sophomore Coretta Brown already has etched her name in the Carolina record books. With a season total of 175 assists, she has the second best single-season assists total in school history.
She is 37 assists from surpassing the single season record of 211, set by Nikki Teasley in 1999. Brown averages 6.7 assists per game.
Single Season Assists Games Assists
1. Nikki Teasley (1999) 36 211
2. Coretta Brown (2001) 26 175
3. Pam Hammond (1985) 32 169
4. Marion Jones (1995) 35 168
5. Nikki Teasley (1998) 30 166
6. Pam Leake (1986) 31 165
7. Emily Johnson (1992) 31 163
8. Nikki Teasley (2000) 26 162
9. Pam Leake (1985) 31 160
10. Pam Hammond (1984) 32 157
Watching the ACC record books
As she nears the end of her collegiate career, senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale already has put her name on the ACC career rebounds lists and is closing in on several other spots.
In her first season as a regular in UNC's starting lineup, sophomore guard Coretta Brown is close to earning herself a spot among the ACC's best.
* With 941 career rebounds, Barksdale ranks 18th on the conference's career rebounds chart. She needs 13 more to move into a tie for 17th with UNC alum Bernie McGlade (954 in 1978-80, the three seasons of her career following the establishment of the ACC).
* With 1,732 career points, Barksdale is 35 from moving onto the conference's career points chart. Virginia's Tora Suber and NC State's Trena Trice currently are tied for 24th with 1,767 points.
* Barksdale's current average of 11.5 rebounds per game puts her in a tie for the eighth-best season average in ACC history.
* Brown needs 15 assists to move onto the ACC list of top 10 single seasons. Brown currently has 175 assists, tenth place on the ACC list is held by Clemson's Susan Fehling (190 in 1988).
Taking care of the ball
The Tar Heels have done an outstanding job of taking care of the basketball this season and lead the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio. With 440 assists (16.9 per game) and 419 turnovers (16.1 per game) this season, Carolina sports a ratio of 1.05 and is the only school in the conference with more assists than turnovers.
Over the last five ACC games (dating back to the Wake Forest game on Feb. 4), the Tar Heels have averaged just 12.4 turnovers per game. They gave up a season-low 11 against Wake Forest on Feb. 4, committed just 12 in a double-overtime win over Clemson on Feb. 8, and tied the season low with 11 at Virginia on Feb. 11.
Sophomore guard Coretta Brown leads the team and the in assists with 175 (6.7 per game) and has also committed the most turnovers on the team with 98 (3.8 per game). Her assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.79, the highest in the ACC.
Sutton strengthens scoring, earns honor
Freshman center Candace Sutton has dramatically improved her scoring during the course of the conference season. In her first 14 games of 2000-01 (she did not play in the Elon game), Sutton averaged 6.2 points, 3.5 against ACC teams, and shot 43.7 from the field.
In the last 11 games, she has averaged 13.4 points (14.0 against ACC teams), and shot 51.7 from the field (52.6 against ACC teams).
After scoring in double figures just twice in her first 14 games, Sutton has hit double digits in 10 of the last 11, including a career-high 19-point performance against Duke on Jan. 25 and 18 points against Wake Forest on Feb. 4. She grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds against Wake to register the first double-double of her career.
Sutton earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors on Monday, Feb. 5, after averaging 14 points and six rebounds in that week's games against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.
She had another outstanding game at Virginia on Feb. 11, with 18 points and nine rebounds.
For the season she is now averaging 9.4 points per game, fourth on the team and fourth among the ACC's freshmen.
Sutton started the first nine games of the season, then suffered a concussion early in the ninth, against South Carolina on Dec. 21. She missed the following game, against Elon on Dec. 28, and averaged just 3.8 points over the next five games.
Junior LaShonda Allen took over the starting center spot for the Wake Forest game on Jan. 4 and Sutton came off the bench to go 0-for-2, marking the only game this season in which she has not scored. After Allen was injured against Virginia on Jan. 11, Sutton moved back into the starting lineup and has turned in a string of strong performances.
Making the most of her minutes
Freshman forward Chrystal Baptist hasn't seen extensive playing time as a freshman, but she has made her minutes on the court count. She has appeared in 21 games this season, playing 8.4 minutes per game and averaging 3.1 points and 3.3 rebounds.
In the nine games this season in which she has played 10 minutes or more, however, Baptist is averaging 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds and shooting 51.2 percent from the field. She has scored in double figures three times, with 10 points in games against North Carolina A&T, Duke (Jan. 25) and NC State (Feb. 21). In the game
* Baptist's freshman year numbers are similar to those that senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale put up during her first season. In 1997-98, as a back up to Tracy Reid, Barksdale came off the bench to play in 32 games and average 4.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game.
She keeps going and going ...
Including 50 minutes on the court in the double-overtime win against Clemson on Feb. 8 and 45 minutes in overtime games against NC State and Florida State, Coretta Brown is averaging a team-leading 38.7 minutes per game, 40.4 against conference opponents.
The sophomore guard has started every game at point guard and in nine games this season has not left the court. In addition to the overtime matchups with Clemson, NC State and Florida State, she played all 40 minutes in the Buffalo, Notre Dame, Maryland (12/9), Georgia Tech (1/2), Maryland (1/28) and Virginia (2/11) games. She also played 40 minutes in the Jan. 25th overtime game against Duke.
Too close for comfort
North Carolina's eight conference losses have come by an average of 4.5 points per game. The Tar Heels fell to Georgia Tech on Jan. 2 by seven, to Duke on Jan. 25 by seven in overtime, to Virginia on Feb. 11 by three, and to Wake Forest (Jan. 4), Virginia (Jan. 11), Maryland (Jan. 28) and Florida State (Feb. 18) by two points each. The Tar Heels' biggest losing margin of the ACC season has been 11 points, to NC State last Wednesday.
UNC has played more close ACC games (margins of 10 points or less) than any other conference team. In 10 games within that margin, Carolina is 3-7.
* A combined five points is all that separated the Tar Heels and their opponents after regulation over a four-game stretch in January.
On Jan. 4, UNC lost by two at Wake Forest. In the next outing, on Jan. 8, Carolina won by one at Clemson. On Jan. 11, UNC lost by two at home against Virginia. And on Jan. 14 against NC State, the Tar Heels were tied at 73-73 at the end of regulation before going on to an 83-77 win.
Prior to the Wake Forest game, the Tar Heels had not played to a margin any closer than six points all season.
* This season's four overtime games are the most in UNC history. The Tar Heels are 2-2 in those games.
Backcourt of Browns
Carolina's duo of Browns-senior shooting guard Juana and sophomore point guard Coretta-has proven to be a productive backcourt. Through 26 games, Coretta ranks second on the team in scoring (16.2 points per game) and leads the ACC in assists (6.7 per game). Juana, who missed two games in December with a sprained knee, averages 13.9 points, third on the team.
Although senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale has the top scoring average on the team, one of the Browns has led the team in scoring in 10 of the season's 15 ACC games.
The duo turned in outstanding, nearly identical performances during a three-game winning-streak in February. Against Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson, Coretta averaged 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 42.0 minutes per game, while Juana had 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 41.0 minutes per game.
Coretta, who is from Statesboro, Ga., and Juana, who is from Memphis, Tenn., are not related.
Help from the bench
The Tar Heel bench has contributed an average of 13.9 points per game this year, but the scoring has varied widely from game to game. The reserves were quite productive in games against N.C. A&T State (38 points) and Georgia Tech (31 points on Jan. 2), but contributed single-digit points against Clemson (five points on Jan. 8 and eight points on Feb. 8), Virginia (eight points on Feb. 11), Syracuse (six points) and Notre Dame (eight points). UNC got a season-low two points off the bench in the Jan. 28 loss at Maryland and the Feb. 4 win over Wake Forest.
In no game this season has a player come off the bench to lead the Tar Heels in scoring.
Sophomore forward Jennifer Thomas is the highest scoring reserve, averaging 5.0 points per game. She has scored in double-figures three times and her 20 points against Buffalo mark the highest total by a player off the bench this season.
Presence in the middle
Freshman center Candace Sutton's presence has made a huge difference for UNC this season in the blocked shots department. Last season, the Tar Heels totaled 49 blocks, an average of 1.5 per game, and LaShonda Allen led the team with a total of nine. Sutton has 37 this season and the team has a total of 90, or 3.5 per game.
The Jan. 4 game against Wake Forest and the Jan. 18 game against FSU are the only outings this season in which UNC hasn't had at least one blocked shot. In 1999-2000, there were 10 games in which the Tar Heels did not have a block.
