University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Women's Basketball To Host Clemson
February 7, 2001 | Women's Basketball
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Feb. 7, 2001
Tipoff
On Thursday, Feb. 8, North Carolina will host Clemson for an Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball matchup. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium.
Next up for the Tar Heels is a trip to Virginia. Carolina will meet the Cavaliers on Feb. 11 in Charlottesville. That game tips off at 4 p.m. and will be televised nationally by espn2.
Quick facts on the Tar Heels
2000-01 Record: 12-9 overall (6-5 ACC)
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell
Hatchell's Career Record: 573-235 (26th year)
Hatchell's Record at UNC: 301-155 (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
Thursday'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 12-9 (6-5 ACC) following a 72-60 win over Wake Forest on Sunday.
* Three Tar Heels rank among the ACC's top 10 scorers: LaQuanda Barksdale is first (18.3 ppg), Coretta Brown is fourth (17.1 ppg) and Juana Brown is 10th (13.8 ppg).
* The backcourt duo of sophomore Coretta Brown and senior Juana Brown had nearly identical numbers in last week's two games. In wins over Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, Coretta averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 turnovers, while Juana had 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.0 turnovers.
* LaQuanda Barksdale is in eighth place on UNC's career rebounds chart with a total of 885. She needs 17 boards to take over seventh place.
* Coretta Brown needs one assist to climb onto the UNC single-season assists chart. Aprille Shaffer is in 10th place with 134 in 1981. Brown currently has 133.
* Freshman center Candace Sutton earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors this week. She has scored in double figures in each of the last six games, averaging 14.7 points over that span. For the season, she is scoring 8.8 points per game.
* UNC has played more close (with a margin of 10 points or less) ACC games this season than any other team in the conference. The Tar Heels are 3-5 in those games, with the five losses coming by an average of four points each.
* The Tar Heels lead the ACC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.98, with 328 assists and 333 turnovers this season.
* LaQuanda Barksdale ranks seventh in the NCAA in rebounding and 46th in scoring. Coretta Brown ranks 16th in assists.
* UNC is 0-4 this season when either team shoots 50 percent from the field. The Tar Heels have shot better than 50 percent just twice this season, in losses to Buffalo and Duke. UNC lost to Old Dominion and Oklahoma when those teams shot 50 percent or better.
* Through 21 games, the Tar Heels already have more blocks this season (74) than they did all of last year (49). Candace Sutton leads the team with 32.
* Tar Heels lead the ACC in scoring (LaQuanda Barksdale, 18.3 points per game), rebounding (Barksdale, 11.5), assists (Coretta Brown, 6.3) and blocks (Candace Sutton, 1.6). Juana Brown ranks second in threes per game with 1.9.
* Carolina leads the ACC in scoring (77.1 points per game), rebounding (44.3 per game) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2). The Tar Heels rank last in rebounding defense (41.0 per game by opponents) and steals (8.0 per game).
* 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 (1st ACC)
Rebounding: LaQuanda Barksdale, 11.5 per game (1st ACC)
Assists: Coretta Brown, 6.3 per game (1st ACC)
Steals: Juana Brown, 1.9 per game (8th ACC)
Blocks: Candace Sutton, 1.6 per game (1st ACC)
Minutes: Coretta Brown, 38.3 per game
Field goal percentage: LaShonda Allen, 51.4 percent, 18-35
Three-point percentage: Coretta Brown, 42.2 percent, 38-90 (3rd ACC)
Free throw percentage: Leah Sharp, 72.2 percent, 39-54
Scouting the Clemson Lady Tigers
Clemson is 15-7 on the season, 6-5 in the ACC, following Sunday's 56-50 loss to NC State. The Lady Tigers are ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll and No. 22 in the coaches' poll.
Sophomore guard Chrissy Floyd leads the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game, 18.1 against ACC opponents. She ranks third in the conference in scoring. Also in double figures for CU are senior center Erin Batth (13.4 ppg) and junior guard Marci Glenney (10.0 ppg). Batth is the team's leading rebounder with 8.5 per game. Junior guard Krystal Scott leads the team in assists with 3.4 per game.
Clemson is coached by Jim Davis, who is 293-135 in his 14th year with the program.
* Floyd is the ACC's top free throw shooter with a percentage of 83.6, 93.6 (31 of 33) in conference games. Clemson holds the league's best free throw percentage, 71.5.
* The Lady Tigers also lead the ACC in turnover margin, committing 5.41 fewer per game than their opponents. Clemson ranks last in rebounding (35.3 per game) and rebounding margin (-3.9).
UNC vs. Clemson
Thursday's game is the 58th meeting between Carolina and Clemson in a series that dates back to 1976. North Carolina leads the series 32-25 and won the season's first matchup, 71-70 in Clemson on Jan. 8. Senior guard Juana Brown scored the game's final six points and finished with a team-high 20. Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale scored 19 and led the team with 15 rebounds as UNC outrebounded CU 49-32.
Clemson won the last matchup at Carmichael Auditorium, 60-59 on Jan. 10, 2000.
UNC's most recent action
With four players scoring in double figures and two tallying double-doubles, UNC defeated visiting Wake Forest 72-60 on Sunday, Feb. 4, to improve to 12-9 on the season, 6-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest fell to 11-11 (3-8 ACC).
oth teams started the game with hot shooting, Wake Forest making eight of its first nine shots and UNC hitting seven of its first nine. "When the game started, it seemed like neither team was missing a shot," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. After six minutes of play, Carolina led 21-19. The pace slowed down considerably, however, and at halftime UNC led 37-33 after shooting 46.7 percent from the floor to Wake Forest's 43.8.
The Tar Heels held onto the lead throughout the second half, but Wake closed the margin to one point on two occasions. UNC's lead was just two with 6:20 remaining in the game before the Tar Heels outscored the Demon Deacons 15-5 down the stretch to claim a 12-point win, the largest margin of the game.
"Every time we made a defensive mistake, Carolina capitalized," Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis said. "Our focus was there for the first 30 minutes, but in the last 10 minutes it wasn't."
Senior guard Juana Brown and sophomore guard Coretta Brown scored 20 points each-with four three pointers each-to pace the Tar Heels. Coretta Brown also contributed nine assists with two turnovers, while Juana Brown handed out eight assists and committed just one turnover. As a team, North Carolina committed a season-low 11 turnovers and had 22 assists on its 26 field goals.
Also for Carolina, freshman center Candace Sutton scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale had 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season.
Senior forward Olivia Dardy came off the bench to lead Wake Forest with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The double-double was her second of the season and 11th of her career.
Barksdale climbing rebounds chart
Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale, who led the ACC in rebounding last season and tops the category again this year, is now in eighth place on North Carolina's career rebounds chart. Barksdale, who is averaging 11.5 rebounds per game this season, has a career total of 885.
Career Rebounds at UNC G Reb.
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. Tonya Sampson (1991-94) 123 924
7. Tresa Brown (1981-84) 121 901
8. LaQuanda Barksdale (1998-01) 122 885
9. Kathy Crawford (1980-83) 124 870
10. Tia Poindexter (1985-88) 117 852
Doubling up
Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale has 13 double-doubles in this season's 21 games. After 12 points and 14 rebounds against Wake Forest on Feb. 4, she now has a career total of 33, best among active ACC players.
She is averaging a double-double for the season, with 18.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
* Sophomore guard Coretta Brown has two double-doubles this season, one on points and rebounds (17-10 vs. Winthrop) and one on points and assists (17-16 vs. North Carolina A&T).
* 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.
Taking care of the ball
The Tar Heels have done a standout job of taking care of the basketball this season and lead the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio. With 350 assists and 344 turnovers this season, Carolina sports a ratio of 1.02 and is the only school in the conference with more assists than turnovers.
Sophomore guard Coretta Brown leads the team in assists with 133 (6.3 per game) and has also committed the most turnovers on the team with 80. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.7, second in the ACC.
Juana on target from the line
Senior guard Juana Brown is nearly perfect from the free throw line against ACC opponents this season, hitting 16 of her 17 attempts in conference games. She hit her first 15 attempts in conference play, then missed the first of her two attempts against Florida State on Jan. 18.
rown sat out the Tar Heels' conference opener, against Maryland on Dec. 9, with a sprained knee. She did not take a foul shot against NC State (Jan. 14), Duke (Jan. 25), Maryland (Jan. 28), Georgia Tech (Feb. 1) or Wake Forest (Feb. 4).
In her first eight games of the season, against non-conference teams, Brown shot 12-for-22 (54.5 percent) from the foul line. Her overall season percentage is 71.8 (28-39), but she is shooting 94.1 percent (16-17) against ACC teams.
Sutton strengthens scoring, earns honor
Freshman center Candace Sutton has dramatically improved her scoring over recent games, averaging 14.7 points per game over the last six. That string includes 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, following strong outings against Wake Forest and Georgia Tech (14 points, six rebounds).
For the season she is now averaging 8.8 points per game, fourth on the team.
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 first time this season that she had not scored in a game. 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.
She keeps going and going ...
Including 45 minutes on the court in an overtime win over NC State on Jan. 14, Coretta Brown is averaging a team-leading 38.3 minutes per game, 39.3 against conference opponents.
The sophomore guard has started every game at point guard and in six games this season has not left the court. In addition to the overtime matchup with the Wolfpack, she played the entirety of the Buffalo, Notre Dame, Maryland (12/9), Georgia Tech (1/2) and Maryland (1/28) games. She also played 40 minutes in the Jan. 25th overtime game against Duke.
Too close for comfort
North Carolina's five conference losses have come by an average of four points per game. The Tar Heels fell to Georgia Tech on Jan. 2 by seven, to Duke on Jan. 25 by seven in overtime, and to Wake Forest (Jan. 4), Virginia (Jan. 11) and Maryland (Jan. 28) by two points each.
The Tar Heels have played more close conference games-with margins of 10 points of less-than any team in the ACC. UNC is 3-5 in those games.
* 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.
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 20 games, Coretta ranks second on the team in scoring (17.1 points per game) and leads the ACC in assists (6.3). Juana, who missed two games in December with a sprained knee, averages 13.8 points, third on the team.
The duo turned in outstanding, nearly identical performances over the Tar Heels' two most recent games. Against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, Coretta averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 turnovers, while Juana had 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.0 turnovers.
Although senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale has the top scoring average on the team, one of the Browns has led the team in nine of the season's 10 ACC games. (The exception is the Duke game on Jan. 25, in which Barksdale scored 31 points.)
Coretta, who is from Statesboro, Ga., and Juana, who is from Memphis, Tenn., are not related.
Hatchell gets 300th win at UNC
In her 15th season as head coach at Carolina, Sylvia Hatchell now has more than 300 victories as coach of the Tar Heels. Number 300 came at Georgia Tech on Feb. 1, and her record at UNC now stands at 301-155.
Hatchell is in her 26th year as a head coach and holds a career record of 573-235. She ranks sixth in total victories among active women's basketball coaches.
A North Carolina native, she came to Chapel Hill prior to the 1986-87 season after leading Francis Marion College to a 272-80 record over 11 seasons. She coached the Lady Patriots to two national championships, in the AIAW small college division in 1982 and in the NAIA in 1986.
She led UNC to the 1994 NCAA title and is the only women's basketball coach to have led teams to AIAW, NAIA and NCAA Division I titles.
Help from the bench
The Tar Heel bench has contributed an average of 14.1 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), 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 5.5 points per game. She has come off the bench to appear in every game and three times has scored in double figures. Her 20 points against Buffalo mark the highest total by a player off the bench this season.
Injury report
Junior center LaShonda Allen broke a bone in her left hand during the second half of the Jan. 11 game against Virginia and missed five games before returning to the lineup against Georgia Tech on Feb. 1.
Allen suffered the break, to the base of the third metacarpal in her left hand, when her fingers hit the basket support. Her hand was X-rayed the following morning and the injury was diagnosed that afternoon.
* Senior guard Juana Brown sprained the lateral collateral ligament in her right knee during the game against Notre Dame on Dec. 3 and missed the games against Maryland and Winthrop. 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.
rown returned to the lineup for the Dec. 21 game against South Carolina.
* Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale missed the second half of the Dec. 9 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. She did not return to the game. The cause of the reaction was never discovered.
* Freshman center Candace Sutton played just seven minutes in the Dec. 21 game against South Carolina before suffering a concussion that kept her out of action for the rest of the evening. She did not dress for the following game, against Elon on Dec. 28, returned to action in the following game against Georgia Tech.
* Freshman guard Courtney Chambers did not make the trip to Florida State on Jan. 18 because of abdominal pain but returned to the lineup against Oklahoma on Jan. 21.
* Senior center Jackie Myers did not dress for the Duke game on Jan. 25 because she was recovering from a bronchial infection.
Hitting the highs
Several Tar Heel veterans have hit new career highs this season:
* Sophomore guard Coretta Brown scored 27 points against Maryland on Dec. 9, eclipsing the then-career-high 23 points she had scored against Syracuse in the second game of the season. She equalled her career high with a team-leading 27 against South Carolina.
Brown grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds against Winthrop.
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 LaQuanda Barksdale scored a career-high 32 points against Elon on Dec. 28. She was 11-22 from the field, hitting her only three-point attempt, and 9-11 from the free throw line. Barksdale scored 23 of her points in the first half. She also added 14 rebounds before fouling out with 3:36 to play.
* Senior Juana Brown handed out 10 assists, beating her high of eight, set against Buffalo earlier this season. Against Florida State on Jan. 18, she snatched a career-high seven steals, beating her old total by one.
* 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.
* Junior center LaShonda Allen pulled down a career-high nine rebounds at Clemson on Jan. 8.
Free for the taking
Carolina struggled from the foul line at the start of the season, shooting just 56.1 percent through the first six games, but began to take advantage of the freebies as the season progressed. The Tar Heels had their best performance of the season-21-of-25 for 84.0 percent-against NC State on Jan. 14. They have hit 80 percent or better in two other games.
After the slow start, UNC boosted its anemic figure significantly with the performance against Maryland on Dec. 9. Against the Terrapins, UNC was 32-for-40 from the foul line for a then-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.
Carolina had another outstanding performance from the line in the loss to Wake Forest, shooting a season-high 83.8 percent (31-37). In that game, Coretta Brown was 8-for-8 and senior guard Juana Brown was 6-for-6.
UNC's season percentage is 64.6, 69.1 percent in conference games.
Finally, a new result in the new year
In the third game of 2001, UNC finally picked up its first win of the year. After beating Elon on Dec. 28 to finish up 2000, the Tar Heels lost at home to Georgia Tech on Jan. 2 and at Wake Forest on Jan. 4 before winning 71-70 at Clemson on Jan. 8.
UNC also got off to a slow start in 2000. Last year, the Tar Heels lost their first five games-all ACC contests-after New Year's Day before topping Florida State 77-67 on Jan. 20. Carolina opened conference play with a record of 1-5 in 1999-2000 before rallying to finish 8-8 in the league.
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 32 already this season and the team has a total of 74, 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.
Allen shines in ACC play
Junior center LaShonda Allen put together some of the best performances of her career prior to being sidelined on Jan. 11 by a broken hand that kept her out of the next five games. At the time of her injury, she was averaging 5.8 points and 6.0 rebounds against conference teams, nearly double her overall numbers (3.2 points, 3.9 rebounds).
Against Georgia Tech on Jan. 2, she was 5-for-6 from the field for 10 points and added seven rebounds. At Wake Forest on Jan. 4, she made her second start of the season and scored nine points to go with five rebounds. At Clemson on Jan. 8, she was again in the starting lineup and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in a career-high 28 minutes. Over a four-game span ending against Virginia, she was 10-for-12 from the field.
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, with center Candace Sutton starting 17 games and appearing in all but the Elon game, which she missed because of a concussion. Chrystal Baptist has appeared in 16 games, Joy Hairston in eight and Carrie Davis in seven.
aptist 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.
Baptist made a strong contribution in the NC State game on Jan. 14, scoring seven points on 3-for-5 shooting in 13 minutes of emotional play that seemed to fire up her teammates. She also had three rebounds, a steal and a block. Against Oklahoma, Baptist scored seven points and added four rebounds in 11 minutes.
Against Duke, she contributed 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and a block in 12 minutes of play. Against Maryland, she had a career-high three blocks.
Familiar face on the bench
In addition to four freshmen on the roster, the Tar Heels added a new face to the lineup on the bench this season. 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. In 2000, she averaged 13.6 points and 5.2 rebounds.
In 1998, 6-foot-5 Crawley won the ABL's Slam Dunk Contest.
Season ticket sales benefit cancer research
Coach Sylvia Hatchell, who is in her 15th season at UNC, pledged to donate $5 to ovarian cancer research for each 2000-01 season ticket sold. Prior to the NC State game on Jan. 14, she presented a check for $5,000 to 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
