University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Women's Hoops Travels To Duke
January 23, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Tipoff: No. 21 UNC travels to No. 5 Duke, Jan. 24
The University of North Carolina women's basketball team (14-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) travels to face Duke (15-3, 7-0 ACC) on Thursday in Durham, N.C. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
UNC is ranked 21st in this week's Associated Press poll and 20th in the coaches' poll. Duke is fifth in the A.P. poll, sixth in the coaches' poll. Thursday night's game marks the halfway point of conference play for both teams.
Next up for the Tar Heels is a home ACC game on Sunday against Virginia. Tipoff is 2 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium. (The game originally was scheduled for the Dean E. Smith Center, but has been moved to Carmichael.)
On the air
Thursday's matchup will be broadcast live on radio by the Tar Heel Radio Network. The flagship station is 1360-AM WCHL. Stephen Gates is Carolina's play-by-play announcer. The radio broadcast is available via the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com.
News of note
* UNC leads the series with Duke 36-19, but the Blue Devils have won six of the last seven meetings and seven of the last nine.
* UNC has not lost a game this season after leading at halftime.
* Thursday's game is a matchup of the ACC's highest scoring teams. Duke averages 84.8 points per game and UNC averages 84.3.
* With four blocks against Wake Forest, sophomore Candace Sutton moved into sixth place on UNC's career blocks list.
* Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell is 10 wins away from recording her 600th career victory.
UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Nikki Teasley (16.3 points per game)
Rebounding: Chrystal Baptist (9.4 per game)
Assists: Leah Metcalf (5.4 per game)
Steals: Leah Metcalf (2.6 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (2.3 per game)
Field goal percentage: Jennifer Thomas (55.0, 33-60)
Three-point percentage: Nikki Teasley (38.6, 44-114)
Free throw percentage: Nikki Teasley (88.7, 55-63)
Minutes per game: Coretta Brown (33.1 per game)
UNC players in the ACC rankings
Through games of Jan. 21
Scoring: 2. Nikki Teasley (16.3), 6. Coretta Brown (15.2), 18. Leah Metcalf (12.1), 19. Candace Sutton (11.7)
Rebounding: 1. Chrystal Baptist (9.4), 7. Candace Sutton (6.6), 19. Coretta Brown (5.2)
Field goal percentage: 2. Candace Sutton (50.3), 10. Coretta Brown (42.7)
Free throw percentage: 1. Nikki Teasley (88.7)
Three-point percentage: 2. Nikki Teasley (38.6), 3. Coretta Brown (36.6)
Assists: 3. Leah Metcalf (5.42), 4. Nikki Teasley (4.53), 7. Coretta Brown (3.95)
Steals: 2. Leah Metcalf (2.63), 4. Nikki Teasley (2.53), 9. Nikita Bell (1.89), 9. Coretta Brown (1.84)
Blocks: 1. Candace Sutton (2.28), 7. Chrystal Baptist (0.89)
Three-pointers made: 1. Nikki Teasley (2.59 per game), 2. Coretta Brown (2.37 per game), 7. Leah Metcalf (1.84 per game)
Assist/turnover ratio: 5. Leah Metcalf (1.47), 6. Nikki Teasley (1.43), 7. Coretta Brown (1.39)
Scouting the Duke Blue Devils
Duke is 15-3 on the 2001-02 season, a perfect 7-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Blue Devils have won six consecutive games since an 89-68 loss to Tennessee on Dec. 27.
Duke is led in scoring by sophomore guard Alana Beard, who averages 18.9 points per game. Also in double figures are Iciss Tillis (15.4 ppg.), Monique Curry (14.3 ppg.) and Sheana Mosch (10.8 ppg.). Tillis leads the team in rebounding with 8.4 per game.
The Blue Devils lead the ACC in scoring offense (84.8 points per game), scoring margin (+21.3), field goal percentage (.490), three-point field goal percentage (.402) and free throw percentage (.760).
Duke is coached by Gail Goestenkors, who is in her 10th season with the program.
The North Carolina-Duke series
UNC leads the series 36-19, but Duke has held the advantage in recent years. The Blue Devils have won the last three meetings and six of the last seven. During the 2000-01 season, they came out on top in two close contests:
* Jan. 25, 2001, in Chapel Hill: Duke 92, UNC 85, OT
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. Mosch scored the Blue Devils' final 13 points, including a three-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 three-pointer from the wing with 1.8 seconds left in regulation to tie it 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 overall, while Duke had just 11 turnovers and eight steals.
* Feb. 26, 2001, in Durham, N.C.: Duke 72, UNC 67
North Carolina fell 72-67 to the fourth-ranked Blue Devils to finish the regular season 14-13 overall and 7-9 in the conference.
UNC led 63-59 with 2:17 to play before sophomore guard Sheana Mosch hit two three-pointers 50 seconds apart. She scored eight consecutive points to finish with a team-high 19. North Carolina got its final points on a layup by sophomore guard Coretta Brown with eight seconds left, trimming Duke's lead to 69-67.
Freshman Alana Beard had 15 points and Michele Matyasovsky added 13 for the Blue Devils. Georgia Schweitzer had 12.
Freshman center Candace Sutton had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who lost their third straight. Senior forward LaQuanda Barksdale had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Brown scored 18 points and senior guard Juana Brown added 10 for the Tar Heels.
Duke made seven of its first eight shots to open the game, but missed 21 of its next 29 before halftime. The Blue Devils shot 40.3 percent for the game, while the Tar Heels shot 38.8 percent.
Sutton vs. the Blue Devils
Over her brief UNC career, games against Duke have brought out the best in center Candace Sutton. Sutton scored 19 points in each of last season's matchups with the Blue Devils, the highest-scoring games of her freshman year. On Jan. 25 in Chapel Hill, she hit 8-for-13 shots and added five rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes. On Feb. 26 in Durham, she was 7-for-15 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds, then a career high, in 36 minutes.
Against the Blue Devils last season, Sutton averaged 19 points (on 53.6 percent shooting) and 7.5 rebounds.
Teasley's MVP night
Senior guard Nikki Teasley didn't play in either of last year's matchups with the Blue Devils, but her most recent outing against Duke was a memorable one. In the 2000 ACC Tournament championship game, Teasley played one of the best games of her career to earn Tournament MVP honors even though the Tar Heels lost 79-76.
Teasley scored a game-high 31 points, the second-best total of her career, on 12-of-19 shooting from the field. She hit seven of her 11 three-point attempts to tie a school record. She also contributed six assists and three steals with only one turnover in 40 minutes of play.
* Over her career, Teasley has averaged 17.3 points per game in matchups with Duke. She has played in seven previous games against the Blue Devils.
January chill
Over the last few seasons, Carolina has seen the new year get off to a slow start.
Including this season's 4-3 mark, the team is 15-19 in January over the last four seasons, 9-16 over the last three.
The Tar Heels were 6-3 in January of 1999, 2-7 in 2000 and 3-6 in 2001. This month, Carolina has games against Duke, Virginia and Maryland remaining.
Keys to victory
This season, the Tar Heels are undefeated when:
* Shooting 40 percent or better (14-0)
* Leading at the half (13-0)
* Scoring 75 or more points (12-0)
* Holding opponents at 60 points or lower (6-0)
Mainstay in the lineup
Junior guard Coretta Brown is the only player to have started all 19 games for the Tar Heels this season, and was one of three to start all 29 last season.
After starting 10 games as a freshman and appearing in all 33, Brown moved into the starting lineup as UNC's point guard at the start of her sophomore season. This year, she shares guard duties with senior Nikki Teasley and freshman Leah Metcalf, both of whom have missed at least one start.
Brown has played in every game during her career at UNC, a total of 81 heading into the game against Duke.
Hatchell closing in on 600th win
Sylvia Hatchell, head women's basketball coach at UNC since 1986, started the season just 24 wins away from her 600th career victory. With 576 wins heading into the 2001-02 slate, she ranked seventh among active Division I head coaches in all-time victories.
In her 27th season as a head coach, Hatchell's career record currently stands at 590-245.
She coached at Francis Marion College from 1976-85, compiling a 272-80 record and winning a pair of national championships. At UNC since the 1986-87 season, Hatchell has a record of 318-165 in her 16th season as coach of the Tar Heels. She has led the team to four Atlantic Coast Conference championships and to the 1994 NCAA Championship.
Hatchell is the only women's basketball coach to have led teams to national championships in the NCAA, NAIA and AIAW.
Last time out for UNC
Jan. 21: Wake Forest 65, No. 21 UNC 64
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-Senior point guard Adell Harris hit two free throws with 12 seconds on the clock to boost Wake Forest to a 65-64 victory over UNC at the Joel Coliseum Annex. The win was the second in a row and third in the last four games for the Demon Deacons (9-9, 3-5 ACC). Carolina (14-5, 4-3) has lost its last two games, three of its last four.
Wake Forest built as much as a 10-point lead three times during the first half, but owned an 11-point advantage (34-23) at the break, thanks to a Tonia Brown three-pointer with 26 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Deacons increased their lead to 14 points early in the second half, but the Tar Heels used an 8-0 run to pull within three points, 59-56, with just under four minutes remaining in the game. The Tar Heels kept themselves in contention by hitting their free throws, shooting 72 percent (18-25) for the game but connecting on 16-of-20 in the second half.
With 1:24 remaining, UNC took its first lead of the second half on two Coretta Brown free throws to make the score 62-61. Wake then gained the lead right back on a Tonia Brown layup. After Carolina missed a shot on its next trip down the floor, Wake's Harris bobbled the rebound several times before gaining control and calling timeout before falling out of bounds. On the ensuing possession, UNC's Nikita Bell stole the ball from Tonia Brown at midcourt and went the distance for the layup as the Tar Heels regained the lead, 64-63.
With 18 seconds remaining, Harris drove the lane and was fouled by UNC's Candace Sutton. Harris, a 69 percent free throw shooter on the year, then nailed her two foul shots to give the Deacs the lead, 65-64. UNC's Bell had two shots in the closing seconds, but neither went through as Wake held on for its third ACC victory over the last four games.
Tonia Brown led the Wake Forest scoring effort with 16 points, including three three-pointers. Junior Tiffani Listenbee recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
North Carolina freshman Leah Metcalf posted a game-high 17 points while sophomore forward Chrystal Baptist recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. In all, four Tar Heels posted double figures in scoring as Brown tallied 13 points and Bell contributed 10.
