University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Look For 13th Win As Tennessee-Martin Visits
January 6, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2002
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Tipoff: No. 19 UNC hosts Tennessee-Martin, Jan. 7
The University of North Carolina women's basketball team (12-2, 3-0 ACC) hosts Tennessee-Martin (2-9) Monday for a nonconference contest. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium.
UNC is ranked 19th in this week's Associated Press poll, 18th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll. Tennessee-Martin is not ranked.
On Thursday, UNC will return to Atlantic Coast Conference play, hosting NC State at the Dean E. Smith Center.
On the air
The game between UNC and UT-Martin 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 and Jones Angell will provide color commentary. Game action also is available via the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com.
Tickets
Tickets to UNC women's basketball games are $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors. There is no charge for admission for children 12 and under.
North Carolina students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their UNC One Cards.
Tickets may be purchased at the door or at the UNC ticket office by calling (919) 962-2296 or (800) 722-4335.
Quick facts on UNC
2001-02 Record: 12-2 (3-0 ACC)
Current Rankings: 19th AP, 18th USAToday/ ESPN
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell (Carson-Newman, 1974)
Career Record: 588-242 (in her 27th season)
Record at UNC: 316-162 (in her 16th season)
Assistant Head Coach: Andrew Calder
Assistant Coaches: Tracey Williams, Sylvia Crawley
Team captains: Coretta Brown, Courtney Chambers, Jennifer Thomas
Sports information contact: Dana Gelin
Phone/email: (919) 962-0083/dgelin@uncaa.unc.edu
UNC athletics website: www.TarHeelBlue.com
UNC ticket office: (919) 962-2126, (800) 722-4335
News of note
* UNC and Tennessee-Martin have never met in women's basketball.
* Monday's night's game is UNC's second-to-last nonconference matchup of the regular season. The Tar Heels will host Villanova on Feb. 6 in the team's final non-ACC game.
* The team's 12-2 record marks UNC's best start since 1999, when the Tar Heels lost just once in their first 14 games.
* Senior guard Nikki Teasley has hit her last 22 free throws and is 41-45 (91.1 percent) from the line this season. The last time she missed from the foul line was against Kentucky on Nov. 28.
* As a team, UNC is 31-for-38 from the foul line (81.6 percent) over its last two games.
UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Nikki Teasley (16.6 points per game)
Rebounding: Chrystal Baptist (8.7 per game)
Assists: Leah Metcalf (6.2 per game)
Steals: Nikki Teasley (2.7 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (1.9 per game)
Field goal percentage: Kenya McBee (60.0, 36-60)
Three-point percentage (min. 1 per game): Nikki Teasley (42.2, 35-83)
Free throw percentage (min. 1 per game): Nikki Teasley (91.1, 41-45)
Minutes per game: Coretta Brown (31.9 per game)
Scouting the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
Tennessee-Martin is 2-9 on the season following a 91-68 loss at UNLV on Dec. 21 in the team's last outing. UTM, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, is 0-1 this season in league play.
The team is led in scoring by junior guard Amy Watson, who averages 11.3 points per game. Senior guard Kelly Pendleton adds 10.5 points. Senior guard Tracy Webb leads the Skyhawks in rebounding with 3.9 boards per game. Junior guard T. J. Barker is the team's assists leader with 2.5 per game.
No player on the team has started all 11 games.
The Skyhawks are led by the husband and wife team of Gary and Kim Van Atta who serve as co-coaches.
* Tennessee-Martin opened the season with an 87-55 win over Lees-McRae then lost seven consecutive games (to Northern Iowa, LSU, Northwestern State, Evansville, Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee and Murray State) before defeating Lipscomb 75-60. The team fell 97-87 in overtime at Ohio before traveling to UNLV for a 91-68 loss in the most recent game.
* The only common opponent that UNC and Tennessee-Martin have faced this season is Evansville. The Tar Heels defeated the Purple Aces 89-69 in the second game of the season. The Skyhawks lost 86-67 to Evansville on Nov. 27.
The North Carolina-Tennessee-Martin series
Monday's game will be the first meeting between UNC and UT-Martin in women's basketball.
Hot from the line
The Tar Heels are coming off their two best free throw shooting performances of the season. UNC hit 24 of 30 (80.0 percent) at Florida State on Wednesday and 7 of 8 (87.5 percent) against Lehigh on Saturday. Prior to those games, Carolina's best foul shooting night was against Connecticut, when the Tar Heels hit on 13 of 17 attempts (76.5 percent).
UNC is now shooting 67.4 percent from the foul line for the season.
Leading the way for Carolina is senior guard Nikki Teasley, who is shooting 91.1 percent (41-45). She has hit her last 22 attempts, a streak that dates back to the team's win over Kentucky on Nov. 28.
Sutton the ACC's best
Sophomore Candace Sutton was named ACC Player of the Week on Dec. 31 in recognition of her performance in Carolina's 85-58 win over Maryland on Dec. 30. Sutton led UNC in scoring with 18 points and tied for the rebounding lead with eight.
The 6-6 center from Kettering, Md., has started all 14 games for the Tar Heels this season and ranks third on the team with a scoring average of 13.3 points per game. She is second on the team in rebounding with 6.9 per game. Her average of 1.9 blocks per game leads the ACC and she also ranks among the league's leaders in field goal percentage (53.2).
Sutton has scored in double figures 11 times this season and has one double-double, with 19 points and 12 rebounds against Richmond.
Not even close
In 14 games this season, UNC has yet to play to a final margin in the single digits. The Tar Heels' closest game thus far has been a 95-85 win over Old Dominion on Dec. 2.
Carolina's 12 wins have come by an average margin of 30.3 points. The Tar Heels' two losses have been by an average margin of 26 points.
On the season, UNC is outscoring its opponents 88.1-65.9.
* In its 12 wins, Carolina has averaged 92.2 points and 49.8 rebounds while shooting 46.9 percent from the field. In its two losses, UNC has averaged 63.5 points and 36.0 rebounds while shooting 30.1 percent from the field.
McBee shines in the conference
Freshman forward Kenya McBee's role on the team has grown as she has become accustomed to the college game. She has been particularly effective against ACC teams this season, with an average of 10.3 points in UNC's three conference games, compared with a scoring average of 6.6 points in all games. She is shooting 68.8 percent from the field against ACC teams and scored a career-high 14 points at Florida State last Wednesday, when she was 4-for-6 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Nine of her points game in a decisive second-half run in which the Tar Heels grabbed the lead for good en route to a 93-81 win.
* McBee in all games: 6.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 13.1 minutes
* McBee in ACC games: 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 14.7 minutes.
Last time out for UNC
Jan. 5: No. 19 North Carolina 76, Lehigh 47
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-UNC stepped outside the conference Saturday night to earn a 76-47 win over visiting Lehigh at Carmichael Auditorium. The Tar Heels, ranked 19th in the Associated Press poll and 18th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, improved to 12-2 on the season. Lehigh fell to 4-9.
The Mountain Hawks, members of the Patriot League, led 16-14 after a lay-up by sophomore guard Carli Toliver with 12:18 remaining in the first half. Carolina responded with an 18-0 run to go up 32-16 6:07 before the break. After that, Lehigh never got within 14.
Tar Heel senior Nikki Teasley led all scorers with 21 points in 26 minutes of play. She came off the bench to hit 8 of 11 attempts, four of six three-pointers, and tied her career high with six steals. Also scoring in double figures were sophomore center Candace Sutton (16 points on 7-of-11 shooting) and junior guard Coretta Brown (14 points, including three three-pointers). Sutton also had a season-high four blocks.
Sophomore forward Chrystal Baptist led UNC in rebounding with eight and freshman Leah Metcalf handed out nine assists. For the game, Carolina totaled 20 assists and committed just 13 turnovers.
Toliver led Lehigh in scoring with 17 points, one short of her season high. She was 7-for-13 from the field, 3-for-8 from three-point range. Junior center Anne Tierney added 15 points and six rebounds. Chantal St. Laurent, a 5-6 freshman guard, led the Mountain Hawks on the boards with a career-high nine rebounds.
UNC's 76 points marked the team's lowest total in a win this season. The Tar Heels, who came into the game averaging 89.1 points per game, shot 39.5 in the first half but boosted that to 55.2 in the second, 46.3 for the game.
