University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 14 Carolina Hosts Elon Tuesday
December 16, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2002
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Tipoff: No. 14 UNC hosts Elon
The University of North Carolina women's basketball team is 6-1 on the season and ranked 14th in the nation heading into Tuesday evening's matchup with Elon (2-3). Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium.
The Tar Heels are coming off a nine-day break, while the Phoenix lost 64-51 at UNC Greensboro on Saturday.
Next up for UNC is a meeting with undefeated South Carolina in Myrtle Beach on Dec. 20. The Tar Heels' next home game is Dec. 29 against Charleston Southern.
On the air
The game between UNC and Elon will be broadcast live by the Tar Heel Radio Network. The flagship station is 1360-AM WCHL. Jones Angell will handle Carolina's play-by-play announcing and Stephen Gates 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 Carmichael ticket window beginning one hour before the game or through the UNC ticket office by calling (919) 962-2296 or (800) 722-4335.
Quick facts on UNC
2002-03 Record: 6-1
2001-02 Record: 26-9 (11-5 ACC)
Current Rankings: 14th AP, 14th USAToday/ ESPN
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell (Carson-Newman, 1974)
Career Record: 608-250 (in her 28th season)
Record at UNC: 336-170 (in her 17th season)
Assistant Head Coach: Andrew Calder
Assistant Coaches: Tracey Williams, Charlotte Smith-Taylor
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
* Tuesday's game against Elon will be UNC's first in nine days, since a win over Old Dominion on Dec. 8. The break was due to the University's final exams, which ran from Dec. 6-17
* UNC leads the series with Elon 3-1.
* North Carolina's Jessica Sell and Elon's Samantha McComas last faced each other in a 2002 West Virginia high school state semifinal game. Sell hit two free throws with three seconds to play to lead North Marion High to a win over McComas' Huntington High. Sell's team finished as the state runner-up.
* In the season's first seven games, five different players have led the Tar Heels in scoring in at least one game, five have led way in rebounding and four have led in assists.
* Junior center Candace Sutton needs four blocks to move into third place on UNC's career list for that category, passing Sylvia Crawley (1991-94). Sutton has 120, and Crawley finished her career with 123.
UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Candace Sutton (12.9 points per game)
Rebounding: La'Tangela Atkinson (7.3 per game)
Assists: Leah Metcalf (3.7 per game)
Steals: Nikita Bell (2.6 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (1.9 per game)
Field goal percentage: Carrie Davis, Jenni Laaksonen (55.6 percent)
Minutes per game: Coretta Brown (30.9 per game)
Scouting the Elon Phoenix
Elon is 2-3 on the season following a 64-51 loss at UNC Greensboro Saturday afternoon. The Phoenix was led by 17 points from junior guard Holly Andrews.
Andrews, from Hudson, N.C., leads the team in scoring for the season with an average of 13.8 points per game. Senior forward Anestha Blakeney is next with 8.6 points and a team-best 53.1 shooting percentage. Junior forward Ivey Ghee comes off the bench to lead the team in rebounds with 5.2 per game.
Elon is coached by Brenda Paul, who is in her ninth season with the program.
The North Carolina-Elon series
Tuesday's game will be the fifth meeting between UNC and Elon and the first since the 2000-01 season. The Tar Heels lead the series 3-1.
* In the most recent game, Carolina won 77-58 on Dec. 28, 2000, at Carmichael Auditorium. LaQuanda Barskdale led UNC with a career-high 32 points, 23 in the first half. Juana Brown scored 16 and Coretta Brown added 13. Other current Tar Heels who played in that game were Jennifer Thomas (two points, five rebounds), Courtney Chambers (four points, two rebounds), Chrystal Baptist and Carrie Davis. Candace Sutton missed the game after suffering a concussion in UNC's previous outing.
Last time out: Dec. 8, 2002
No. 16 UNC 90, Old Dominion 54
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -North Carolina used an early 10-0 run to jump in front of Old Dominion and cruised on to a 90-54 win at Carmichael Auditorium. The 16th-ranked Tar Heels improved to 6-1, while Old Dominion fell to 1-4.
"ODU is a lot better than the score indicates," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We got rolling early and we were able to take them out of some things.
"We really focused on rebounding and on not giving up transition baskets. The players worked hard on getting on the boards and we had people come off the bench and play well. We got our defense going, which helped our offense."
The score was tied at 12-12 before a basketball by sophomore forward Nikita Bell with 13:53 to play in the first half set off the 10-point UNC run, during which five different players hit field goals. After Carolina took a 22-12 lead with 12 minutes remaining before halftime, the Lady Monarchs never got closer than six.
Junior center Candace Sutton led UNC with a season-high 17 points and added six rebounds and two blocks. Senior guard Coretta Brown tied her season high with 16 points, 11 of which came in the first five minutes of the game, when she hit all three of her three-point attempts.
Freshman guard Jessica Sell played a career-high 24 minutes and scored 11 points, including three three-pointers. Also in double figures was senior forward Jennifer Thomas, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
UNC shot 53.6 percent in the second half and 49.3 percent for the game, compared with 31.3 percent by ODU. Carolina outrebounded Old Dominion 53-34, led by a career high 11 boards from Bell, who also had seven points and five assists.
"We were outhustled and outrebounded," ODU coach Wendy Larry said. "UNC is one talented basketball team. They're certainly athletic and they have size."
Sophomore guard Shareese Grant led Old Dominion with a career-high 23 points and junior forward Monique Coker added 10 points and led the Lady Monarchs in rebounding with six.
Thomas, one of three team captains, knew the Tar Heels were ready to play even before the opening tip. "Our warmup was really good - we were focused and making all our shots," she said. "Everyone really seemed to be on the same page, and I thought we came out playing well from the start. We jumped on them from the beginning. We knew we had to be ready against a team like Old Dominion."
Back on the court
The three minutes that sophomore center Tiffany Tucker played against Old Dominion on Dec. 8 marked her first action since Jan. 7, 2002, when she suffered a torn ACL in a win against Tennessee-Martin. Tucker's return gives the Tar Heels 13 active players. Still sidelined is senior guard Elizabeth Coughran, who tore an ACL in preseason practice.
Sutton climbing blocks list
Though just beginning her junior year, center Candace Sutton already ranks among UNC's career leaders in blocks. She started the season with a total of 107 in 62 games for a 1.73 average, second best in school history. Both of her season totals rank on UNC's single season chart, with her freshman-year 40 tied for ninth and her sophomore-year 67 in fourth.
With 13 blocks this year, Sutton now has 120, fourth on UNC's career list. She needs just four more to take over third place on the UNC list and 24th on the Atlantic Coast Conference's career list. (She currently ranks 26th in ACC history, with UNC's Sylvia Crawley and Virginia's Monick Foote tied at 24th with career totals of 123.
North Carolina's career leaders in blocked shots
1. Dawn Royster (1984-87) - 329 in 110 games (2.99 per game)
2. Gwendolyn Gillingham (1992-95) - 126 in 114 games (1.11)
3. Sylvia Crawley (1991-94) - 123 in 124 games (0.99)
4. Candace Sutton (2001-present) - 120 in 69 games (1.74)
5. Tresa Brown (1981-84) - 112 in 121 games (0.93)
Brown knocks 'em down
Last season, senior guard Coretta Brown hit 99 three-pointers to set school and conference single-season records in that category. After a slow start to this season - she hit just one in each of the team's first two games - she now has 13 on the year. Against DePaul on Nov. 29, she was 4-for-5 from three-point range, all in the first half.
With a current career total of 179, she ranks fourth on UNC's all-time list. Her career three-point percentage, which currently sits at .372, is the best in school history.
* With three three-pointers against Old Dominion, Brown moved into 16th on the ACC's career list, passing Clemson's Kerry Boyatt-Hall. Virginia's Telisha Quarles (1999-2002) is in 15th place with 187. Brown ranks 19th in ACC history in three-point attempts.
North Carolina's career leaders in three-pointers
1. Nikki Teasley (1998-2000, 2002) - 236 in 125 games
2. Stephanie Lawrence (1992-95) - 227 in 128 games
3. Tonya Sampson (1991-94) - 194 in 123 games
4. Coretta Brown (2000-present) - 179 in 104 games
5. Juana Brown (1998-2001) - 168 in 124 games
Freshmen off to fast starts
Both freshmen on the UNC roster, La'Tangela Atkinson and Jessica Sell, have made significant contributions this season.
* Atkinson, voted the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year, was named ACC Rookie of the Week after averaging 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds as UNC took third at the Rainbow Wahine Classic. She led the Tar Heels with 19 points against Hawaii on Dec. 1 in her first career start and has started both games since then. She is averaging 12.3 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds.
* Sell scored 20 points to lead the Tar Heels in a win over East Tennessee State on Nov. 24. She has come off the bench to play in every game and is averaging 6.9 points.
