University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host Blue Devils Monday
January 18, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2003
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
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Tipoff: No. 8 UNC hosts No. 1 Duke, Jan. 20
The University of North Carolina women's basketball team (15-1, 5-0 ACC) hosts top-ranked Duke (16-0, 4-0) Monday in a meeting of the two teams still undefeated in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Tipoff at Carmichael Auditorium is noon.
The Tar Heels are ranked eighth in the Associated Press poll, 10th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll. Duke is ranked No. 1 in both polls, spots the Blue Devils have held since the start of the season.
Next up for UNC is a non-conference matchup. The Tar Heels travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., this week for a Thursday evening game at Western Michigan.
On the air
Monday's game will be televised live nationally by ESPN2. Mark Jones will handle the play-by-play duties and Doris Burke will provide color commentary.
The game also will be broadcast live 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 is the analyst. Game action also is available via the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com.
Quick facts on UNC
2002-03 Record: 15-1 (5-0 ACC)
Current Rankings: 8th AP, 10th USAToday/ ESPN
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell (Carson-Newman, 1974)
Career Record: 617-250 (in her 28th season)
Record at UNC: 345-170 (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
* UNC's 15-1 start is the team's best since 1998-99, when the Tar Heels opened the season 17-1.
* Today's Carolina-Duke matchup is worth 1.5 points in the Carlyle Cup race, the annual all-sports competition between the two schools.
* UNC leads the series with Duke 36-22, but the Blue Devils have won the last six meetings and nine of the last 10.
* North Carolina has never beaten a team ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. The Tar Heels have played the top team on 16 previous occasions, most recently on Nov. 15, 2001, when they lost 94-74 at Connecticut.
* With one assist, Coretta Brown will move onto the ACC's top 25 career list in that category. Brown heads into Monday's game with a total of 438 assists; Maryland's Carla Holmes (1988-91) ranks 25th in ACC history with 439.
* The Tar Heels continue to lead the NCAA in rebounding margin. UNC also ranks in the top five in scoring margin, field goal percentage defense and win-loss percentage. The most recent national statistics are through games of Jan. 13.
* North Carolina's ranking of eighth in the Associated Press poll is the team's highest since Nov. 15, 1999, when the Tar Heels were No. 8 in the first week of the 1999-2000 season.
UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Coretta Brown (12.9 points per game)
Rebounding: La'Tangela Atkinson (7.8 per game)
Assists: Leah Metcalf (4.7 per game)
Steals: Nikita Bell (2.6 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (1.6 per game)
Minutes per game: Coretta Brown (31.9 per game)
Notable numbers
* UNC has not allowed 70 points in any game this season. South Carolina's 69 points is the season high by an opponent. (Duke has scored 70 or more points in 13 of its 16 games.)
* Only one opponent has shot 40 percent from the field. Oklahoma shot 46.7 percent in handing UNC its only loss. (Duke has shot 40 percent or better from the field in 13 of its 16 games.)
* UNC has outrebounded 14 of its 16 opponents. Davidson (44-43) and South Carolina (42-40) are the only teams to have beaten UNC on the boards this season. (Duke has been outrebounded just once this season.)
* Six different Carolina players have led the team in scoring or tied for the scoring lead. The same is true on the boards, where six different Tar Heels have led the team in rebounding or tied for the team lead. (Either Alana Beard or Iciss Tillis has led Duke in scoring in all 16 games. Seven players have held or shared the rebounding lead.)
Scouting the Duke Blue Devils
Duke is 16-0 on the season, 4-0 in ACC play. The Blue Devils have held the No. 1 spot in both national polls since the preseason.
Duke's last outing was on Thursday, a 71-61 homecourt win over Wake Forest. Junior guard Alana Beard led the team in scoring with 29 points and also had 11 rebounds. Junior forward Iciss Tillis grabbed a team-high 14 boards and scored 13 points.
On the season, Beard leads Duke and the ACC with 24.8 points per game. Tillis is scoring 14.6 points per game and freshman center Mistie Bass adds 9.6. Beard also is the team's top rebounder with 7.4 a game.
As a team, the Blue Devils rank first in the nation in scoring (85.3 points per game) and first in scoring margin. They lead the ACC in 10 of 19 team categories, including scoring, defense, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and steals.
Duke is coached by Gail Goestenkors, who is 253-82 in 11 years with the program.
The North Carolina-Duke series
Monday's game will be the 59th women's basketball meeting between UNC and Duke. North Carolina leads the series 38-22, but Duke has dominated in recent years, winning the last six and nine of the last 10.
In addition to two conference matchups a year, the Tar Heels and Blue Devils have met a third time in two of the last three years. The teams faced off in the ACC Championship game in 2000 and 2002, with Duke winning both times (79-76 in 2002, 87-80 in 2002).
* Clashing at Carmichael: North Carolina has won six of the last 10 matchups with Duke at Carmichael Auditorium. The most recent win came in 2000, when the unranked Tar Heels knocked off No. 9 Duke 73-64. Duke won 92-85 in overtime in Chapel Hill in '01 and 90-75 in '02.
Last year's matchups:
No. 5 Duke 102, No. 21 UNC 82
Jan. 24, 2002, in Durham, N.C.
Five Duke players scored in double figures to lead the Blue Devils to a homecourt win. Alana Beard led the way with 31, while Monique Currie scored 23, Iciss Tillis had 12 and Michelle Matyasovsky and Sheana Mosch scored 10 each.
Coretta Brown led UNC with 19 points, 15 in the second half. Leah Metcalf scored 15 and Candace Sutton added 14 points and eight rebounds as Carolina beat Duke 45-44 on the boards.
UNC lost its fourth game in five outings and gave up the highest points total by an opponent all season.
No. 5 Duke 90, No. 19 UNC 75
Feb. 24, 2002, in Chapel Hill
After leading by three at halftime, 45-42, Duke started the second half with a 26-2 run as the Tar Heels missed 20 of 21 shots. Alana Beard led the Blue Devils with 26 points and Iciss Tillis scored 23. Coretta Brown led UNC with 23 points and Nikki Teasley, who was honored in Senior Day ceremonies before the game, scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The teams were tied on the boards, 49-49. The attendance total of 7,842 was UNC's largest of the season at home.
No. 3 Duke 87, No. 16 UNC 80
March 4, 2002, in Chapel Hill
In the ACC Championship game, UNC led by 12 (59-47) with 13:25 to play, but Duke stormed back for the win. The Blue Devils shot 64 percent in the second half, 54.9 for the game. Monique Currie led Duke with 30 points and Alana Beard scored 25.
Nikki Teasley and Candace Sutton scored 19 each for UNC and Coretta Brown added 15.
Currie was named tournament MVP honors. Beard, Brown, Sutton and Teasley all were named to the first team.
The Carlyle Cup
Monday's UNC-Duke women's basketball game is worth 1.5 points in the Carlyle Cup race, the annual all-sports contest between Carolina and Duke. The Tar Heels currently lead 11.5 to 5.5 in the standings.
In 2001, Duke won the inaugural Carlyle Cup, 27-21. UNC won it in 2002, 31-17.
