University of North Carolina Athletics
Game notes on UNC's first-round matchup
March 19, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 19, 2003
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
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Tipoff: NCAA Tournament first round, March 22
The 12th-ranked University of North Carolina women's basketball team opens 2003 NCAA Tournament play Saturday with a first-round matchup against Austin Peay. Tipoff at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colo., is 7:18 p.m. MST (9:18 EST).
The Tar Heels (27-5) are the No. 3 seed in the Mideast Region, while APSU (27-3) is the No. 14 seed. Thirty minutes after the UNC-Austin Peay game, host Colorado, the No. 6 seed, will play 11th-seeded BYU in the other first-round game.
Winners meet Monday in Boulder for a spot in the Sweet 16. Tipoff time will be set following Saturday's games.
On the air
Saturday's game will be televised live by ESPN2 with Tracy Warren calling the play-by-play and Patti Phillips providing 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 Jan Boxill will provide color commentary.
Game action and live stats are available via the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com.
Quick facts on UNC
2002-03 Record: 27-5 (13-3 ACC)
Current Rankings: 12th AP, 11th ESPN/USA Today
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell (Carson-Newman, 1974)
Career Record: 629-254 (in her 28th season)
Record at UNC: 357-174 (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 is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament field, its third as a No. 3 seed.
* The Tar Heels will face Austin Peay for the first time ever. UNC has never played BYU or Colorado, possible second-round opponents.
* North Carolina's trip to the state of Colorado this weekend will be the first in the history of the program. The Tar Heels have played in Hawaii, Alaska and even Australia, but never Colorado.
* North Carolina is coming off a 77-59 loss to Duke in the ACC Championship game on March 10. The Tar Heels, five-time conference champions, reached the title game for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
* Freshman La'Tangela Atkinson has been named 2003 ACC Rookie of the Year. She is the fifth Tar Heel to claim the honor, the first since Nikki Teasley in 1998.
* Senior Coretta Brown is one of 49 players selected as finalists for Kodak All-America honors. She joins Duke's Alana Beard and Iciss Tillis, Georgia Tech's Sonja Mallory, Clemson's Chrissy Floyd and Siena's Gunto Basko as finalists from Region 2.
* The Tar Heels are averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game over the last six contests. For the season, they have hit 5.2 per game.
* Coretta Brown is UNC's career leader in three-pointers with a total of 245, good for third place on the ACC's career list. Brown also has the program's best career three-point percentage, 37.8, which ranks 13th in ACC history.
* Coretta Brown needs five assists to take over fourth place on UNC's career list. Emily Johnson (1989-92) holds fourth place with 511. Brown heads into the NCAA Tournament with 506.
* Coretta Brown and Candace Sutton were named first-team All-ACC Tournament for the second year in a row. Sophomore Leah Metcalf and freshman La'Tangela Atkinson were named to the second team.
* Four Tar Heels earned All-ACC postseason honors. Coretta Brown was named All-ACC first team for the second year, Nikita Bell was named to the second team and Candace Sutton earned a spot on the third team. La'Tangela Atkinson led the All-Freshman Team and Bell claimed a spot on the All-Defensive Team.
* Senior forward Jennifer Thomas is the recipient of the 2003 Robin Roberts/WBCA Sports Communication Scholarship Award, announced March 6 by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
* As part of its 50th anniversary celebration this year, the Atlantic Coast Conference has named 50 top athletes in each of its sports and 50 top athletes overall. UNC led the women's basketball list with 11 and also led overall list with 15. The grand finale was the announcement on March 13 of the top 10 male and female athletes in conference history. Two UNC women's basketball players were named to the list, Marion Jones at No. 2 and Charlotte Smith at No. 10. Carolina's Mia Hamm was No. 1 and swimmer Sue Walsh was No. 6, giving UNC four of the top 10 women's athletes in ACC history. Carolina had three on the men's list: No. 1 Michael Jordan, No. 7 Lawrence Taylor and No. 9 Phil Ford.
Scouting the Austin Peay Lady Govs
Austin Peay, the Ohio Valley Conference champion, is 27-3 on the season and has won its last 22 games, a conference-record streak. The Lady Govs completed the OVC season 16-0 and swept through the tournament, defeating Southeast Missouri 85-61 in the title game for their third crown in as many years. The team's only losses this season have come at Memphis (56-50), at Vanderbilt (84-50) and at Ohio State (76-60).
Senior guard Brooke Armistead, the OVC Championship MVP, is the team's leading scorer, averaging 18.4 points per game. Two other players average double-digit points, with junior forward Gerlonda Hardin scoring 15.1 points per game and freshman guard Ashley Haynes averaging 11.3. Hardin is the team's leading rebounder with 8.1 per game and Haynes averages 6.4.
Austin Peay is coached by Susie Gardner, a 1986 Georgia graduate. She has been the coach since 1996 and is leading the Lady Govs into the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row, the fourth time in school history.
The UNC-APSU series
UNC and Austin Peay have never met in women's basketball. The Tar Heels are 6-5 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference. Carolina's most recent game against an OVC school was last season, when the Tar Heels beat UT-Martin 90-67 in Chapel Hill on Jan. 7, 2002.
Scouting the rest of the Boulder teams
Host Colorado is the No. 6 seed in the East Region and will face No. 11 BYU in the opening game.
* Colorado is 22-7 on the season, the team's best record since the 1994-95 season. CU finished Big 12 Conference play 11-5 and reached the conference tournament semifinals before losing to eventual-champion Texas, 62-47.
The Buffaloes are led in scoring by junior Tera Bjorklund, a 6-5 center who averages 17.9 points per game and earned All-Big 12 and All-Big 12 Tournament honors. Junior guard Kate Fagan adds 10.4 points per game, while senior forward Sabrina Scott averages 10.0 and leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 boards per game.
Colorado is not ranked, but is receiving votes in both polls. The team is making its 11th NCAA appearance, its third in a row.
* BYU is 19-11 on the season and finished 11-5 in Mountain West Conference play. The Cougars are in the NCAA field for the second year in a row and the fourth time overall. Last season BYU reached the Sweet 16.
Senior guard Erin Thorn leads the team in scoring with 19.1 points per game and sophomore forward Danielle Cheesman is also scoring in double figures with 11.5 points per game. Cheesman leads the team in rebounding with 5.5 per game.
Thorn and Cheesman, high school teammates at Mountain View High in Orem, Utah, both earned All-MWC honors. Thorn was named to the first team and Cheesman to the second team.
The Cougars reached the MWC championship game before falling 52-46 to New Mexico.
