Carolina Meets Virginia Thursday Night In Charlottesville

Jan. 28, 2004

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Tipoff
The North Carolina women's basketball team hits the road again for an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Thursday at Virginia. Tipoff at University Hall in Charlottesville, Va., is 7:30 p.m.
North Carolina (15-3, 5-2 ACC) is ranked 10th in this week's Associated Press poll and 11th in the coaches' poll. Virginia (9-9, 204 ACC) is not ranked.
Next up for Carolina is a home game, just the team's second since the beginning of January. The Tar Heels welcome Florida State to Carmichael Auditorium for a game on Sunday at 2 p.m.

On the air
Thursday's game will air live on the Tar Heel Radion Network. The flagship station is WCHL-1360 AM. Jones Angell is the Tar Heels' play-by-play announcer and Adam Pohl joins him for color commentary. The radio broadcast is available through the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com.

At a glance
2003-04 record 15-3 (5-2 ACC)
Current rankings 10th A.P., 11th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 645-258 (29th season)
Record at UNC 373-178 (18th season)
Assistant head coach Andrew Calder
Assistant coaches Tracey Williams, Charlotte Smith-Taylor
Media contact Dana Gelin
Gelin's phone/email (919) 962-0083/dgelin@uncaa.unc.edu
UNC athletics website www.TarHeelBlue.com
UNC ticket office (919) 962-2296, (800) 722-4335
Home arena Carmichael Auditorium (cap. 10,180)

News of note

Thursday's game is the 64th meeting between UNC and Virginia. The Tar Heels lead the series 32-31 after winning four of the last five matchups.

Between Jan. 8 and Feb. 5, Carolina will play six of its eight games, all conference matchups, on the road.

The Tar Heel roster includes two players from the state of Virginia. Sophomore center Tiffany Tucker is from Colonial Heights (Matoaca High) and junior guard Jennifer Nelms is from Spotsylvania (Spotsylvania High).

Carolina moved up to 10th in this week's Associated Press poll. It's the Tar Heels' highest ranking of the season in either national poll.

Freshman Camille Little leads the Tar Heels in scoring (14.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.6). She registered her fifth double-double of the season in Monday's loss to Wake Forest.

Junior Leah Metcalf hit a season-high five three-pointers in Monday's game. She had missed the previous game with a stomach virus.

UNC's Jan. 2 victory over Wake Forest was the 150th ACC win for coach Sylvia Hatchell, who is in her 18th season at UNC. She is now 154-115 in conference games.

Senior Candace Sutton ranks seventh on the ACC's career blocks list with a total of 194. In sixth place is Florida State's Brooke Wyckoff (209 from 1998-2001).

With five assists against against Clemson on Jan. 4, junior Leah Metcalf moved onto UNC's list of the top 10 career totals in that category, passing Tonya Sampson (333 from 1991-94). She now has a total of 350, six shy of ninth place.

Three Tar Heels - senior Carrie Davis and sophomores La'Tangela Atkinson and Jessica Sell - earned Dean's List honors for the fall semester.

UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell was announced on Nov. 16 as one of six people who will be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in June of 2004.

Noting the numbers

Four UNC players are averaging in double figures, led by freshman Camille Little at 14.6 points per game. Freshman Ivory Latt is scoring 13.7, sophomore La'Tangela Atkinson 10.3 and senior Candace Sutton 10.0.

Camille Little is averaging a league-best 9.6 rebounds in ACC games. Against all opponents, Candace Sutton is the ACC's top offensive rebounder with 3.2 per game.

In the most recent NCAA statistics (through games of Jan. 26), UNC ranked fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense, with opponents shooting 33.9 percent from the field.

Carolina is tied for 23rd in the nation in fewest fouls per game, averaging 15.1. The Tar Heels have not had a player foul out of a game this season.

The Tar Heels have shot 50 percent or better from the field six times this season, including a string of four consecutive games (Tennessee-Martin, South Carolina State, Old Dominion, Wofford). Last season, UNC hit 50 percent or better just four times in the entire season.

UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Camille Little (14.6 points per game)
Rebounding: Camille Little (8.6 per game)
Assists: Ivory Latta (4.3 per game)
Steals: Nikita Bell (2.4 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (2.0 per game)
Field goal percentage: La'Tangela Atkinson (52.5 percent, 73-139)
Three-point percentage: Camille Little (41.2 percent, 14-34)
Free throw percentage: Carrie Davis (86.7, 26-30)
Minutes: Ivory Latta (30.9 per game)

UNC in the NCAA rankings
(Through games of Jan. 26)
Scoring offense: Ninth (77.0)
Scoring defense: 25th (56.7)
Scoring margin: 11th (20.3)
Field goal percentage defense: Fifth (33.9)
Rebounding margin: 10th (9.9)
Blocks: T30th (4.6)
Fewest fouls per game: T23rd (15.1)
Win/loss percentage: 16th (83.3)

Scouting the Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia is 9-9 on the season and 2-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference following a 60-56 loss at Clemson on Sunday. Junior forward Kate Kreager led UVa with 18 points and freshman guard Brenna McGuire scored 12. Virginia outrebounded Clemson 41-33 behind 10 boards from junior guard/forward LaTonya Blue and nine from Kreager.
On the season, junior forward Brandi Teamer leads Virginia in scoring (12.1 points per game) and in rebounding (5.8 per game). Kreager, in her first year playing for the Cavaliers after transferring from Xavier, is scoring 9.7 points per game and senior guard Anna Prillaman adds 9.2.
The Cavaliers are coached by Debbie Ryan, who is 587-233 in her 27th season at the helm of the program.

The Virginia-Carolina series
Thursday's game will be the 64th women's basketball meeting between North Carolina and Virginia. UNC leads the series 32-31 after winning four of the last five matchups.
The Tar Heels took two of three last year, winning 74-54 in Chapel Hill on Jan. 30 and 88-78 in the ACC Tournament on March 9. The Cavaliers won the battle on their home court, 69-59 on March 2.

UNC has won in Charlottesville just four times since 1982. The Tar Heels won at University Hall in 1986 (60-58), 1997 (75-71), 1999 (79-68) and 2002 (78-68).

Last year in Charlottesville, Va.: March 2, 2003
Virginia 69, No. 8 UNC 59
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - In the final regular-season game for both teams, unranked Virginia topped UNC 69-59, avenging a 20-point North Carolina win in the season's first meeting.
The Tar Heels shot a season-low 30.3 from the field and scored a season-low 59 points. They also tied their season-low for points in a period with just 25 before halftime.
The Cavaliers took a 5-4 lead at the 16:12 point and held the advantage for the rest of the game. Shooting 25.8 percent from the field, UNC was down by as many as 13 in the first half. Sophomore Leah Metcalf scored all 13 of her points in the first 20 minutes, shooting 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point range. She was the only UNC player with more than five points at halftime.
In the second half, UNC closed the margin to two points, 46-44, on a jumper by junior Candace Sutton with 7:08 to play. Virginia then went on a 10-0 run to pull away again.
Senior Coretta Brown led the Tar Heels with 16 points but was 5-for-19 from the field, 2-13 from three-point range. Sophomore Nikita Bell also hit double figures with 11 points. Sutton and freshman La'Tangela Atkinson had seven rebounds each to lead UNC, which was outrebounded 51-36.
LaTonya Blue led three Cavaliers in double figures with 25 points and also led the team in rebounds with 10. Cherrise Graham scored 14 and Brandi Teamer had 11.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Nikita Bell

Coretta Brown

Carrie Davis

Ivory Latta

Camille Little

Leah Metcalf

Jennifer Nelms

Jessica Sell

Candace Sutton

Tiffany Tucker

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