Carolina Travels To Face No. 1 Duke

January 9, 2004 | Women's Basketball

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Jan. 9, 2004

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Tipoff
The North Carolina women's basketball team travels to Durham Sunday afternoon for its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference road game, this one against Duke. Tipoff at Cameron Indoor Stadium is 2 p.m.
North Carolina (13-1, 3-0 ACC) is ranked 13th in both the Associated Press poll and the coaches' poll. Duke (12-1, 3-0 ACC) is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and No. 2 in the coaches' poll.
After Sunday's game, the Tar Heels have eight days off before their next action, at Maryland on Jan. 19.

On the air
Sunday's game will be televised live nationally by ESPN2. Mark Jones will handle the play-by-play and Doris Burke will provide color commentary.
The game also will be broadcast live by the Tar Heel Radio Network. The women's basketball network encompasses 17 stations, including WCHL-AM 1360, the flagship station. Jones Angell is UNC's play-by-play announcer and Adam Pohl joins him to give color commentary.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com, the official website of UNC athletics.

At a glance
2003-04 record 13-1 (3-0 ACC)
Current rankings 13th A.P., 13th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 643-256 (29th season)
Record at UNC 371-176 (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

Sunday's game is the 62nd women's basketball meeting between North Carolina and Duke. UNC leads the series 36-25, but the Blue Devils have won the last nine.

UNC is 0-17 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. Included in that total is the Tar Heels 78-67 overtime loss to Duke last season (Jan. 20, 2003) in Chapel Hill.

Freshman forward Camille Little is the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week after averaging 20.7 points and 10.0 rebounds in the Tar Heels' wins over Penn State, Wake Forest and Clemson. The honor is her third of the season.

UNC's freshman class of two currently accounts for the team leads in scoring (Camille Little, 15.0 points per game), rebounding (Little, 8.1) and assists (Ivory Latta, 4.9 per game).

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 152-113 in conference games.

With three blocks against NC State on Thursday, senior Candace Sutton took over seventh place on the ACC's career blocks list with a total of 189. In sixth place is Florida State's Brooke Wyckoff (209 from 1998-2001).

With five assists against against Clemson last Sunday, junior Leah Metcalf moved onto UNC's list of the top 10 career totals in that category. She now has a total of 340, 16 shy of ninth place.

Camille Little hit eight of her 10 free throw attempts against NC State to boost her season percentage above 70. The freshman came into the game shooting 69.6 percent (32-46) and is now at 71.4 percent, 11th-best in the ACC.

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.

Sylvia Hatchell's career total for wins currently stands at 643, just one shy of NC State head coach Kay Yow, who stands fifth in all-time wins by active coaches with 644.

Noting the numbers

Four UNC players are scoring in double figures, led by freshmen Camille Little (15.0 points per game) and Ivory Latta (13.6).

Three UNC players rank among the ACC's top six in rebounding. Freshman Camille Little is second (8.1), sophomore La'Tangela Atkinson is fourth (7.9) and senior Candace Sutton is sixth (7.3).

In the most recent NCAA statistics (through games of Jan. 5), UNC ranked third in the nation in field goal percentage defense, with opponents shooting 31.9 percent from the field. Texas Tech leads the nation, limiting opponents to 31.1 percent, and Baylor is second at 31.7 percent.

Carolina ranks 23rd in the nation in fewest fouls per game, averaging 14.9. The Tar Heels have not had a player foul out of a game this season.

In UNC's first three ACC games, sophomore La'Tangela Atkinson has hit 12 of her 18 field goal attempts (including three of four three-point attempts) for a 66.7 shooting percentage, the highest in the league.

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.

Only two opponents have shot 40 percent or better against UNC this season, Old Dominion (45.5) and Wake Forest (46.0).

UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Camille Little (15.0 points per game)
Rebounding: Camille Little (8.1 per game)
Assists: Ivory Latta (4.8 per game)
Steals: Nikita Bell (2.6 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (2.2 per game)
Field goal percentage: La'Tangela Atkinson (55.2 percent, 64-116)
Three-point percentage: Camille Little (40.0 percent, 10-25)
Free throw percentage: Carrie Davis (83.3, 20-24)
Minutes: Ivory Latta (29.9 per game)

UNC in the NCAA rankings
(Through games of Jan. 5)
Scoring offense: Sixth (82.2)
Scoring defense: 14th (53.8)
Scoring margin: Sixth (28.4)
Field goal percentage: 21st (47.0)
Field goal percentage defense: Third (31.9)
Rebounding margin: Seventh (12.5)
Blocks: Tied for 19th (5.0)
Steals: 23rd (12.1)
Assists: 24th (18.0)
Fewest fouls per game: 23rd (14.9)
Win/loss percentage: Tied for fifth (92.3)

UNC in the ACC rankings
(Through games of Jan. 9)
Scoring offense: Second (80.5)
Scoring defense: First (54.1)
Scoring margin: Second (+26.4)
Field goal percentage: Second (45.8)
Three-point percentage: Fourth (32.0)
Free throw percentage: Third (69.9)
Field goal percentage defense: First (32.2)
Three-point percentage defense: First (25.7)
Rebounding: First (47.5)
Rebounding defense: Fifth (35.8)
Rebounding margin: Second (+11.7)
Assists: Third (17.50)
Steals: Second (11.93)
Blocks: Second (5.14)
Turnover margin: Third (+3.57)
Assist/turnover ratio: Second (1.04)
Offensive rebounds: First (17.00)
Defensive rebounds: First (30.50)
Three-pointers made: Fourth (5.00)
Individuals
Scoring: 5. Camille Little (15.0); 8. Ivory Latta (13.6); 16. La'Tangela Atkinson (11.1); 21. Candace Sutton (10.2); 25. Nikita Bell (9.9)
Rebounding: 2. Camille Little (8.1), 4. La'Tangela Atkinson (7.9); 6. Candace Sutton (7.3); T14. Nikita Bell (5.6)
Offensive rebounds: 1. Candace Sutton (3.36); T6. La'Tangela Atkinson (2.64)
Defensive rebounds: 2. Camille Little (5.64), 4. La'Tangela Atkinson (5.29); 10. Candace Sutton (3.93); 15. Nikita Bell (3.50)
Field goal percentage: 3. La'Tangela Atkinson (.552); 5. Camille Little (53.7); 10. Candace Sutton (51.9)
Three-point percentage: 4. Ivory Latta (39.4); 12. Leah Metcalf (3.17)
Free throw percentage: 4. Ivory Latta (79.6); 11. Camille Little (71.4); 15. Candace Sutton (68.8)
Assists: 2. Ivory Latta (4.79); T4. Leah Metcalf (4.50); 15. La'Tangela Atkinson (3.00)
Steals: 3. Nikita Bell (2.57); T6. Ivory Latta (2.07); T11. La'Tangela Atkinson (1.86); T11. Leah Metcalf (1.86)
Blocks: 2. Candace Sutton (2.21)
Three-pointers made: 2. Ivory Latta (2.00); 10. Leah Metcalf (1.36)
Assist-turnover ratio: 4. Leah Metcalf (1.85); 5. Ivory Latta (1.81); 15. La'Tangela Atkinson (0.93)

Scouting the Duke Blue Devils
Duke, ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and No. 2 in the coaches' poll. is 12-1 on the season and 3-0 in the ACC following a 77-45 win at Georgia Tech on Thursday. Senior Alana Beard led four players in double figures with 17 points. Brittany Hunter and Monique Currie scored 14 each and Lindsey Harding added 10 as the Blue Devils shot 46.2 percent from the field.
On the season, Beard is Duke's top scorer with 19.2 points per game. Also in double figures are Currie (13.8), Iciss Tillis (12.3). Mistie Bass (10.8) and Hunter (10.3). The Blue Devils average 87.8 points per game.
Tillis leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game.
The Blue Devils are coached by Gail Goestenkors, who is 284-85 in her 12 season with the program.

The Duke-North Carolina series
Sunday's game will be the 62nd women's basketball matchup between Duke and North Carolina. UNC leads the series 36-25, but the Blue Devils have won the last nine meetings and 13 of the last 15.
Carolina's last win in the series came in the 1999-2000 season with a 73-64 victory at Carmichael Auditorium on Feb. 27, 2000. Since then there have been two overtime games and three other games with single-digit margins, but Duke has won all nine.
UNC's last win in Durham cam in the 1996-97 season, when the Tar Heels won 87-73 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 18, 1997.

No player on the UNC roster has been part of a win over Duke.

Duke and Carolina have met in three of the last four ACC Championship games, in 2000, 2002 and 2003, with the Blue Devils winning all three.

Wake Forest is the only opponent both Duke and UNC have faced thus far in the season. Duke won 88-55 in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Dec. 5 and Carolina won 90-79 in Chapel Hill on Jan. 2.

Last year at Duke: Feb. 7, 2003
No. 2 Duke 97, No. 6 North Carolina 63
DURHAM, N.C. - UNC suffered its first road loss of the season and its largest margin of defeat in three years, 97-63 at Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday evening. The Blue Devils led throughout the game and finished with the highest scoring total and best shooting percentage (53.8) by an UNC opponent this season.
Four Duke players scored in double figures, led by Iciss Tillis, who had 21 points and also paced her team with 10 rebounds.
Nikita Bell led the Tar Heels with 14 points and Leah Metcalf added 13. Kenya McBee came off the bench to score a season-high 12 and lead the team in rebounds with seven.
UNC finished with a season-low 32 rebounds and was beaten on the boards for the second game on a row, 41-32.

UNC vs. No. 1
For the second year in a row, Duke is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first Tar Heel-Blue Devil matchup of the season. Last year's first game, on Jan. 20, was a 78-67 overtime win for Duke at Carmichael Auditorium.
With that loss, Carolina fell to 0-17 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. UNC is 79-163 all-time against ranked teams and 16-85 against teams in the top 10.