University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 9 UNC Meets UConn Sunday
November 20, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2004
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
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Tip-off
After opening the season Friday night with an 86-40 homecourt win over Elon, North Carolina (1-0) takes on Connecticut (1-0) Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the Jimmy V Classic at the RBC Center in Raleigh. The UNC-UConn matchup leads off the doubleheader and will be followed by a game between Tennessee and NC State.
UNC is ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the coaches' poll. Connecticut is No. 4 in both polls.
Up next
The Tar Heels return home to Carmichael Auditorium to host Charleston Southern on Tuesday at 7 p.m. On Wednesday, the team heads for Las Vegas, where the Tar Heels will play in the Lady Rebel Shootout on Nov. 27 (Villanova) and 28 (UNLV or Texas-Arlington).
On the air
Sunday's game will be televised live by ESPN. Pam Ward will handle the play-by-play, Ann Meyers and Doris Burke will provide color commentary, and Heather Cox will report from the sidelines.
The game also will be broadcast on the stations of the Tar Heel Radio Network. Chapel Hill-based WCHL-AM 1360 is the flagship station. Jones Angell is UNC's play-by-play announcer and Adam Pohl adds color commentary.
UNC at a glance
2004-05 record 1-0
2003-04 record 24-7 (12-4 ACC)
Current rankings 9th A.P., 12th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 655-262 (30th season)
Record at UNC 383-182 (19th 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)
Press row number (919) 843-9509
News to note
The UNC-Connecticut series
The series between UNC and UConn is tied at 2-2, with Carolina having won the first two meetings and Connecticut the two most recent.
1979-80: UNC 84, UConn 51 in Chapel Hill
1993-94: UNC 81, UConn 69 in Piscataway, N.J.
(NCAA East Region final)
1995-96: UConn 77, UNC 62 in Richmond, Va.
(Central Fidelity Classic)
2001-02: UConn 94, UNC 74 in Storrs, Conn.
(Preseason WNIT semifinals)
The last time they met
Nov. 15, 2001: UConn 94, UNC 74
At Gampel Pavillion, Sue Bird led Connecticut with 20 points and teammate Tamika Williams grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds as the Huskies advanced to the Preseason WNIT title game.
UConn outrebounded UNC 70-31 and outscored the Tar Heels 60-22 in the paint.
Diana Taurasi entered the game averaging a team-high 18.5 points, but didn't score until the final three minutes of the first half. The sophomore guard finished with 14 points, including two consecutive three-pointers and a layup in less than a minute that gave UConn a 47-30 advantage. Connecticut was up 51-34 at halftime and led by as many as 30 points in the second half.
UNC's freshman guard Leah Metcalf had a career-high 25 points, and Coretta Brown added 17. Adding 10 points each were sophomore center Candace Sutton and senior guard Nikki Teasley, who played just 24 minutes due to foul trouble.
Closing in on 1,000
Several UNC players started the season within striking distance of the 1,000-points mark for their careers. Senior forward/guard Nikita Bell heads into the UConn game with 868 career points (122 away) and senior guard Leah Metcalf has 848 points (152 away).
UNC in the polls
After finishing last season ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 21 in the coaches' poll, the Tar Heels have made higher preseason showings in both. UNC's preseason rankings of No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 12 in the coaches' poll are the team's highest at the start of the season since 1999-2000. That year, Carolina opened at No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 8 in the coaches' poll.
