Tar Heels In Action In Myrtle Beach

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Dec. 18, 2004

Tip-off
North Carolina (8-1) travels to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to meet Georgia State (3-2) on Sunday at 3 p.m. The game, which will be played at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, follows a 1 p.m. matchup between Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston.
Carolina is ranked No. 5 in this week's Associated Press poll and No. 6 in the coaches' poll. Georgia State is not ranked.

Up next
After a nine-day holiday break, UNC will host Lipscomb on Dec. 28. Tipoff is 2 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium. The matchup will be the first between the two teams.

On the air
The game between UNC and Georgia State will not be broadcast locally on television or radio.

UNC at a glance
2004-05 record 8-1 (0-0 ACC)
Current rankings 5th A.P., 6th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 662-263 (30th season)
Record at UNC 390-183 (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

UNC leads the series with Georgia State 4-1. The teams last met during the 1989-90 season, when Carolina won 76-74 in Atlanta.

Four Tar Heel players will be paying a visit to their home state when UNC plays in Myrtle Beach on Sunday. Senior Kenya McBee is from Greenville, junior La'Tangela Atkinson is from Bishopville, sophomore Ivory Latta is from McConnells and freshman Laydrillia Grant is from Edgemoor.

Carolina is playing a December game in Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the 11th year in a row.

Along with UNC's 27 other varsity teams, the Tar Heel women's basketball team participated in the Share Your Holidays program, helping to make the season bright for some local families. The women's basketball team received a wish list from its "adopted" family then, with donations from players and staff, shopped for gifts and delivered them on Wednesday. UNC teams provided Christmas presents for a total of 37 families.

UNC is the top scoring team in the ACC, averaging 82.4 points per game. The Tar Heels also lead the league in scoring margin (28.4), three-point percentage (.366), free throw percentage (.762), assists (18.9 per game), steals (14.2 per game) and assist/turnover ratio (1.13).

Tar Heel freshman Erlana Larkins boasts the ACC's best field goal percentage at .734 (47-64). Sophomore Ivory Latta leads the league in three-point percentage, shooting .490 (24-49).

UNC has won both of the neutral site games it has played thus far in the season. Both wins were against ranked teams, No. 4 Connecticut in Raleigh and No. 24 Villanova in Las Vegas.

Carolina's Dec. 30 game against Old Dominion has been moved to the Smith Center and will tip off at 4 p.m. The game is one of three that the UNC women will play at the Smith Center this season.

For the first time in school history, UNC beat two ranked teams in the month of November. The Tar Heels won games against No. 4 Connecticut (Nov. 21) and Nov. 24 Villanova (Nov. 27).

The Tar Heels' win over No. 4 Connecticut was the program's first against a top-five team since UNC beat the Huskies in the 1994 East Region final to advance to the Final Four. UConn was ranked No. 4.

The Tar Heels won both of their preseason exhibition games, 101-69 over EA Sports on Nov. 4 and 92-57 over Athletes in Action on Nov. 16. Nikita Bell's 21 points led UNC the first game, and Camille Little was the high scorer with 24 in the second.

At the conference media day in October, North Carolina was picked as the preseason favorite to win this year's ACC title. The Tar Heels received 20 of 40 votes, two more than defending champion Duke. Ivory Latta and Camille Little were named to the Preseason All-ACC team.

UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in June. She is in her 30th season as a head coach.

UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Ivory Latta, 15.0 ppg
Field goal percentage: Erlana Larkins, .734 (47-64)
Three-point percentage: Camille Little, .500 (6-12)
Free throw percentage: Alex Miller, 1.000 (8-8)
Rebounding: La'Tangela Atkinson, 7.9 per game
Assists: Leah Metcalf, 4.6 per game
Steals: Camille Little, 2.9 per game
Blocks: Camille Little, 1.4 per game
Minutes: Ivory Latta, 29.7 per game

The UNC-Georgia State series
UNC leads the series with Georgia State 4-1. The teams' last meeting was on Jan. 4, 1990, when Carolina won 76-74 in Atlanta. Georgia State's win came in the first game of the series. The Lady Panthers won 69-64 in Atlanta on Jan. 8, 1979.

Scouting the Lady Panthers
Georgia State is 3-2 on the season following a 65-56 win over Jackson State last Sunday. The Lady Panthers lost their first two games (72-30 at Georgia Tech and 64-49 to Middle Tennessee) and have won three in a row since then. Prior to the win over Jackson State, GSU beat Troy 62-60 and Mississippi Valley State 71-45.
April Clyburn leads the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game. Also averaging double figures are Patechia Hartman (12.2 ppg) and Monica Thomas (10.2 ppg). Clyburn also leads the team in rebounding with 14.3 per game.
The Lady Panthers are coached by Lea Henry, who is in her 11th season with the program.

UNC's last time out
Dec. 12, 2004: No. 5 UNC 94, Coastal Carolina 52
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Camille Little scored 18 points while freshman Erlana Larkins added 17 in her first start to lift fifth-ranked North Carolina past Coastal Carolina 94-52. La'Tangela Atkinson added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels (8-1), who had no trouble rebounding from their first loss of the season.
Demaria Young scored 16 to lead the Chanticleers (2-3). The Tar Heels hadn't played since a 77-71 loss at Penn State, which dropped them from the No. 2 ranking - the highest in school history. They sure had an easy time moving on, shooting 55 percent and taking a 43-29 rebounding edge.
North Carolina had five players score in double figures. Larkins got the start in place of senior guard Leah Metcalf, who sat out to rest a sore foot. The 6-foot-2 forward had played well all season for the Tar Heels, averaging 14 points and six rebounds. She wasted no time making herself comfortable in the starting five. She had the game's first basket barely 11 seconds in, and scored 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the first five minutes.
Larkins had two baskets off offensive rebounds and a nice pass on a give-and-go layup by Ivory Latta in that span.
Defensively, the Tar Heels used their athleticism and size to pressure the Chanticleers all over the court. Coastal Carolina shot just 34 percent and committed 30 turnovers, while the Tar Heels blocked six shots and had 25 steals.

Holiday visit to the beach
A December trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., has become an annual event for the Tar Heels. UNC has played in the South Carolina city every December since 1994, in tournaments from 1994 to '96 and single games since 1997.
UNC in Myrtle Beach
Dec. 20, 2003: North Carolina 77, South Carolina 53
Dec. 20, 2002: North Carolina 78, South Carolina 69
Dec. 20, 2001: South Carolina 85, North Carolina 53
Dec. 21, 2000: North Carolina 74, South Carolina 68
Dec. 19, 1999: North Carolina 82, Michigan State 65
Dec. 20, 1998: North Carolina 90, Alabama 75
Dec. 20, 1997: North Carolina 88, Western Kentucky 67
Dec. 19, 1996: North Carolina 72, Louisville 67
Dec. 20, 1996: Alabama 88, North Carolina 74
Dec. 19, 1995: North Carolina 95, Coastal Carolina 52
Dec. 20, 1995: Nebraska 81, North Carolina 75
Dec. 21, 1995: Iowa 73, North Carolina 64
Dec. 19, 1994: North Carolina 92, Morehead State 43
Dec. 20, 1994: North Carolina 81, College of Charleston 36
Dec. 21, 1994: North Carolina 106, ETSU 72

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Nikita Bell

Laydrillia Grant

Erlana Larkins

Ivory Latta

Camille Little

Kenya McBee

Leah Metcalf

Alex Miller

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