Tar Heels Host Duke Saturday At The Smith Center

Feb. 13, 2004

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Tipoff
The North Carolina women's basketball team hosts Duke Saturday for an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup at the Dean E. Smith Center. Tipoff is 6 p.m. and the game will be televised live nationally by ESPN2.
North Carolina (18-4, 8-3 ACC) is ranked 15th in this week's Associated Press poll and 14th in the coaches' poll. Duke (19-3, 10-1 ACC) is No. 4 in both polls.
Next up for Carolina is a third consecutive home game, this one against Maryland. The Tar Heels host the Terrapins on Thursday evening at 7 at Carmichael Auditorium.

On the air
Saturday's game will be televised live nationally on ESPN2. Mark Jones will handle the play-by-play and Nancy Lieberman 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 will handle the play-by-play and Adam Pohl will provide color commentary.
The radio broadcast may be heard on the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com, the official website of UNC athletics.

UNC at a glance
2003-04 record 18-4 (8-3 ACC)
Current rankings 15th A.P., 14th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 648-259 (29th season)
Record at UNC 376-179 (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)
Press row number (919) 843-9509
Alternate arena Dean E. Smith Center (21,750)
Press row number (919) 962-8816

Tickets
Tickets to UNC women's basketball games are $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors. There is no charge for admission for children 12 and under.
North Carolina students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their UNC One Cards.
Tickets may be purchased at the Smith Center ticket window prior to the game or through the UNC ticket office by calling (919) 962-2296 or (800) 722-4335.

News of note

Saturday's game is the 63rd women's basketball matchup between North Carolina and Duke. UNC leads the series 36-26, but the Blue Devils have won the last 10 matchups.

Saturday's matchup is worth for one point in the race for the Carlyle Cup, the annual all-sports competition between Duke and UNC. The tally is currently tied at 7-7.

The UNC women are 12-8 all-time in games played at the Dean E. Smith Center. The Tar Heels last played the the building early in the 2002-03 season, when they beat Appalachian State 80-44 on Dec. 5, 2002. Duke and UNC have met in the Smith Center once, a 68-64 Carolina win on Feb. 20, 1988.

Saturday's game is the second of three consecutive home contests for UNC. The Tar Heels played six of eight games on the road between Jan. 8 and Feb. 5.

Freshmen Camille Little and Ivory Latta lead the Tar Heels in scoring, with Little averaging 14.2 points per game and Latta 13.6. Against conference teams, Little is averaging 15.1 points per game and Latta 14.5.

Senior Candace Sutton ranks seventh on the ACC's career blocks list with a total of 196. In sixth place is Florida State's Brooke Wyckoff (209 from 1998-2001).

Leah Metcalf ranks ninth on UNC's career assists chart with a total of 364. She's three away from taking over eighth place, currently held by Chanel Wright, who had 366 from 1996-99.

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

Five UNC players are averaging nine points or more per game. Freshman Camille Little leads the way at 14.2 points per game, freshman Ivory Latta is next at 13.6 and La'Tangela Atkinson is the third player in double figures with 10.8 points per game. Candace Sutton is averaging 9.4 points per game and Nikita Bell is adding 9.0.

Camille Little leads the ACC in rebounding with 8.3 boards per game. In conference games she is averaging 8.6, also a league high.

Ivory Latta leads the ACC in three-pointers per game with 2.05.

UNC currently leads the conference in field goal percentage defense (opponents hitting 34.8 percent of shots), three-point field goal percentage defense (opponents hitting 25.9 percent of three-pointers), total rebounds (44.2 per game) and defensive rebounds (28.4 per game)

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 (14.2 points per game)
Rebounding: Camille Little (8.3 per game)
Assists: Ivory Latta (4.2 per game)
Steals: Nikita Bell (2.3 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (1.8 per game)
Field goal percentage: La'Tangela Atkinson (54.3 percent, 94-173)
Three-point percentage: Ivory Latta (37.8 percent, 45-119)
Free throw percentage: Carrie Davis (87.5, 28-32)
Minutes: Ivory Latta (31.4 per game)

Scouting the Duke Blue Devils
Duke is 19-3 overall and 10-1 in the ACC following an 80-55 homecourt win over Wake Forest on Thursday night. Senior Alana Beard led the Blue Devils with 23 points and classmate Iciss Tillis scored 22. Also in double figures was Lindsey Harding with 10 as Duke shot 50 percent from the field.
On the season, Beard leads four players in double figures with 19.5 points per game. Tillis and Monique Currie average 12.5 each and Mistie Bass averages 10.8. Tillis is the team's top rebounder with 6.9 per game.
Duke is coached by Gail Goestenkors, who is 291-87 in 12 years with the program.

The Duke-UNC series
Saturday's matchup is the 63rd meeting between North Carolina and Duke in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 season. The Tar Heels lead the series 36-26, but the Blue Devils have won the last 10 matchups.

UNC's last win in the series came during the 1999-2000 season, when Carolina rebounded from a 43-point drubbing by Duke in Durham in January to defeat the Blue Devils 73-64 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 27, 2000.

Two of the last three Duke-North Carolina matchups in Chapel Hill have gone into overtime. On Jan. 25, 2001, Duke won 92-85 in OT at Carmichael. In last year's matchup at Carmichael, on Jan. 20, 2003, Duke won 78-67 in overtime. Those are the only overtime matchups in the history of the series.

The Duke and UNC women have met just once at the Dean E. Smith Center. On Feb. 20, 1988, UNC defeated the Blue Devils 68-64.

Last meeting in Chapel Hill: Jan. 20, 2003
No. 1 Duke 78, No. 8 UNC 67, OT
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Facing the No. 1 team in the nation in front of the largest crowd in school history, UNC took Duke into overtime before falling 78-67. The Blue Devils outscored Carolina 17-6 in the overtime period. Alana Beard led Duke with 26 points, 23 of which came in the second half and overtime. She also had 12 rebounds and was one of three Blue Devils to register double-doubles. Iciss Tills scored 22 points and led the team with 14 rebounds and Wynter Whitley came off the bench to added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Leah Metcalf led UNC with 18 points, including an off-balance three-pointer that she banked in with 24 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 61-61. Candace Sutton blocked Duke's final shot attempt with seconds remaining on the clock, but Carolina was unable to get off a potential game-winner before the game went to overtime. In overtime, Duke was 6-for-10 from the field while UNC was 2-for-9. The Tar Heels hit just four of their 13 free throw attempts in the game for a season-low percentage of 30.8.
Also in double figures for UNC were Nikita Bell with 12 points and Chrystal Baptist with a season-high 11 points and 11 rebounds. La'Tangela Atkinson grabbed 11 rebounds and added six points. The crowd of 10,180 was the second Carmichael Auditorium sellout in school history.

This year's first meeting: Jan. 11, 2004
No. 1 Duke 79, No. 13 UNC 57
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Alana Beard had 22 points Sunday and No. 1 Duke used a late run to beat No. 13 North Carolina 79-57 for the Blue Devils' 500th victory.
Mistie Bass scored 18 points for the Blue Devils (13-1, 4-0 ACC), who improved to 500-300 in the program's 29 seasons. Monique Currie added 14 points and 15 rebounds for Duke, which has won 47 straight conference games.
Duke also improved to 23-1 as the nation's top-ranked team, while the Tar Heels (13-2, 3-1) fell to 0-18 against No. 1 teams.
Freshman Ivory Latta had 17 points to lead North Carolina, which has lost 10 straight and 13 of 14 to Duke.
Duke had won the last two meetings here by 20 and 34 points, but the Tar Heels stayed with the Blue Devils most of the way Sunday. The score was tied at 54-54 with 6:56 to play.
The Blue Devils scored 16 straight points late, shutting down the Tar Heels and getting strong play from Bass inside to put the game out of reach. Duke held the Tar Heels without a field goal for the final 7:51 and scored 25 of the game's final 28 points.
UNC hit season lows for total points and field goal percentage (29.4).

UNC women at the Smith Center
Saturday's game will mark the 21st time that the North Carolina women's team has hosted a game at the Dean E. Smith Center. The Tar Heels are 12-8 all-time in the facility. UNC's last Smith Center game was on Dec. 5, 2002, when the Tar Heels beat Appalachian State 80-44. (That game was played in the Smith Center because North Carolina was hosting NCAA volleyball at Carmichael Auditorium.)

The Tar Heels' last ACC game at the Smith Center was on Jan. 10, 2002, when UNC lost 66-63 to NC State.

The UNC women first played at the Smith Center on Jan. 13, 1987, losing 82-76 to NC State during Sylvia Hatchell's first season as the Tar Heels' coach.

Duke and UNC have met in the facility just once, a 68-64 Carolina win on Feb. 20, 1988.

Battle for the Carlyle Cup
Saturday's matchup between UNC and Duke is worth one point in the race for the Carlyle Cup, the annual all-sports competition between the two schools. The tally currently is tied at 7-7.
Duke won the competition for the 2002-03 school year and in 2000-01, the first year that the trophy was awarded. UNC won in 2001-02.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Chrystal Baptist

Nikita Bell

Carrie Davis

Ivory Latta

Camille Little

Leah Metcalf

Jessica Sell

Candace Sutton

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