Carolina Hosts Maryland Thursday

Carolina Back In Action With Trip To Maryland

February 18, 2004 | Women's Basketball

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Feb. 18, 2004

Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Tipoff
The North Carolina women's basketball team hosts Maryland Thursday for an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup at Carmichael Auditorium. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
North Carolina (18-5, 8-4 ACC) is ranked 16th in this week's Associated Press poll and 15th in the coaches' poll. Maryland (15-9, 7-6 ACC) is not ranked.
Next up for Carolina is the first of two consecutive road games. The Tar Heels travel to Atlanta for a Feb. 23 game at Georgia Tech, then to Tallahassee, Fla., for a Feb. 26 matchup with Florida State.

On the air
Thursday's game 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 18-5 (8-4 ACC)
Current rankings 16th A.P., 15th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 648-260 (29th season)
Record at UNC 376-180 (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

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 Carmichael Auditorium ticket window prior to the game or through the UNC ticket office by calling (919) 962-2296 or (800) 722-4335.

News of note

Thursday's game is the 57th meeting between Maryland and North Carolina in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 season. UNC leads the series 30-26 after winning the last six games and 12 of the last 13.

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

UNC is coming off its first back-to-back losses of the season. The Tar Heels fell 62-54 to NC State on Feb. 8 and 89-79 to Duke on Feb. 14.

Carolina and Maryland are the only schools in the ACC that are led in scoring by freshmen. UNC's top scorers are rookies Ivory Latta and Camille Little (14.1 points each), while Maryland's are Shay Doron (13.0 points per game) and Kalika France (11.7). The four are the top-scoring freshmen in the league this season and are the only freshmen who rank among the ACC's top 15 scorers.

Ivory Latta is the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week. The honor is her third of the season.

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 is tied for eighth place on UNC's career assists chart with a total of 366. Chanel Wright (1996-99) also had 366.

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. Freshmen Ivory Latta and Camille Little lead the way with 14.1 points each. La'Tangela Atkinson is the third player in double figures with 10.6 points per game. Candace Sutton is averaging 9.4 points per game and Nikita Bell is adding 9.0.

The Tar Heel roster boasts the top two rebounders in the ACC. Camille Little leads the conference with 8.3 boards per game and La'Tangela Atkinson is second with 7.6 per game. In conference games only, Little again leads the way with 8.7 per game and Atkinson is third with 7.2.

Ivory Latta leads the ACC in three-pointers per game with 2.09.

UNC currently leads the conference in field goal percentage defense (opponents hitting 35.4 percent of shots), three-point field goal percentage defense (opponents hitting 27.3 percent of three-pointers) and total rebounds (44.1 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: Ivory Latta, Camille Little (14.1 points per game)
Rebounding: Camille Little (8.3 per game)
Assists: Ivory Latta (4.1 per game)
Steals: Nikita Bell (2.3 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (1.7 per game)
Field goal percentage: La'Tangela Atkinson (52.7 percent, 96-182)
Three-point percentage: Ivory Latta (38.1 percent, 48-126)
Free throw percentage: Carrie Davis (87.5, 28-32)
Minutes: Ivory Latta (31.6 per game)

Scouting the Maryland Terrapins
Maryland is 15-9 on the season and 7-6 in the ACC following a 58-57 loss at Georgia Tech on Sunday. Four Terrapins scored in double figures in that game, led by Crystal Washington and Kalika France with 13 points each.
On the season, freshman Shay Doron leads the team in scoring with 13.0 points per game. France, also a freshman, is the only other player in double figures with 11.7 points per game. France also is the team's top rebounder with 5.9 per game and Delvona Oliver adds 5.5.
The Terrapins are coached by Brenda Frese, who is 25-27 in her second season at Maryland.

The Maryland-UNC series
Thursday's matchup is the 57th meeting between Maryland and North Carolina in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 season. UNC leads the series 30-26 after winning the last six matchups and 12 of the last 13.

UNC won this year's first meeting, 72-59 in College Park, Md., on Jan. 19.

Maryland's last win in Chapel Hill came during the 1995-96 season, when the Terrapins won 68-62 at Carmichael Auditorium on Feb. 21, 1996.

Last meeting in Chapel Hill: Feb. 27, 2003
No. 8 UNC 94, Maryland 77
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After honoring Coretta Brown, Courtney Chambers, Elizabeth Coughran and Jennifer Thomas in pregame Senior Night ceremonies, the Tar Heels finished out their home schedule with a 94-77 win over Maryland. UNC hit a season-high 10 three-pointers, led by three each from Brown and Leah Metcalf.
Brown led five Tar Heels in double figures with 17 points. Metcalf added 14, Thomas 11 and Nikita Bell and Candace Sutton 10 each. Freshman La'Tangela Atkinson grabbed 12 boards to pace UNC to a 51-33 rebounding advantage.
Delvona Oliver led four Terrapins in double figures with 18 points. Vicki Brick and Chrissy Fisher scored 15 each and Renneika Razor finished with 13.
UNC never trailed in the game and the margin was in double digits after five minutes of play. The Tar Heels didn't commit their first turnover until there was 8:41 to play before halftime. They finished the game with 16, while Maryland had 10.

This year's first meeting: Jan. 19, 2004
No. 13 UNC 72, Maryland 59
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Camille Little had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 13 North Carolina had four other players score in double figures in a 72-59 victory over Maryland.
La'Tangela Atkinson scored 13 points and Nikita Bell had 12 for the Tar Heels. North Carolina (14-2, 4-1) has won six straight and 12 of 13 against Maryland (12-5, 4-2).
Little, who leads the Tar Heels in scoring, made only four of 13 field goal attempts. But the freshman forward had nine points and 10 rebounds in the second half, helping North Carolina pull away.
Delvona Oliver led the Terrapins with 19 points and freshman Kalika France had 11. Maryland committed 20 turnovers and couldn't match up on the boards against the taller, more athletic Tar Heels.
The Terrapins opened the second half with three straight baskets to get within a point and prompt North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell to call a timeout. The Tar Heels then worked the ball inside and turned up the defense during a 13-0 run that made it 50-37 with 12 minutes left. Atkinson led the surge with a putback and two free throws, and Ivory Latta capped the run with a 3-pointer.
It was 50-42 before Bell scored in the lane, Kenya McBee made a three-point play and Leah Metcalf made two free throws for a 15-point cushion.
Candace Sutton, Bell and Atkinson each scored eight points, and the Tar Heels capitalized on 13 Maryland turnovers in taking a 38-30 halftime lead.