Carolina Tips Off Sunday In South Bend

March 18, 2004

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Tipoff
The North Carolina women's basketball team opens play in the 2004 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship with a first-round game against Middle Tennessee on Sunday in South Bend, Ind. Tipoff at the Joyce Center is at noon and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
North Carolina (24-6, 12-4 ACC) is the No. 4 seed in the East Region. The Tar Heels are ranked 12th in this week's Associated Press poll and 11th in the coaches' poll. Middle Tennessee (23-7, 10-4 Sun Belt) is the No. 13 seed in the region.
Also playing in South Bend are host Notre Dame, the No. 5 seed, and 12th-seeded Southwest Missouri State. The two will meet 30 minutes after conclusion of the UNC-Middle Tennessee game on Sunday. The winners will face off Tuesday at a time to be announced for a spot in the East Region semifinals.

On the air
Sunday's game will be broadcast live by ESPN2. Bob Picozzi will handle the play-by-play and Debbie Antonelli will provide color commentary. Nationally, ESPN will use its "whiparound coverage" to show the best action from several games being played simultaneously, but the UNC game is to air in its entirety in the Raleigh-Durham market.
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's broadcast can be heard on the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com, the official website of UNC athletics.

UNC at a glance
2003-04 record 24-6 (12-4 ACC)
Current rankings 12th A.P., 11th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 654-261 (29th season)
Record at UNC 382-181 (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)

Tar Heels on the road
While the Tar Heels are in South Bend, media relations contact Dana Gelin can be reached by cell phone at (919) 824-4984.

News of note

Sunday's game will be the first meeting between North Carolina and Middle Tennessee.

UNC has played six teams in the 2004 NCAA Tournament bracket and is 6-5 in those games.

UNC is 3-1 playing at neutral sites this season.

With a win over NC State in the ACC Tournament semifinals, UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell moved into fifth place in career wins among active Division I women's basketball coaches. Hatchell, in her 29th season as a head coach, has a career total of 654 wins. In sixth place is Wolfpack coach Kay Yow with 653 wins.

Three players in action at the South Bend site are among the 48 selected as Kodak All-America finalists. Notre Dame's Jacqueline Batteast, Southwest Missouri State's Kari Koch and North Carolina's Camille Little all are in the running for the 10-member team. Little is the only freshman among the national finalists.

Camille Little was voted the 2004 ACC Rookie of the Year. She's the sixth Tar Heel to win the award, the second in as many years. La'Tangela Atkinson won the honor in 2003.

Three Tar Heels earned spots on the 2004 All-ACC team. Freshman Camille Little was named to the first team, freshman Ivory Latta to the second team and sophomore La'Tangela Atkinson to the third team. Little is the first UNC freshman ever to earn first-team honors.

Ivory Latta and Camille Little, who ranked among the league's top six players in the All-ACC balloting, were unanimous picks for the All-Freshman team.

Ivory Latta's season total of 61 three-pointers ranks seventh on the Tar Heels' single-season list. In sixth is Juana Brown, who hit 64 in 1999.

UNC's next win will give the Tar Heels their eighth 25-win season in school history. Carolina passed the 25-wins mark for the first time in 1993-94, when the program won the NCAA Championship and finished 33-2. UNC has recorded more than 25 wins in each of the last two seasons, finishing 26-9 in 2001-02 and 28-6 in 2002-03.

UNC's victory at Georgia Tech on Feb. 23 gave the Tar Heels a 20-win season for the 16th time in school history and the 11th time in the last 13 seasons.

On Feb. 26 at Florida State, Candace Sutton recorded the 200th block of her career, a landmark that only six other ACC players (including one other UNC player) have ever reached. Sutton currently ranks seventh on the ACC's career list with a total of 207 blocks. In sixth place is Florida State's Brooke Wyckoff (209 from 1998-2001). Sutton is second in UNC history in blocks.

Leah Metcalf ranks eighth on UNC's career assists chart with a total of 383. She also ranks among UNC's career top 10 for three-pointers with 127, good for seventh.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of UNC's 1994 NCAA Championship. The program celebrated with a banquet in Chapel Hill on Feb. 28, and the team was honored at halftime of the Tar Heels' game against Virginia on Feb. 29. Every player except for Sylvia Crawley, who is currently playing in Korea, was in attendance.

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, but only two are now in double figures. Freshmen Ivory Latta leads the team with 14.3 points per game and classmate Camille Little is just behind with 14.1. Sophomore La'Tangela Atkinson is averaging 9.9 points per game, senior Candace Sutton 9.6 and junior Nikita Bell 9.3.

The Tar Heel roster boasts the top two rebounders in the ACC in La'Tangela Atkinson and Camille Little. Atkinson is currently averaging 8.1 boards per game to 8.0 by Little, who has one fewer rebound on the season than her teammate.

Freshmen Ivory Latta and Camille Little combined for 51 points in UNC's win over NC State in the ACC semifinals, 27 by Latta and 24 by Little. The combined total was their second-highest of the season. On Jan. 2, in their first ACC action, Latta scored 30 and Little had 28 as the Tar Heels beat Wake Forest 90-79.

Carrie Davis has hit her last 18 free throw attempts, dating back to the NC State game on Jan. 8. She leads the team this season, shooting 90.2 percent (37-41) from the line. Her percentage would rank fourth in the NCAA if she had the minimum 2.5 makes per game.

After bringing up the rear in the nine-team ACC last season, Carolina ranks second in the conference this year in free throw percentage, hitting 70.7 percent of attempts. Last season, UNC's final percentage was 60.7.

The Tar Heels have shot 50 percent or better from the field seven 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. The team's 51.0 percent shooting at FSU on Feb. 26 was Carolina's highest of the season against an ACC team.

UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Ivory Latta (14.3 points per game)
Rebounding: La'Tangela Atkinson (8.1 per game)
Assists: Leah Metcalf (3.7 per game)
Steals: Nikita Bell (2.3 per game)
Blocks: Candace Sutton (1.7 per game)
Field goal percentage: Candace Sutton (51.8 percent, 103-199)
Three-point percentage: Ivory Latta (36.1 percent, 61-169)
Free throw percentage: Carrie Davis (90.2, 37-41)
Minutes: Ivory Latta (32.5 per game)

Camille Little named 2004 ACC Rookie of the Year
Following a regular season in which she led North Carolina in scoring and topped the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounding, Tar Heel forward Camille Little was voted Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year. Little, a 6-1 freshman from Winston-Salem, N.C., is the sixth Carolina player to win the honor and the second in as many years.
"Camille has had an outstanding freshman year," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "She not only does a lot for us with her scoring and rebounding, but she plays good defense, too. She's the complete package, a very steady player. I think she's the top freshman in the country,"
During the regular season, Latta averaged 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds, both team highs, while shooting 50 percent from the field. She registered seven double-doubles, tied for the most in the conference, and was named ACC Rookie of the Week a league-high four times. She started 26 of the Tar Heels' 27 games, sitting out the beginning of only the Senior Day season-finale.
Little follows sophomore teammate La'Tangela Atkinson, who won the ACC rookie honor in 2003. Other Carolina Rookie of the Year winners have been Dawn Royster (1984), Charlotte Smith (1992), Chanel Wright (1996) and Nikki Teasley (1998). UNC's total of six Rookie of the Year winners is a league high, two ahead of second-place Virginia's four.
"I was speechless when I heard I had won Rookie of the Year," Little said. "I thought it was too good to be true. As I look back on the season, though, I definitely think there are things I could have done better."
Little also was named to the All-ACC first team and was a unanimous selection to the ACC All-Freshman Team. She was the only freshman voted to the All-ACC first team, joining four seniors.
In the award voting by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association, Little received 28 of 49 votes. Teammate Ivory Latta was second with 16 votes and Florida State freshman Shante Williams received two. Three other freshmen got one vote each.

Little the sole freshman among Kodak finalists
UNC freshman Camille Little has been selected as a finalist for Kodak/WBCA All-America honors. She is one of six finalists from Region 2 and the only freshman among the 48 selected nationally. The 10-member All-America team will be announced on April 3.
Other Region 2 finalists are Alana Beard and Iciss Tillis from Duke, Kaayla Chones from NC State, Katie Feenstra from Liberty and Lakeia Stokes from Clemson. The others in District 2 are seniors, except for Feenstra, a junior.

Little, Latta, Atkinson earn All-ACC honors
Freshmen Camille Little and Ivory Latta and sophomore La'Tangela Atkinson garnered All-ACC honors for the 2003-04 season. Little, a freshman forward, joined four seniors on the first team. Latta, a freshman guard, was the top pick for the second team, receiving the sixth-highest number of votes overall. Atkinson, a sophomore guard/forward, was the top pick on the third team, 11th overall.
Latta and Little both were named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. The Tar Heels were the only unanimous picks on the squad.

Latta and Little also were named first-team All-ACC Tournament. Latta led the Tar Heels with 17.7 points per game in the tournament, including 27 against NC State in the semifinals. She hit 15 of her 16 free throw attempts, 93.8 percent. Little averaged 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 58.1 percent from the field. Her tournament high was 24 points against NC State.

Scouting the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders
Middle Tennessee, 23-7 on the season, earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Sun Belt Conference championship. The Lady Raiders defeated host Western Kentucky 79-57 in the tournament title game on March 9 as six Middle Tennessee players scored in double figures.
On the season, the Lady Raiders are led by junior guard Patrice Holmes with 15.8 points per game. Also scoring in double figures are freshman forward Krystle Horton (14.9) and sophomore forward Tia Stovall (10.8). At 5-9, Holmes leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.1 per game, and is the assists leader with 4.0 per game. Holmes was named the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row, while Horton and Stovall earned spots on the all-tournament team. Holmes and Horton earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors for the regular season, and senior guard Keisha McClinic was named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. She owns the school record for steals in a season with her current total of 103.
The Lady Raiders are coached by Stephany Smith, who is 125-78 in her seventh season as the program's head coach. Prior to her promotion to head coach, she served as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee for four years.

Middle Tennessee is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, its first since the Lady Raiders went as Ohio Valley Conference champs in 1998. That year, Middle Tennessee also played an ACC team, falling to Duke 92-67 in a first-round game in Durham, N.C.

Hometown Ties
UNC's La'Tangela Atkinson and Middle Tennessee's Patrice Holmes both hail from Bishopville, S.C., where they were longtime teammates. The two played JV basketball together beginning when Atkinson was in seventh grade and Holmes was in eighth, then teamed for three years in high school. In 2002, they led Lee Central High to a South Carolina state championship.

The Middle Tennessee-UNC series
The Tar Heels and Lady Raiders have never met in women's basketball.

The teams played just one common opponent, South Carolina State, during the 2003-04 season. UNC defeated the Lady Bulldogs 90-51 on Dec. 5 and Middle Tennessee won 76-54 on Dec. 22.

Carolina also hasn't seen much of the teams in the other first-round game. UNC has met Notre Dame just twice, losing at neutral sites both times (99-86 at the Wachovia Women's Invitational Tournament in Richmond, Va., on Dec. 4, 1999 and 78-55 at the Honda Elite Classic in Orlando on Dec. 3, 2000). North Carolina and Southwest Missouri State have never played in women's basketball.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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Nikita Bell

Carrie Davis

Ivory Latta

Camille Little

Leah Metcalf

Jessica Sell

Candace Sutton

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