No. 6 UNC Hosts Coastal Carolina Saturday

Dec. 16, 2005

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Tipoff
After a nine-day break for final exams, the North Carolina women's basketball team (9-0) returns to action Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. game against Coastal Carolina (3-1) at Carmichael Auditorium.
UNC is ranked sixth in both the Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Coastal Carolina is not ranked.

On the air
Saturday's game will air on the Tar Heel Radio Network, which includes eight stations across the state of North Carolina. WCHL-AM 1360 in Chapel Hill is the flagship. Taylor Zarzour is the Tar Heels' play-by-play announcer and Jan Boxill provides color commentary.
Radio broadcasts and live game statistics are available on the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com.

Next up
Following Saturday's game against Coastal Carolina, the UNC team will depart for Myrtle Beach, S.C., where the Tar Heels will face No. 19 Vanderbilt on Tuesday. The game is part of a women's basketball doubleheader and will follow a matchup between Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston at 5 p.m. The UNC-Vanderbilt game will tip at approximately 7 p.m. Admission to attend both games is $5 and tickets will be available at the door.
UNC's next home game is Dec. 31, when College of Charleston visits.

UNC at a glance
2005-06 record 9-0 (0-0)
2004-05 record 30-4 (12-2 ACC)
Current rankings 6th A.P., 6th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 693-266 (31st season)
Record at UNC 421-186 (20th season)
Assistant head coach Andrew Calder
Assistant coaches Tracey Williams-Johnson, 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. 8,010)

Briefly ...

The Tar Heels have opened the season 9-0 for the first time since 1994-95, when UNC won its first 18 before falling 74-72 at Duke on Jan. 25.

The Tar Heels have won 19 consecutive games at Carmichael Auditorium and 24 in a row in Chapel Hill (including five at the Dean E. Smith Center). The total is a school record and ranks as the third-longest current streak in the nation.

UNC is one of 12 Division I teams that remain undefeated this season.

Senior La'Tangela Atkinson, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, comes into Saturday's game two points shy of 1,000 for her career. She is in line to become the 25th player in school history to reach that milestone.

UNC leads the series with Coastal Carolina 8-0. The Lady Chanticleers are the Tar Heels' fourth Big South Conference opponent this season.

Junior Ivory Latta has hit at least one three-pointer in 37 consecutive games.

Sophomore LaToya Pringle has hit 14 consecutive free throw attempts, dating back to the UNC Asheville game on Nov. 29. She was 6-for-6 from the line in UNC's most recent outing, against Wofford on Dec. 8.

The Tar Heels currently lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring defense (49.1 ppg by opponents), turnover margin (+6.67), assist/turnover ratio (1.26) and three-pointers per game (8.0). UNC ranks in the NCAA's top five teams in assists (second, 21.7), scoring margin (third, 33.0) and scoring defense (fourth, 49.1).

UNC has used the same starting five for all nine games and both exhibitions: seniors Jessica Sell and La'Tangela Atkinson, juniors Ivory Latta and Camille Little and sophomore Erlana Larkins.

UNC is 2-0 this season against teams ranked in the Associated Press poll, with wins over No. 16 Arizona State and No. 8 Connecticut. The Tar Heels were 6-2 last season against teams ranked in the A.P. poll.

Team captains for the 2005-06 season are senior La'Tangela Atkinson, junior Ivory Latta and sophomore Erlana Larkins.

UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Ivory Latta, 16.9 points per game
Rebounding: Erlana Larkins, 6.8 per game
Assists: Ivory Latta, 5.9 per game
Steals: Erlana Larkins, 2.2 per game
Blocks: LaToya Pringle, 1.9 per game
Minutes: Ivory Latta, 27.1 per game
Field goal percentage: Erlana Larkins, .684 (39-57)
Three-point percentage: Ivory Latta, .522 (24-46)
Free throw percentage: Alex Miller, 923 (12-13); Ivory Latta, .848 (28-33)

Atkinson named ACC Player of the Week
Senior La'Tangela Atkinson was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday (Dec. 12) after averaging 16.5 points per game in a pair of wins during the previous week.
Dec. 5 in a 77-54 win against No. 8 Connecticut in Hartford, Conn., Atkinson scored a season-high 18 points. She was 8-for-9 from the field, including 2-for-2 from three-point range, with eight rebounds and two assists as UNC handed the Huskies their worst homecourt loss in more than 20 years.
Against Wofford at home on Dec. 8, Atkinson scored a game-high 15 points to go along with four rebounds as No. 7 North Carolina (9-0) won 87-50. She was 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. She also had six assists, missing her career high by one, and blocked three shots, matching her career high. She finished the game with 998 career points.
For the week, Atkinson averaged 16.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game and shot 77.8 percent from the field (14-for-18). On the season, she is averaging 8.9 points and 6.7 rebounds and has started all nine games. She serves as a team captain, along with sophomore Erlana Larkins and junior Ivory Latta.

Scouting the Coastal Carolina Lady Chanticleers
Coastal Carolina is 3-1 on the season and has been idle for two weeks, since a 71-67 win over Furman on Dec. 3. Junior Alisha Dill led the way with 21 points in a game that was tied with 90 seconds to play. On the season, junior Calisha Yates leads the Lady Chants in scoring with 14.0 points per game and Dill is also in double figures with 11.5 points per game. Three other players, all seniors, are averaging more than eight points per game: Kim Turner (9.0), Jasmine Tyler (8.8) and Amber Rose (8.3). Yates is the team's top rebounder with 6.8 per game.
Coastal Carolina is coached by Alan LeForce, who is in his ninth season with the program.
The Lady Chants are UNC's fourth Big South Conference opponent of the season. The Tar Heels have also faced Liberty (W 87-36 on Nov. 21), UNC Asheville (W 83-43 on Nov. 29) and Charleston Southern (92-38 on Dec. 1).

The series against Coastal Carolina
UNC leads the series with Coastal Carolina 8-0. The teams' most recent meeting was last season, when the Tar Heels won 94-52 on Dec. 12, 2004, in Chapel Hill. All five North Carolina starters scored in double figures, led by Camille Little with 18. Erlana Larkins, making her first career start, scored 17. La'Tangela Atkinson had a double-double with 13 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. The team had a season-high 25 steals.
As it is this season, the game against Coastal was UNC's last before heading to play in Myrtle Beach.

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Ivory Latta

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Jessica Sell

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