University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 5 UNC Opens ACC Play Friday Against Clemson
January 5, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2006
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Tipoff
The North Carolina women's basketball team (13-0) opens Atlantic Coast Conference play Friday at home against Clemson (6-8). Tipoff at Carmichael Auditorium is 7 p.m.
The Tar Heels are ranked fifth in both the Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. The Tigers are not ranked.
On the air
Friday's game will be televised live by the Regional Sports Networks (RSN) - Fox Sports Net South, Comcast SportsNet and Sun Sports. Mike Hogewood will call the play-by-play and Charlene Curtis will provide color commentary.
The game also 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 the Clemson game, the Tar Heels will hit the road for their first away ACC game of the season, on Monday at Miami. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at the BankUnited Center and the game will be televised live by the Regional Sports Networks. UNC's next home game is on Jan. 18 against Georgia Tech.
Tickets
General admission tickets to UNC women's basketball games are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. A limited number of reserved seats are also available, and those tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and seniors.
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-HEEL. Tickets also are available on the North Carolina website, www.TarHeelBlue.com.
North Carolina students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their UNC One Cards.
UNC at a glance
2005-06 record 13-0 (0-0 ACC)
2004-05 record 30-4 (12-2 ACC)
Current rankings 5th A.P., 5th ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 697-266 (31st season)
Record at UNC 425-186 (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)
Carmichael Auditorium press row number (919) 843-9509
Briefly ...
A look at the numbers
UNC's statistical leaders (with ACC ranking)
Scoring: Ivory Latta, 17.9 points per game (3rd)
Rebounding: Erlana Larkins, 6.5 per game (15th)
Assists: Ivory Latta, 6.2 per game (3rd)
Steals: Erlana Larkins, 2.5 per game (5th)
Blocks: LaToya Pringle, 1.6 per game (9th)
Minutes: Ivory Latta, 27.5 per game
Field goal percentage: Erlana Larkins, .664 (58-86), (2nd)
Three-point percentage: Ivory Latta, .493 (34-69), (7th)
Free throw percentage: Alex Miller, 923 (12-13); Ivory Latta, .860 (49-57), (3rd)
Scouting the Clemson Lady Tigers
Clemson is 6-8 on the season following a 77-46 homecourt loss to South Carolina on Monday. Senior center Amanda Frist led the Tigers with 15 points and senior guard Tasha Phillips also hit double figures with 11.
The Lady Tigers opened the season with five straight losses, but rebounded to win six of seven games before dropping their last two to Georgetown and South Carolina.
On the season, senior guard Julie Talley is the only Clemson player scoring in double figures at 10.2 points per game. She ranks second in the ACC in threes per game, averaging 2.71, just ahead of UNC's Ivory Latta (2.62). Frist is just behind Talley with 9.4 points per game and sophomore guard/forward Maxienne White is averaging 9.1 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds.
Clemson is coached by Cristy McKinney, who is in her first year with the program.
The series against Clemson
North Carolina leads Clemson 41-26 in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 season, UNC's second as a varsity squad. The Tar Heels have won the last eight meetings, including a 99-55 victory in the most recent matchup, on Feb. 4, 2005, in Chapel Hill.
Clemson's last win in the series came in the 2001 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, when the second-seeded Tigers beat seventh-seeded UNC 75-57 in a quarterfinals matchup. Clemson's last win in Chapel Hill came in the 1999-2000 season, when the Tigers edged the Tar Heels 60-59 on Jan. 10, 2000.
Last year's meeting
Feb. 4, 2005: No. 9 UNC 99, Clemson 55
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.(AP) - Erlana Larkins scored a career-high 24 points and No. 9 North Carolina forced 35 turnovers to beat Clemson 99-55 Friday night, giving coach Sylvia Hatchell her 400th victory with the Tar Heels.
North Carolina (18-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) finished with 23 steals and 25 assists, both highs in the ACC this season. Nikita Bell added 14 points and LaToya Pringle finished with 12.
The final margin was the largest in what is fast becoming a lopsided series, surpassing a 72-41 victory last season for North Carolina. The Tar Heels shot 53 percent and beat the Tigers (7-13, 1-7) for the eighth straight time.
The Tar Heels had 26 layups, and Larkins never strayed farther than a few feet from the basket for any of her points.
D'Lesha Lloyd and Julie Talley each had 15 points for the Tigers.
Searching for answers after a six-game losing streak, Clemson coach Jim Davis went with his 13th different starting lineup of the season, and it paid off early. Maxienne White had eight points in the first six minutes of her second start and the Tigers were within one, but it quickly fell apart.
Bell started a 14-3 run for North Carolina with a layup, and then 10 unanswered points later in the half made it 41-24. Soon after the break, the Tar Heels poured it on, scoring their first 14 baskets from right next to the rim.
Each North Carolina player that saw action scored.
Opening the conference slate
The Tar Heels have fared well in conference openers during coach Sylvia Hatchell's 19-year tenure, compiling a 14-5 record. UNC has lost a conference opener played at home just once under Hatchell's direction, to Maryland during the 1987-88 season.
The Tar Heels suffered one of their five conference-opening losses last season, falling 92-77 at Maryland on Jan. 9.
This is the second year in a row that UNC has opened ACC play ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll. Last season, the Tar Heels were No. 4 in the coaches' poll at the start of league play. This year, they are No. 5 in both polls.
