March 24, 2006
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Tipoff
The North Carolina women's basketball team, 31-1 overall and ranked No. 1 in the nation, continues play in the 2006 NCAA Tournament on Sunday with a region semifinal game against No. 11 Purdue (26-6, 13-3 Big Ten), the No. 4 seed in the Cleveland region. Tipoff is 2:30 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena.
UNC advanced in NCAA play with a 75-51 win over UC Riverside in a first-round game last Saturday and an 89-70 win at Vanderbilt in the second round on Monday. Playing at home in West Lafayette, Ind., Purdue beat Missouri State 73-52 in the first round and UCLA 61-54 in the second round.
North Carolina is ranked No. 1 in both national polls. Purdue is No. 11 in both polls.
The other Cleveland region semifinal game pits No. 2 seed Tennessee against No. 3 seed Rutgers. That game tips off at noon Sunday, prior to the UNC-Purdue game. The winners will meet on Tuesday (tipoff time TBD) for a spot in the Final Four April 2 and 4 in Boston.
On the air
Sunday's game will be televised live on ESPN2 as part of the network's complete coverage of the women's tournament. Mark Jones will handle play-by-play duties, Debbie Antonelli will provide color commentary and Rebecca Lobo will report from the sidelines.
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 also are available on the internet at www.TarHeelBlue.com.
UNC at a glance
2005-06 record 31-1 (13-1 ACC)
Current rankings 1st A.P., 1st ESPN/USA Today
Head coach Sylvia Hatchell
Career record 715-267 (31st season)
Record at UNC 443-187 (20th season)
Assistant head coach Andrew Calder
Assistant coaches Tracey Williams-Johnson, Charlotte Smith-Taylor
Media contact Dana Gelin
Gelin's office phone/email/cell phone (919) 962-0083/
dgelin@uncaa.unc.edu/(919) 357-6619
UNC athletics website www.TarHeelBlue.com
UNC ticket office (919) 962-2296, (800) 722-4335
Home arena Carmichael Auditorium (cap. 8,010)
Briefly ...
North Carolina is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament field for the second year in a row and the third time in school history. Last year, the Tar Heels were the top seed in the Tempe Regional and reached the region final before falling to eventual-champion Baylor. UNC's other No. 1 seed was in 1997, when the Tar Heels lost in the region semifinal.
Sunday's game will be the third meeting between UNC and Purdue. Both previous games have been in the NCAA Tournament and one of the teams has gone on to the championship. In 1994, North Carolina beat Purdue 89-74 in the national semifinal en route to the title. In 1999, the Boilermakers won 82-59 in a region semifinal game on their way to the crown.
UNC has reached the Sweet 16 for the 12th time in school history and the 10th time in the last 14 years. The Tar Heels have advanced past the region semifinal three times (1994, 1998, 2005).
Monday's second-round win at Vanderbilt was North Carolina's 31st victory of the season, second most in school history. The record is 33 by the 1994 NCAA championship team.
The first-round win over UC Riverside gave UNC the fourth 30-win season in school history and marks the second time such seasons have come back-to-back. Carolina's other 30-win seasons have been in 1993-94 (33-2), 1994-95 (30-5) and 2004-05 (30-4).
Coach Sylvia Hatchell was announced Thursday as the winner of the WBCA NCAA Division I Coach of the Year award. Three of the coaches in the Cleveland Regional - Hatchell, Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer and Tennessee's Pat Summitt - were region finalists for the honor. The three rank among the top four in career wins by active women's basketball coaches, with Summitt first, Stringer third and Hatchell fourth.
Sylvia Hatchell and junior guard Ivory Latta have been named finalists for the Naismith coach and player of the year honors. Each is among four on the final ballot for the honor.
Erlana Larkins and Ivory Latta have been voted regional finalists for Kodak All-America honors. The Tar Heels are among 48 players recognized, six each from eight different regions. The 10-member Kodak team will be announced on April 1.
Ivory Latta is among the finalists for the Wade Trophy, the Wooden Award and the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given to the nation's top point guard. The junior was named WBCA National Player of the Month for February.
La'Tangela Atkinson is one of 17 Division I seniors selected to play in the WBCA All-Star Challenge in Boston during the Final Four weekend.
With the Jan. 15 win at NC State, UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell became the fifth NCAA Division I women's basketball coach to earn 700 career wins. She is in her 31st season as a head coach and her 20th season at UNC.
UNC has altered its starting lineup just once this season. Against Coastal Carolina on Dec. 17, sophomore LaToya Pringle started in place of senior Jessica Sell, who was sick. Sell has started the other 31 games and La'Tangela Atkinson, Erlana Larkins, Ivory Latta and Camille Little have started all 32
Team captains for the 2005-06 season are senior La'Tangela Atkinson, junior Ivory Latta and sophomore Erlana Larkins.
Noting the numbers
More than half the players on the UNC roster - eight of 14 - have led the team in scoring or tied for the team lead in scoring at least once this season. Those players are La'Tangela Atkinson, Heather Claytor, Christina Dewitt, Erlana Larkins, Ivory Latta, Camille Little, Rashanda McCants and LaToya Pringle.
Three players on this year's roster rank among the top 25 scorers in school history and have totaled more than 1,200 career points. Ivory Latta is 13th with 1,617 career points, Camille Little is 21st with 1,217 points and La'Tangela Atkinson is 22nd with 1212.
Senior La'Tangela Atkinson is within reach of becoming the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to total 1,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 350 assists. She is already the first player in school history to rank among the program's top 10 in career rebounds and career assists, and she heads into the Purdue game with 1,212 points, 991 rebounds and 367 assists.
As a team, Carolina is shooting .374 from three-point range, up from .317 last season. The school record for single-season team percentage is .363, set in 1992. Eleven of the 14 players on the UNC roster have made at least one three-pointer this season and six have made at least 20.
Only two teams - Arizona State (.560) and Boston College (.500) - have shot .500 from the field against UNC this season. On seven other occasions, teams have topped .400: Vanderbilt twice (.489 on Dec. 20 and .453 on March 20), Clemson (.411), Duke (.431 on Jan. 29), Georgia Tech (.404 on Feb. 5) and Maryland twice (43.5 on Feb. 9 and 44.8 on March 5). Opponents are shooting .366 from the field against the Tar Heels.
With two three-pointers against Florida State on Jan. 22, Ivory Latta became just the 12th player in ACC history to hit 200 threes in her career. She now has 234, third in school history and seventh in ACC history. She has made at least one three-pointer in 60 consecutive games.
In conference play, LaToya Pringle ranked second in the ACC with an average of 2.43 blocks, despite playing just 15.9 minutes. Although only a sophomore, she is sixth on UNC's career blocks list with a total of 113. Her current season total of 68 is the fourth-best single-season total in school history.
Worth watching
UNC has reached the Sweet 16 for the 12th time in school history, the 10 time in the last 14 years.
UNC has three players on its roster with more than 1,200 career points. Both junior Camille Little and senior La'Tangela Atkinson passed the 1,200 mark in the first-round win over UC Riverside and now have, respectively, 1,217 and 1,212 career points. Junior Ivory Latta currently has 1,617, 13th on the school's all-time scoring list.
UNC tied a season low with 11 turnovers in the first-round win over UC Riverside and stayed below average with 16 in the second-round win over Vanderbilt. For the season, the Tar Heels are averaging 18.3 turnovers per game, with opponents averaging 23.1.
UNC heads into the Purdue game one three-pointer away from tying the school single-season record of 236. The Tar Heels average 7.3 threes per game and have hit 10 or more in seven games this season.
With three blocks against Vanderbilt, sophomore LaToya Pringle moved into fifth place on UNC's career list with 113 in 62 games. Her current total of 68 ranks as the fourth-best single-season total in school history.
Senior La'Tangela Atkinson is nine rebounds away from becoming the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to record 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 350 assists. She has already become the first player in school history to rank among the career top-10 in rebounds (6th, 991) and assists (10th, 367). She is 22nd in school history in scoring with 1,212 career points.
Ivory Latta heads into Sunday's game two three-pointers from moving into a tie with Nikki Teasley for second on UNC's career list and sixth on the ACC list. Latta currently has 234 threes, an average of 2.4 per game over her career.
Two Tar Heels have come off the bench for big games thus far in the tournament. With a team-high 15 points against UC Riverside on Saturday, freshman Rashanda McCants became the eighth different Tar Heel to lead the team in scoring or tie for the team lead in a game this season. Sophomore Alex Miller scored a career-high 16 points against Vanderbilt Monday. A Tar Heel has come off the bench to score in double figures on 17 occasions this season (LaToya Pringle 6, McCants 4, Miller 3, Heather Claytor 3 and Christina Dewitt 1).
UNC's statistical leaders
Scoring: Ivory Latta, 18.5 points per game
Rebounding: Erlana Larkins, 7.1 per game
Assists: Latta, 5.0 per game
Steals: Larkins, 2.2 per game
Blocks: LaToya Pringle, 2.1 per game
Minutes: Latta, 31.5 per game
Field goal percentage: Pringle, .598 (52-87)
Three-point percentage: Heather Claytor .456 (41-90)
Free throw percentage: Alex Miller, .857 (30-35); Latta, .856 (119-139)
Scouting the Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue is 26-6 on the year after opening the NCAA Tournament with homecourt wins over Missouri State (73-52) and UCLA (61-54). The Boilermakers are making their 17th appearance in the tournament field, their 13th in a row.
Junior guard Katie Gearlds leads the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game and has hit a team-best 61 three-pointers (1.9 per game). Also in double figures are senior forward Aya Traore (13.0 ppg) and junior forward Erin Lawless (10.3 ppg). Sophomore forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton is the squad's top rebounder with 5.7 per game and Traore is just behind with 5.2 boards per game. As a team, Purdue averages 67.3 points per game and holds opponents to 55.3.
The Boilermakers are coached by Kristy Curry, who is 177-52 in her seventh season with the program.
The UNC-Purdue series
The series between UNC and Purdue is tied at 1-1, with both meetings coming in NCAA Tournament play. In each case, the winner has gone on to win the NCAA championship.
In 1994, the teams met in the Final Four in Richmond, Va., with UNC winning 89-74 in a region semifinal game. The Tar Heels went on to claim the title with a win over Louisiana Tech.
In 1999, the teams met in a Midwest Region semifinal game in Normal, Ill. Top-seeded Purdue won 82-59 and went on to claim the championship.
UNC and Purdue have not faced any common opponents during the 2005-06 season.
