University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 14 Carolina Welcomes Clemson Friday
January 21, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2010
CHAPEL HILL --- North Carolina (14-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) plays its second home TV game in six days when the Tar Heels host Clemson Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Carmichael. UNC outlasted Maryland in a hard-fought 75-64 win on Sunday evening, while Clemson (9-10, 0-3 ACC) is coming off its sixth straight loss, an 80-50 setback against Florida State on Jan. 14. Carolina is ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and No. 15 in the coaches' poll. Clemson is unranked.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 14-3 (2-1 ACC), Clemson 9-10 (0-3 ACC)
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Clemson is unranked.
TV: RSN (Fox Sports Carolinas, Fox Sports Florida, Comcast Sports and NESN). Mike
Hogewood (play-by-play) and Robin Muller (analyst) have the call.
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Brad Heller (play-by-play) and Jan Boxill (analyst) have the call.
On The Web: TarHeelBlue.com (UNC), ClemsonTigers.com (Clemson)
CLEMSON SERIES NOTES
• North Carolina is 47-26 all-time against Clemson, including a 23-8 mark in Chapel Hill.
• Carolina won both matchups in 2009, an 83-74 victory in Clemson and a 74-55 win in the ACC Tournament.
• The Tar Heels have won 14 straight against the Lady Tigers, UNC's longest winning streak in the series.
• Clemson's last win in the series came in 2001, a 75-57 victory in the ACC Tournament. The Lady Tigers
haven't won in Chapel Hill since a 60-59 decision in 2000.
NOTING THE LADY TIGERS
• Clemson is 9-10 on the season and 0-3 in the ACC after an 80-50 home loss to Florida State on Jan. 14.
• Senior guard/forward Lele Hardy leads the Lady Tigers in both scoring and rebounding with 13.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
• Sophomore center Shaniqua Pauldo is second on the team with 12.6 points per contest.
TAR HEELS TOUGH TO BEAT AT HOME
Carolina's overall home record since the beginning of the 2004-05 season is 96-3. The Tar Heels have won 50 of 51 in Chapel Hill, including their last 18 home conference games. In addition, UNC has won 88 of its last 89 non-conference home games.
LAST TIME OUT
Jan. 17: No. 10 UNC 75, Maryland 64
CHAPEL HILL (AP) --- Chay Shegog scored 17 points, while Italee Lucas bounced back from a scoreless first half to help 10th-ranked North Carolina beat Maryland 75-64 on Sunday night. Lucas finished with 12 points for the Tar Heels (14-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who took advantage of repeated turnovers by the Terrapins to take control in the final 7 1/2 minutes.
CAROLINA INJURY UPDATES
• Freshman guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt suffered a separated right shoulder in the first half of the Jan. 2 win over Winston-Salem State. She missed the Georgia Tech game Jan. 6 but returned to the lineup at Connecticut.
• Junior forward Chay Shegog suffered a concussion during the first half of UNC's win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 29, and the Stafford, Va., sophomore missed two games. She returned for the Georgia Tech win on Jan. 6, scoring 10 points in 22 minutes.
• Freshman guard Krista Gross suffered a fracture of the third metacarpal in her left hand in practice Nov. 24 and missed three games.
CAROLINA IN CARMICHAEL
• Carolina returned to Carmichael Dec. 29 after a year and a half absence, during which the Tar Heels won 25 of 26 games at the Dean E. Smith Center.
• UNC is 377-83 (.820) all-time in Carmichael, its primary home since the first varsity season of 1974-75.
• Prior to the most recent renovation, the Tar Heels were on quite a roll in the historic gym. Beginning with the 2001-02 season, Carolina posted a 103-6 home record in Carmichael.
DeGRAFFENREID JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB
With seven points in the win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 29, junior Cetera DeGraffenreid became the 31st player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. She currently stands 29th overall with 1,062 points.
LUCAS MOVES INTO THREE-POINT TOP 10 LIST
With three made three-pointers Dec. 13 against Gardner-Webb, junior guard Italee Lucas took over sole possession of 10th place in the all-time UNC career threes list. The Las Vegas, Nev., product has made 121 career threes in 87 games, and is also in the top 10 in career three-point percentage with a 36.2 (121-334) percent mark.
DeGRAFFENREID NAMED TO WOODEN MIDSEASON LIST
The top 21 candidates for the Women's John R. Wooden Award, the nation's most coveted college basketball honor, were named today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club's John R. Wooden Award Committee, and North Carolina junior guard Cetera DeGraffenreid was among those recognized. Because of a tie in the voting, 21 players were named rather than the traditional 20. Composed of the players who will compete for this season's player of the year award, the midseason list is based on individual excellence and team record during the first half of the season.
Just as players who are not on the preseason list are eligible for the Midseason Top 20, players who do not make the Midseason list are still eligible for the national ballot, which will be selected in March and will consist of approximately 20 players, chosen by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board Committee. Players selected to the national ballot will have to be certified by their university as making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
DeGRAFFENREID GRABS SECOND ACC WEEKLY HONOR
North Carolina's Cetera DeGraffenreid and Maryland's Tianna Hawkins earned Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, for the week ending Dec. 20. DeGraffenreid scored a career-high 26 points and added 10 assists en route to her second double-double of the season against South Carolina. The league honor was her second of the season.
DeGraffenreid scored a career-high 26 points and matched a career-mark 10 assists in leading 10th-ranked North Carolina to a 93-85 win over South Carolina in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The junior guard helped the Tar Heels overcome a six-point second-half deficit, scoring 18 points and dishing out six assists after the break. The 26 point-10 assist performance gives the Cullowhee, N.C., native two double-doubles on the season. In addition, DeGraffenreid only turned the ball over three times in 37 minutes of action.
CAROLINA IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS
The most recent NCAA statistics report was released on Jan. 17, and the Tar Heels are highly ranked in a number of categories. UNC is among the nation's top 10 in three categories - scoring, rebound margin and three-point field goal defense. Here are the categories that feature Carolina in the top 25 (all stats per game):
• Scoring - 5th (81.6)
• Three-point Field Goal Defense - 9th (25.4)
• Rebound Margin - 10th (+9.1)
• Blocks - 13th (5.9)
• Assists - 14th (17.0)
• Scoring Margin - 15th (+18.3)
• Steals - 16th (11.7)
• Won-Lost Percentage - 21st (82.4)
