University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 14 Carolina Set For Showdown With No. 18 Iowa Thursday
December 1, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2010
CHAPEL HILL --- North Carolina will face its stiffest test of the young season Thursday when the Tar Heels host unbeaten Iowa in the fourth annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge at 7 p.m. at Carmichael Arena. Carolina is 7-0 on the year after dominating the field en route to a Rainbow Wahine Showdown title last weekend in Honolulu. Iowa is also 7-0 on the season following a pair of wins over James Madison and Virginia Tech in the Caribbean Challenge. UNC is ranked No. 14 in the latest AP poll and No. 15 in the coaches' poll. Iowa is ranked No. 18 in both polls.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 7-0, Iowa 7-0
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Iowa is ranked No. 18 in both the AP poll and the coaches' poll.
TV: Carolina All-Access. Tonight's game is available live at TarHeelBlue.com/allaccess.
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Dave Nathan (play-by-play)and Jan Boxill (analyst) have the call.
On The Web: TarHeelBlue.com (UNC), HawkeyeSports.com (Iowa)
IOWA SERIES HISTORY
• North Carolina is 0-2 all-time against Iowa.
• Both UNC-Iowa meetings have come in the state of South Carolina. The Hawkeyes won 106-81 in Hilton Head in 1989 and triumphed 73-64 in Myrtle Beach in 1995.
UNC AGAINST THE BIG TEN
• Carolina has played at least one game against each of the 11 current members of the Big Ten.
• UNC has an all-time record of 22-11 against the Big Ten. Only Iowa (0-2) has a winning record against the
Tar Heels.
• Carolina is 2-1 in the current incarnation of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Tar Heels defeated Purdue, 90-72, in Chapel Hill in the 2008 event and Ohio State, 72-63, in Columbus in 2009. UNC suffered its first loss in three seasons in 2010, a 72-66 setback at Michigan State.
• While this year's version is officially the fourth ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Carolina has played two other
games that were dubbed the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In 1993, UNC defeated Northwestern, 98-75, in Charlottesville, Va. In 1999, the Tar Heels defeated Michigan State, 82-65, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
TAR HEELS IN CARMICHAEL ARENA
• Carolina is 385-86 all-time in Carmichael, with a 12-3 record since the building re-opened after being closed for renovations from March 2008 to December 2009.
• The Tar Heels have won at least 14 home games in each of the last nine seasons, including a school-record 18 during an undefeated 2007-08 home campaign.
• With an all-time home winning percentage of .817 (428-96, including a 43-10 record in the Dean E. Smith Center), Chapel Hill ranks as the ninth most difficult location for visiting teams all-time in Division I women's basketball.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 14 UNC 91, Hawaii 57
HONOLULU (AP) --- Jessica Breland scored 19 points, Italee Lucas added 15 and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt had 14 as No. 14 North Carolina routed Hawaii 91-57 on Sunday night in the final of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown. Breland, Chay Shegog and Laura Broomfield each had seven rebounds for the Tar Heels, who held a 48-31 advantage on the boards. North Carolina had 24 offensive rebounds and led Hawaii 28-6 in second-chance points.
NOTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE SHOWDOWN TITLE
• Carolina claimed its third championship title in six trips in Hawaii and its second in a row. The Tar Heels won the Rainbow Wahine Classic in 1994 and 2006.
• Italee Lucas was named the tournament's most valuable player after averaging 20.3 points per game in three UNC victories. Lucas had 15 points and season highs of six rebounds and seven assists in the championship game win over Hawaii.
• Jessica Breland was also named to the all-tournament team after posting averages of 17.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.
NOVEMBER DOMINATION
November has been a standout month for North Carolina in recent years. The Tar Heels have won 50 games in a row during the first month of the season, a streak that dates back to the opener against St. Francis (Pa.) in 2003. UNC's last November loss came against Oklahoma in the semifinals of the 2002 Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. Included among the 50 wins are tournament championships in Hawaii, Mexico and Las Vegas, as well as the 2009 Preseason WNIT title.
REBOUNDS EQUAL WINS FOR TAR HEELS
Carolina has always stressed the importance of rebounding and that statistic has been a good indicator of success for the Tar Heels over the last five seasons. Since the beginning of the 2006-07 season, Carolina has won the rebounding battle in 112 of 143 games. In those 112 games, UNC sports an overall record of 106-6.
