University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 10 Tar Heels Visit No. 15 Terrapins
January 22, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. --- North Carolina heads back out on the road Sunday when the Tar Heels visit Maryland at 5 p.m. at the Comcast Center. Carolina is 17-2 on the year (3-1 in the ACC) after a 71-56 home win over Wake Forest on Thursday. Maryland is 15-3 (2-2 ACC) on the season following a 77-75 overtime win at Virginia on Friday. UNC is ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the coaches' poll. Maryland is ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the coaches' poll.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 17-2 (3-1 ACC), Maryland 15-3 (2-2 ACC)
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Maryland is ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the coaches' poll.
TV: ESPN2. Holly Rowe (play-by-play) and Rebecca Lobo (analyst) have the call.
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), UMTerps.com (Maryland)
MARYLAND SERIES NOTES
• North Carolina is 36-32 all-time against Maryland, including a 12-16 mark in College Park.
• UNC and Maryland split two meetings in 2010. The Tar Heels scored a 75-64 win in Chapel Hill, while the Terrapins were 83-77 winners in the first round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
• Sunday will mark the 11th meeting between the two teams over the last six seasons, but only the third in College Park. After playing a home-and-home series every season beginning in 1983, the two schools have had just one regular season meeting in each of the last six seasons.
• The Terps have been a very familiar postseason opponent, having faced the Tar Heels in either the NCAA or ACC Tournament five times since 2006.
• Maryland won the last meeting at the Comcast Center, 77-71, in 2009.
NOTING THE TERRAPINS
• Maryland is 15-3 (2-2 ACC) on the season following a 77-75 overtime win at Virginia on Friday.
• The Terrapins are ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the coaches' poll.
• Freshman Alyssa Thomas and junior Lynetta Kizer lead the Terps in scoring and rebounding. Thomas is tops on the squad with 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while Kizer averages 13.3 points and 7.3 boards per contest.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 10 UNC 71, Wake Forest 56
CHAPEL HILL (AP) --- Italee Lucas scored 16 of her 20 points in the first half to help No. 10 North Carolina rout Wake Forest 71-56 on Thursday night. She had six points before Wake Forest got on the board and the Tar Heels (17-2, 3-1 ACC) led 12-2 less than 5 minutes into the game. Laura Broomfield had a career-high 19 points and added 11 rebounds. She played most of the second half as Jessica Breland sat out the final 20 minutes with what is described as a minor left knee injury.
BRELAND, LUCAS NAMED TO WOODEN MIDSEASON TOP 20 LIST
• The John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 list was announced Jan. 11 by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and North Carolina seniors Jessica Breland and Italee Lucas were among the selections. The list is comprised of 20 student-athletes who, based on their individual performance and team records, are the current frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.
• The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round during the NCAA Tournament, making it unique among college postseason awards. Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are eligible for this midseason list but did not appear on the preseason Top 30. All players nationally who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the official voting ballot released in March. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
DeGRAFFENREID SETS NEW SCHOOL FREE THROW MARK
Senior Cetera DeGraffenreid now owns the school record for career free throws made. With two makes against NC State on Jan. 14, DeGraffenreid passed former Tar Heel All-America forward Erlana Larkins' mark of 489 set from 2004-08. With 496 career makes, DeGraffenreid needs just four more to become only the fifth player in ACC history to reach 500 career made free throws.
ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL NOTES
• According to longtime women's basketball writer and AP poll historian Mel Greenberg, Monday's ranking in the AP top 25 was the 333rd in Carolina history, good for 10th place overall.
• In addition to being in the all-time top 10, Carolina's ranking was the 304th under head coach Sylvia Hatchell.
DeGRAFFENREID LEADS NATION IN ASSIST-TURNOVER RATIO
Point guard Cetera DeGraffenreid is having an incredible senior season and is among the nation's leaders in a variety of categories. DeGraffenreid has tallied 110 assists against just 29 turnovers through the season's first 19 games, making her the nation's leader in assist-turnover ratio (3.79). She also ranks 11th in the NCAA in steals per game (3.3) and 15th in assists per game (5.8).
