University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 15 Carolina Returns Home For Virginia Friday
January 25, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2011
CHAPEL HILL --- North Carolina plays the first of two home games in less than three days Friday when the Tar Heels welcome Virginia to Carmichael Arena at 6:30 p.m. Carolina is 17-3 on the year (3-2 in the ACC) after an 88-65 loss at No. 15 Maryland on Sunday. Virginia is 12-9 (1-4 ACC) following a 72-37 home win over Virginia Tech on Sunday. UNC is ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the coaches' poll. Virginia is unranked.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 17-3 (3-2 ACC), Virginia 12-9 (1-4 ACC)
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Virgnia is unranked.
TV: RSN. Mike Hogewood (play-by-play) and LaChina Robinson (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), VirginiaSports.com (Virginia)
VIRGINIA SERIES NOTES
• North Carolina is 44-32 all-time against Virginia, including a 19-11 mark in Chapel Hill.
• After playing at least twice every season since 1981-82, Carolina and Virginia will play just once in the regular season for the fifth straight year in 2011.
• Virginia won last year's meeting in Charlottesville, 82-78, in two overtimes. Prior to that loss, Carolina had won 13 straight in the series, the longest such streak for UNC against Virginia. The Tar Heels also won nine straight from 1977-82. UVa's best run was 14 straight wins from 1987-92.
• UNC won the last meeting in Chapel Hill, a 103-74 rout in 2009.
NOTING THE CAVALIERS
• Virginia is 12-9 on the season (1-4 in the ACC) following a 72-37 win over Virginia Tech on Sunday.
• Junior forward Chelsea Shine leads the Cavaliers in both scoring and rebounding with 11.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest.
TAR HEELS IN CARMICHAEL ARENA
• Carolina is 391-87 all-time in Carmichael, with an 18-4 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 (434-97, 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.
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 497 career makes, DeGraffenreid needs just three more to become only the fifth player in ACC history to reach 500 career made free throws.
ROLLE BLOCKED SHOT STREAK UP TO 50
Sophomore forward/center Waltiea Rolle has already established herself as one of the premier shot blockers in UNC history, ranking seventh in career blocks with 117 rejections in less than two seasons in Chapel Hill. In addition, Rolle has registered a blocked shot in each of her 50 career games, making her the only active player in the ACC with such a streak. With 45 swats so far in 2010-11, Rolle is leading the league in blocks per game for the second straight season and her 2.4 bpg career average is good for sixth all-time in the ACC.
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 113 assists against just 29 turnovers through the season's first 19 games, making her the nation's leader in assist-turnover ratio (3.90). She also ranks 11th in the NCAA in steals per game (3.3) and 20th in assists per game (5.7).
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 118 of 156 games. In those 118 games, UNC sports an overall record of 112-6. The Tar Heels have outrebounded their opponents in 13 of 20 games in 2010-11.
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.
LUCAS ENTERS ACC CAREER THREE-POINT LISTS
Senior guard Italee Lucas has recently entered the ACC career top-25 lists in three-pointers and three-point attempts. With 195 career made threes, Lucas currently ranks 18th in ACC history, while her 541 career attempts are good for 22nd.
