University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 8 Tar Heels Open ACC Play At Georgia Tech
January 5, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2011
ATLANTA --- North Carolina starts Atlantic Coast Conference play Thursday when the unbeaten Tar Heels travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Carolina is 14-0 on the year after a 97-40 win over North Carolina Central on Monday. Georgia Tech is 12-4 following an 81-52 win over Jacksonville State on Sunday. UNC is ranked No. 8 in both the AP poll and the coaches' poll. Georgia Tech is unranked.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 14-0 (0-0 ACC), Georgia Tech 12-4 (0-0 ACC)
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked No. 8 in both the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Georgia Tech is unranked.
TV: None.
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), RamblinWreck.com (Georgia Tech)
GEORGIA TECH SERIES NOTES
• North Carolina is 51-13 all-time against Georgia Tech, including a 21-8 mark in Atlanta.
• Carolina has won 14 of the last 16 in the series, but the Tar Heels have dropped their last two games in Atlanta. UNC's last road win against the Yellow Jackets was a 75-61 victory in 2008.
• UNC has more wins over Georgia Tech than any other ACC opponent except for Wake Forest (56-12).
CAROLINA IN ACC OPENERS
• The Tar Heels are 26-7 in ACC openers all-time, with a 19-5 mark under Sylvia Hatchell.
• Carolina has won 15 of its last 16 ACC openers, with the lone loss coming at Maryland on Jan. 9, 2005.
• UNC is opening league play against Georgia Tech for the fourth time in five seasons.
• Carolina defeated the Yellow Jackets, 89-78, in last year's ACC opener in Chapel Hill. Italee Lucas led the way with 28 points, including 23 in the first half.
NOTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
• Georgia Tech is 12-4 following an 81-52 win over Jacksonville State on Sunday.
• The Yellow Jackets have won nine games in a row since consecutive losses to ranked opponents Connecticut, Georgetown and Tennessee in late November. The nine-game winning streak is the team's longest since 2002.
• Senior Alex Montgomery leads Georgia Tech in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 8 UNC 97, NCCU 40
CHAPEL HILL (AP) --- Krista Gross and Waltiea Rolle scored 16 points each to lead No. 8 North Carolina to a 97-40 win over North Carolina Central on Monday night in the Tar Heels final ACC tuneup. The Tar Heels (14-0) got off to a slow start, and trailed 18-17 before taking a 39-30 halftime lead. Carolina scored the first 15 points after halftime to turn a nine-point lead into a comfortable margin, then used a 36-0 run to put the game away.
NOTING THE WIN OVER NCCU
• Cetera DeGraffenreid finished with seven assists, making her the eighth player in school history and the 26th in ACC history to reach 500 career assists.
• Carolina's 36-0 run over the final 11 minutes of the game was the longest such streak for the Tar Heels this season.
• Krista Gross finished with a career-high 16 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
DeGRAFFENREID NEARING SCHOOL FREE THROW MARK
Senior Cetera DeGraffenreid is nearing the school record for career free throws made. With 488 career makes, DeGraffenreid is just one behind Erlana Larkins' school mark of 489 set from 2004-08. With 12 more makes, DeGraffenreid will 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 331st in Carolina history, good for 10th place overall.
• In addition to moving back into the all-time top 10, Carolina's ranking was the 302nd under head coach Sylvia Hatchell.
• This week is UNC's 124th week in the AP top 10 since the beginning of the 1999-2000 season. Only Connecticut, Tennessee, Duke and Stanford have more appearances over that time period.
DeGRAFFENREID LEADS NATION IN ASSIST-TURNOVER RATIO
Despite averaging a career-low 7.4 points per game so far in 2010-11, point guard Cetera DeGraffenreid is off to an incredible start to her senior season. DeGraffenreid has tallied 91 assists against just 17 turnovers over 14 games, making her the nation's leader in assist-turnover ratio (5.4). She is also among the NCAA leaders in steals per game (3.4) and assists per game (6.5).
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 116 of 150 games. In those 116 games, UNC sports an overall record of 110-6. The Tar Heels have outrebounded their opponents in 11 of 14 games in 2010-11.
