University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Opens NCAAs Sunday Vs. Albany
March 21, 2013 | Women's Basketball
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 28-6, Albany 27-3
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked No. 13 in the AP poll and No. 18 in the coaches' poll. Albany is unranked.
TV: ESPN2. Pam Ward and Rebecca Lobo have the call. A live broadcast is also available online at WatchESPN.com.
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Walter Storholt has the call. A link to the live stream can be found at GoHeels.com.
On The Web: GoHeels.com • Twitter: @UNCWBB • @UNCWBBCoach
ALBANY SERIES NOTES
• North Carolina and Albany have never met in women's basketball.
POTENTIAL SECOND ROUND MATCHUPS
• The winner of North Carolina and Albany will face the winner of No. 6 seed Delaware and No. 11 seed West Virginia.
• North Carolina and Delaware have never met in women's basketball. Carolina is 1-0 all-time against West Virginia. The Tar Heels defeated WVU 95-56 on Nov. 17, 1979, in Harrisonburg, Va.
CAROLINA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• UNC enters the tournament as a No. 3 seed for the fifth time in school history and the first since 2009.
• Carolina won the 1994 NCAA title as a No. 3 seed, defeating the top two seeds in the East Region before advancing to the program's first Final Four.
• Carolina is 16-4 all-time in NCAA first round games, with its last loss coming to Gonzaga in 2010.
• The Tar Heels are 23-21 all-time in NCAA Championship games played away from Chapel Hill.
• Carolina is 39-18 in NCAA Championship play in 19 previous appearances under Sylvia Hatchell.
• UNC has an all-time NCAA record of 41-22 in 23 overall appearances.
QUICK HITS
• Carolina is second in the nation in steals (13.4 spg). The Tar Heels are 11th in points allowed per opponent possession (0.75) and 14th in blocks.
• UNC is 9-6 this season when tied or trailing at halftime after the ACC semifinal win over Maryland on March 9. The Tar Heels were 9-29 in those situations the previous three seasons.
• Carolina is 8-0 in games decided by five points or less and 13-2 in games decided by 10 points or less.
• Head coach Sylvia Hatchell is currently second all-time in career coaching wins with 907. Hatchell now trails only Pat Summitt (1,098) on the all-time list after passing Jody Conradt (900) on Feb. 10.
• Senior Tierra Ruffin-Pratt is averaging a team-best 15.4 points per game this season, good for fifth in the ACC. Entering 2012-13, her career scoring average in 84 games was 6.7 ppg.
• Senior Krista Gross is fifth in the ACC in rebounding with 8.5 rpg. Entering 2012-13, her career rebounding average in 95 games was 4.4 rpg.
TAR HEELS MAKE RUN TO ACC TITLE GAME
Third-seeded North Carolina defeated Boston College and Maryland to earn a spot in the ACC Tournament championship game for the 15th time in the last 20 seasons. Tierra Ruffin-Pratt averaged over 21 points per game in the event - including a career-high 25 in the title game - to earn first-team all-tournament honors. Latifah Coleman, who had a career-high 17 points in an amazing performance in the semifinal win over Maryland, and Waltiea Rolle earned second-team honors.
RUFFIN-PRATT, McDANIEL EARN FIRST-TEAM ALL-ACC HONORS
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and Xylina McDaniel were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team by a vote of the league's head coaches. Ruffin-Pratt was also a first-team selection by the Blue Ribbon Panel, while McDaniel grabbed second-team honors from that group.
Ruffin-Pratt led the Tar Heels in scoring, assists and steals in her final season in Chapel Hill. The Alexandria, Va., native emerged as one of the league's top all-around players, averaging 14.8 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game in leading Carolina to a 26-5 regular season and second place in the final ACC standings.
McDaniel, who was the only freshman named on a first team, registered a double-double in her first collegiate game and was consistently one of the nation's top first-year players in 2012-13. The Columbia, S.C., product averaged 12.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals during the regular season, all tops among the league's freshmen.
Ruffin-Pratt and McDaniel are the first Tar Heels to earn first-team honors since Erlana Larkins and LaToya Pringle were first-team selections in 2008. McDaniel is the first Carolina freshman to earn a first-team nod since Camille Little in 2004.
