University of North Carolina Athletics
#8 Carolina Visits Pittsburgh Thursday Night
January 7, 2015 | Women's Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Petersen Events Center
Date: Thursday, Jan. 8
Tip Time: 7 p.m.
Broadcast: ESPN3/WatchESPN
NATIONAL RANKINGS
North Carolina is ranked No. 8 by the Associated Press and No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches' top25 poll this week. Pittsburgh is unranked.
UNC MAKES RARE TRIP TO THE STEEL CITY
Carolina makes just its second trip to the city of Pittsburgh, and will pay in the Petersen Events Center for the first time Thursday night. The Tar Heels only previous trip to the Steel City was a 79-67 setback to the Panthers on Jan. 2, 1981 inside the Fitzgerald Field House.
HATCHELL GOES FOR WIN No. 950
Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame head coach Sylvia Hatchell will take her first crack at career victory No. 950 against Pittsburgh on Thursday. With a career mark of 949-332, Hatchell is the active wins leader in women's basketball and second all-time to Pat Summitt, who won 1,098 games at Tennessee.
MAUNGA EARNS ANOTHER ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
For the second time this season, sophomore forward Stephanie Mavunga was named ACC Player of the Week. She averaged 21.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 blocks in three victories last week for the Tar Heels.
Mavunga set a career-high with 26 points on 13-of-14 shooting against ETSU on Jan. 2, and opened the week with 14 points and nine rebounds against Albany on Dec. 30. Against NC State, Mavunga put together a 23-point, 12-rebound, 5-assist and 4-block performance on Jan. 4, improving Carolina to 14-1 on the season.
Mavunga shot 76 percent from the field for the week, and averaged 24.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and shot 82.1% from the floor over the final two games against ETSU and NC State. She was previously named player of the week on Nov. 24.
TOTAL TEAM EFFORT
With the loss of All-ACC forward Xylina McDaniel, Carolina will need its bench to increase its effectiveness by scoring more points and playing additional minutes. In the last three games, the UNC reserves have averaged 30.0 points per game, including 49 points against ETSU on Jan. 2.
BUTTS INSERTED INTO STARTING 5
Senior Danielle Butts has started the last three games in place of the injured McDaniel. She has averaged 5.0 points and 7.7 rebounds. The Winterville, N.C., native had made only eight starts in her first three seasons with the Tar Heels.
J WASH STEPS UP TOO
Sophomore reserve guard Jessica Washington has averaged 11.3 points and 2.3 rebounds over the last three games. She tied her career high with 16 points against Albany and played a career-most 30 minutes on Friday against ETSU, reaching double figures once again with 10 points.
STRONG RESUME
Carolina and fellow ACC member Notre Dame are the only two team in the country with four wins over top-25 ranked teams in 2014-15. The Tar Heels picked up non-conference wins over UCLA, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Rutgers.
NEXT UP
UNC returns home to host Georgia Tech on Sunday inside Carmichael Arena at 3 p.m. The game will be carried on the Regional Sports Network and ESPN3/WatchESPN.
