Tipoff: UNC hosts Clemson, Feb. 14
The University of North Carolina women's basketball team (19-6, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) returns to Carmichael Auditorium Thursday for a home game with Clemson (14-9, 6-6 ACC). Tipoff is 7 p.m.
UNC is ranked 20th in this week's Associated Press poll, 22nd in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Clemson is not ranked, but is receiving votes in the coaches' poll. Next up for the Tar Heels is a road trip to Georgia Tech. UNC takes on the Yellow Jackets Sunday at 2 p.m.
On the air
Thursday's game will be broadcast live on radio by the Tar Heel Radio Network. The flagship station is 1360-AM WCHL. Stephen Gates is Carolina's play-by-play announcer and Jones Angell provides color commentary.
Quick facts on UNC
2001-02 Record: 19-6 (8-4 ACC)
Current Rankings: 20th A.P., 22nd USA Today/ESPN
Head Coach: Sylvia Hatchell (Carson-Newman, 1974)
Career Record: 595-246 (in her 27th season)
Record at UNC: 323-166 (in her 16th season)
Assistant Head Coach: Andrew Calder
Assistant Coaches: Tracey Williams, Sylvia Crawley
Team captains: Coretta Brown, Courtney Chambers, Jennifer Thomas
UNC ticket office: (919) 962-2126, (800) 722-4335
News of note
Thursday's game is the 61st meeting between North Carolina and Clemson. UNC leads the series 34-26 after an 89-85 win at Clemson on Jan. 13 in the teams' first meeting of the season. The last seven regular-season games between UNC and Clemson have been decided by an average margin of 3.4 points. UNC has won five of those games. In this year's first game against Clemson, the Tar Heels hit a season high 13 three-pointers. Junior guard Coretta Brown scored the 1,000th point of her career in Sunday's game at NC State. She is the 20th UNC player to reach that landmark. Senior guard Nikki Teasley was named ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 11 for the second time this season and the seventh time in her career. She averaged 17.3 points and 5.0 assists as UNC three games. UNC has won its last five games since snapping a three-game losing streak with the Jan. 27 game against Virginia. NC State, which UNC defeated 80-71 on Sunday, is the first team to shoot 50 percent against the Tar Heels this season. The Wolfpack was 25-for-50 from the field. The team's 50 attempts were a season low by a UNC opponent. In thirteen games this season, including the win over NC State, UNC has totaled more assists than turnovers. The Tar Heels are 12-1 in those games, with the only loss coming to Georgia Tech. Junior Coretta Brown's current career three-point shooting percentage of 36.4 is the best in school history. She is shooting 50.0 percent (18-36) from long range over the last five games. With three blocks against NC State, sophomore Candace Sutton moved into fifth place on UNC's career list with a total of 98. She passed Henrietta Walls, who had 96 from 1980-83. With 219 career three-pointers, senior guard Nikki Teasley ranks seventh in Atlantic Coast Conference history in that category and is second all-time at UNC. She needs two more to take over sixth place in the ACC, nine to become Carolina's leader. Tar Heel coach Sylvia Hatchell is five wins away from recording her 600th career victory. Brown and Teasley rank among the ACC's top five in scoring, three-point percentage, three-pointers made, assists and assist-turnover ratio. Scouting the Clemson Lady Tigers
Clemson is 14-9 on the season, 6-6 in the ACC, following a 77-69 loss at Duke on Sunday. The Lady Tigers are 4-2 over their last six games.
Junior guard Chrissy Floyd leads Clemson and ranks second in the conference in scoring with 16.5 points per game. She paced the team with 19 points in its first matchup of the season with UNC. Senior guard Krystal Scott also averages double figures points with 10.7 per game, as does Senior guard Marci Glenney with 10.3. Glenney's average jumps to 13.8 points in ACC games.
Sophomore forward Maggie Slosser is the team's leading rebounder with 5.6 per game, 5.7 against ACC opponents.
The team is coached by Jim Davis, who is in his 15th year at Clemson.
