March 19, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1999, the UCF women's basketball team drew the 14th-seed in the Oklahoma City Regional and will square off against third-seeded North Carolina on Saturday in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Knights and the Tar Heels will tip off their first round game in McKenzie Arena at noon on ESPN2. As UCF prepares for UNC, ranked 11th nationally, UCFAthletics.com takes a look at the Tar Heels.
SCOUTING THE HEELS
UNC (27-6) started the season at 17-0 before beginning a three-game slide with an 88-58 loss to No. 1 Connecticut 88-58 on Jan. 19. The Tar Heels finished the season with victories with 10 wins in their last 13 contests.
The Heels have an average margin of victory of 17.3 points per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field. Head coach Sylvia Hatchell's squad has four players averaging in double figures led by senior Rashanda McCants' 14.9 points per clip. Sophomore backcourt mates Italee Lucas and Cetera DeGraffenreid combine to contribute 25.7 points and seven assists per contest.
UNC plays a fast-paced tempo that nets a scoring average of 83 points per game. The tempo also produces a lot of turnovers, as both the Heels and their foes average over 20 miscues per game.
The two squads are similar in numerous statistical categories. Like UCF, the Heels knock down free throws, hitting 71.3 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. The Knights have hit 33.3 percent of their three-pointers (115-345) to UNC's 33.9 percent (172-507). The battle of the boards will be key to watch as the two teams both boast positive rebound margins of above 4.0.
KEY MATCHUP
The battle of the boards will be highlighted by a pair of talented forwards - UCF sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) and UNC junior Jessica Breland. Cannon leads the Knights in scoring at 15.4 points per game while also leading C-USA in rebounding with an average of 11.5. The New York native is shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 77.9 percent from the free-throw line (134-172).
Breland enters the tournament with averages of 14 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-3 junior has hit 51.5 percent of her shots from the field and 76.2 percent from the line (96-126).
UNC PROBABLE STARTERS
G: Cetera DeGraffenreid, Soph, 5-6 (12.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.1 apg)
G: Italee Lucas, Soph., 5-8 (13.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.9 apg)
F: Rashanda McCants, Sr., 6-1 (14.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg)
F: Iman McFarland, Sr., 6-3 (4.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg)
F: Jessica Breland, Jr., 6-3 (14.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.1 bpg)
AGAINST COMMON OPPONENTS
UCF and North Carolina have faced three common opponents this season - Florida State, Wake Forest and Miami. Against the three ACC opponents, the Knights went 0-3 but put up a strong fight against all three of them, losing by seven and 12 to Miami at home and at Florida State respectively while also losing to Wake Forest 82-75 in overtime. North Carolina defeated Wake Forest 77-66 and Miami 90-76 but fell at Florida State 77-70.
UCF (17-16) enters the tournament riding a season-best six-game winning streak after claiming the Conference USA tournament title with four wins in four days from March 5-8. The Knights have not lost since Feb. 21 at Tulane, and at 17-16 overall sit above .500 for the first time this season. UCF has won 15 of its last 20 games overall.
The Tar Heels enter the tournament after defeating South Dakota 75-69 on Sunday in a non-conference game. UNC fell to Maryland on March 8 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
The winner of the UCF-UNC contest will advance to Monday's round of 32 to face the winner of sixth-seeded Purdue and 11th-seeded Charlotte. Purdue and Charlotte will meet Saturday afternoon in Chatanooga following the UCF-UNC game.
For the seventh consecutive year, the ESPN networks will combine to present all 63 games from the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. During the first two rounds, ESPN and ESPN2 will present the 48 games within 12 telecast windows in a whip-around format with home market protection. ESPN360.com will offer complete game telecasts of all 63 games, while ESPNU will offer select ESPN and ESPN2 early-round games in their entirety. The final 15 games (regional semifinals on) will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2. The complete schedule will be announced on a later date.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.