Clemson Heads to No. 21/23 North Carolina

Jan. 11, 2012

Game Setup:Clemson Lady Tigers (4-10, 0-3 ACC) v. #21/23 North Carolina Tar Heels (12-3, 2-1 ACC)Date: Thursday, January 12, 2012Time: 7:00 PMCity: Chapel Hill, NCSite: Carmichael AuditoriumRadio: WCCP-FM 104.9; WCCPFM.com(Roy Philpott – play-by-play, Kanetra Queen – color)Webcast: Tarheelblue.comLivestats: Gametracker Game Notes The Clemson women’s basketball team will travel to No. 21/No. 23 (Coaches/AP) North Carolina for a midweek game at Carmichael Arena on Thursday at 7:00 pm. Clemson (4-10, 0-3 ACC) will play at North Carolina (12-3, 2-1 ACC) for the first time since the 2009-10 season. North Carolina has won 17 in a row overall over Clemson, and holds a 50-26 advantage in the series, Clemson’s most common opponent in history. This will be the 77th meeting, and North Carolina head coach Sylvia Hatchell will try for her 600th win at the school in the game. Last season, North Carolina beat Clemson, 60-47, in the regular season and 78-64 in the ACC Tournament first round. Clemson comes into the game having dropped the last five contests, four of them coming despite allowing fewer than 60 points in the game. Defensively, Clemson ranks third in the league in conference play in points allowed per game (56.0) and field goal percentage defense (.347). The Lady Tigers also rank third in the league in blocked shots per game with a 6.2 average, behind North Carolina and Duke. Offensively, Nikki Dixon (12.1 ppg) and Shaniqua Pauldo (10.2 ppg) lead, while Kelly Gramlich (7.6) has come on strong as of late, including a team-high 15 against Virginia. Freshmen have played 55 percent of the team’s minutes on the season, accounting for nearly half the team’s points. In the two more recent games, Clemson started three true freshmen, who have now combined for 33 starts. Clemson has six days off from competition before taking on NC State on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 pm in Littlejohn Coliseum.