Jan. 29, 1999
PROBABLE LINEUP:
CLEMSON LADY TIGERS (17-3 Overall, 7-3 in the ACC) Forward–#24 Nikki Blassingame, 6-3, SR, 10.3 ppg., 7.2 rpg. Forward–#50 Natasha Anderson, 6-2, SR, 12.6 ppg., 6.6 rpg. Center–#44 Joanie Mungro, 6-2, JR, 4.1 ppg., 4.4 rpg. Guard–#25 Itoro Umoh, 5-7, SR, 12.4 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 6.3 apg. Guard–#33 Amy Geren, 5-11, SR, 15.1 ppg., 3.8 rpg.
Head Coach Jim Davis–250-113 at Clemson (in his 12th year), 269-121 career (in his 13th year).
NATIONAL RANKINGS-The Lady Tigers are ranked 15th both the Associated Press and USA Today polls as of January 25. Clemson has been ranked as high as 10th in both polls which tied a school record for the highest the Lady Tigers have been ranked during the regular season.
CLEMSON’S RECORD–Clemson is 17-3 this season after a 55-45 win over Maryland on January 28.The Lady Tigers are 7-3 in the ACC this season. Clemson has won six of its last seven games. The Lady Tigers are 10-1 at home this season and are 23-1 at home over the last two years with the only loss coming to Sunday’s opponent, Virginia. The Cavaliers stopped Clemson 67-66 in overtime at Littlejohn Coliseum on January 2. Clemson is 10-0 vs. non-conference teams this season, including an impressive 3-0 record vs. Southeastern Conference teams.
THE SERIES-This will be the 47th meeting between Clemson and Virginia on the basketball court. Virginia leads the overall series 25-21. The Lady Tigers have won six of the last nine games in the series.
Jim Davis is 11-18 in his career against Virginia, including 3-8 in Charlottesville. All 11 of Davis’s wins over Virginia have been top 20 wins. In fact, Davis has beaten a top 15 Virginia team nine times in the decade of the 1990s, including six times in the last four years, or since the current senior class came to Tigertown. Clemson defeated a ninth ranked Virginia team in Charlottesville last year, and a fifth ranked Virginia team in Charlottesville in 1995-96. Clemson has also beaten a top 15 Virginia team in the ACC Tournament twice in the last three years.
Last Meeting–Earlier this year, Virginia defeated Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum, 67-66 in overtime, Clemson’s only home loss in its last 24 home games. Amy Geren led Clemson with 16 points, while Itoro Umoh had 15. Erin Batth had 13 points in the contest off the bench. Batth is not expected to play in this Virginia game due to a knee injury she suffered against Iowa State last Sunday. Both teams struggled from the field in the first meeting.
The Lady Tigers were just 19-64 from the field and that .297 percentage is a season low. Virginia shot just 19-59, .322. Clemson won the rebound battle 53-45 as three Lady Tigers had doublefigures in rebounding. Joanie Mungro, now in the starting lineup due to Batth’s injury, had a season high 12 caroms, while Natasha Anderson had 11, including seven off the offensive boards. Itoro Umoh had 10 rebounds to go with her 15 points.
Clemson Downs Maryland–Clemson overcame 32 percent field goal shooting to defeat Maryland in College Park last Thursday, 55-45. It was the lowest offensive production of the season for Jim Davis’s team, but the Lady Tigers committed only 12 turnovers and won the rebounding 46-44.
Amy Geren led Clemson with 17, including 12 in the first half, while backcourt mate Itoro Umoh had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Joanie Mungro, starting in place of the injured Erin Batth, had 10 reboinds to lead Clemson’s carom collectors.
CLEMSON DEFEATS IOWA STATE–Nikki Blassingame scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds in leading 16th-ranked Clemson to a 81-72 win over 14th-ranked Iowa State in a women’s intercollegiate basketball game at Clemson, SC Sunday, January 24. This game was part of the ACC-Big 12 Challenge.
With the win, Clemson improves to 16-3 overall, while Iowa State falls to 13-3 this season. The Lady Tigers are ranked 16th in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls. Iowa State is ranked 14th in both the Associated Press and USA Today rankings.
Blassingame was the leader among the five Clemson players who scored in double digits. Erin Batth had 13, Itoro Umoh scored 11, Natasha Anderson had 10, and Amy Geren finished the game with 15. Anderson also had 10 rebounds for the Lady Tigers.
The score was tied 45-45 with 14:35 remaining in the game as Clemson’s Erin Batth scored inside. From this point, Clemson went on a 7-0 run as the Lady Tigers took a 52-45 lead with 12:25 remaining. Angie Cossey scored a three point basket in this run for Clemson. Iowa State had a 7-2 rally as Megan Taylor scored five points for Iowa State narrowing the Lady Tigers’ advantage to 54-52 with 10:16 left.
Clemson outscored the Cyclones 18-10 and built its largest lead of 10 points, 72-62 with 3:45 remaining in the game. In this stretch for the the Lady Tigers, Nuria Forns came off the bench and hit two three-point field goals and scored a field goal from 15 feet out.
Clemson hit 28-61 from the field for a .459 pct., while Iowa State finished the game 21-55 from the floor. Iowa State was also 11-29 from the three point line.
Megan Taylor scored 23 points for the Cyclones as she was 7-20 from the field, including 5-10 from the three-point line. Angie Welle and Taylor both had 11 rebounds each for Iowa State.
Clemson will play at Maryland on Thursday in the Lady Tigers’ next action.
LADY TIGERS DEFEAT N.C. STATE–Natasha Anderson scored 14 points Thursday as No. 16 Clemson beat North Carolina State 70-58, the Wolfpack’s third straight loss at home for the first time in 25 years.
The loss for N.C. State (9-8, 3-5) was the third in a row to a ranked team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Clemson (15-3, 6-3) led start to finish as Amy Geren scored 11 points, all in the first half. Itoro Umoh added 12 and ErinBatth had 10 for the Tigers.
The Wolfpack was led in scoring by Tynesha Lewis with 19 points. Summer Erb, averaging an ACC-leading 21.6 points before the game, was held to just one basket and six points in the first half. She finished with 13 points.
Clemson led 35-26 after the first half. N.C. State turned the ball over on six of its first 10 possessions and made just four of its first 17 shots before going 4-for-5 in the last 2:49 of the half.
Batth scored twice on baseline drives to start an 8-0 run that gave Clemson its biggest lead of the game, 51-37, with 11:55 left to play.
N.C. State never again got closer than 57-48 after Erb converted both ends of a 1-and-1 with 7:40 remaining.
ITORO UMOH RECORDS TRIPLE DOUBLE–Itoro Umoh had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in recording a triple double (double digits in statistical categories) as she led Clemson to a 78-38 win over Wake Forest in an Atlantic Coast Conference women’s basketball game at Clemson, SC Sunday, January 17.
This was the fifth time a player in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference has recorded a triple double, and the second time in Clemson history. Dawn Staley of Virginia recorded two triple doubles in 1991, and Peggy Caple of Clemson had one in 1983.Most recently, Kisha Ford had a triple double in 1995. Caple had 19 points 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots against Kansas State on January 5, 1983.
Atlantic Coast Conference’s All-Time Triple Doubles Peggy Caple, Clemson vs. Kansas State, Jan. 5, 1983 Dawn Staley, Virginia vs. NC State, Jan. 12, 1991 Dawn Staley, Virginia vs. NC State, Feb. 23, 1991 Kisha Ford, Georgia Tech vs. Georgia State, Feb. 13, 1995
Itoro Umoh, Clemson vs. Wake Forest, Jan. 17, 1999
PRESEASON HONORS–Clemson’s Itoro Umoh is one of the pre-season Naismith Award Candidates. Teammate Amy Geren is a preseason All-America candidate as selected by Street and Smith’s Magazine.
CLEMSON TIES SCHOOL RECORD FOR BEST UNDEFEATED START-The 11-0 start for Clemson tied the school record for consecutive wins at the beginning of the season. Virginia defeated Clemson 67-66 in overtime to break the streak on January 2.
HOME WINNING STREAK COMES TO AN END–Clemson won 20 games in a row at home beginning November 23, 1997 and ending with a loss to Virginia on January 2, 1999. The 20 consecutive home wins was a school record and the sixth longest active homecourt winning streak in the nation.
HEAD COACH JIM DAVIS REACHES 250 WINS AT CLEMSON–Head Coach Jim Davis has a 250-113 record at Clemson as he is in his 12th season. He reached the 250 mark with a 55-45 win at Maryland on January 28 in Cole Fieldhouse. During his NCAA Division I career, he has a 268-121 record. Davis spent one season, 1986-87, at Middle Tennessee State and compiled a 19-8 record with the Lady Raiders that season.
LADY TIGER LEADERS-Clemson is led in scoring by Amy Geren with a 15.1 ppg. average. Nikki Blassingame leads the team in rebounding with a 7.2 rpg. average. Itoro Umoh has 125 assists and 37 steals to lead the team.
ALL-ACC BACKCOURT-Clemson women’s basketball players Amy Geren and Itoro Umoh were named All-Atlantic Coast Conference as announced by the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association in 1997-98. Geren was named to the first team, while Umoh was named to the second team. They are both having All-ACC seasons in 1998-99. Geren is the top three-point shooter in the ACC with a 40.2 percent and 39 made three-point goals in 20 games. She also paces the conference in free throw shooting with a 84 percent mark. Umoh is third on the team in scoring, but leads in assists and steals and is hitting 73 percent from the foul line.
CLEMSON HEAD COACH JIM DAVIS WON 100TH ACC GAME-Clemson Head Coach Jim Davis won his 100th career regular season Atlantic Coast Conference game, (not including ACC Tournament games) with the 64-41 win over Wake Forest on February 15, 1998. Currently, Davis has a 108-70 record against ACC foes during the regular season. He is the fourth winningest coach in the history of the ACC with the 108 victories.
CLEMSON’S JIM DAVIS IS 8-5 IN OVERTIME GAMES DURING HIS CAREER-Head Coach Jim Davis is now 8-5 in overtime games during his career at Clemson. He has also guided the Lady Tigers to five wins in the last six Clemson overtime games.
CLEMSON’S RECORD VS. RANKED TEAMS-Coach Jim Davis has defeated 38 top 25 teams since his arrival at Clemson in the 1987-88 season. At Littlejohn Coliseum, he has a 26-17 record vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams. This season he is 2-3 vs. top 25 teams. He has 11 top 25 wins over Virginia in his career, more than any other school. He has two wins over #1 ranked teams, including a 65-62 victory over #1 ranked Virginia in the 1991 ACC Tournament.
CLEMSON’S DEFENSE-Under Coach Jim Davis, the Clemson Lady Tigers have held opponents to 50 points or less 51 times and have never allowed an opponent to reach the 100-point plateau. All 51 games have resulted in Lady Tiger victories. The Lady Tigers have only been held to 50 points or less twice during Davis’ tenure. The Lady Tigers have been outstanding in field goal percentage defense this year, holding the opposition to 35.6 percent shooting and just 57.1 points per game. If the season ended today, that would be the best field goal percentage defense in school history. The previous best is 37.4 percent field goal percentage defesne by the 1976-77 Lady Tigers. The scoring defense is at an all-time record pace. The previous best is 61.2 points per game allowed by Last year’s Lady Tigers.
Clemson has allowed just five opponents to shoot over 40 percent from the field this year, and no opponent has been over 48 percent. Duke shot 47.4 percent and that is the best against the Lady Tigers this year. Clemson has been especially effective of late, allowing the last four opponents to shoot just 72-220 from the field, a .327 figure.
FIRST HOME GAME RECORD-Clemson now has a 21-3 record over the years when playing its first home game of the season. The Lady Tigers also have a 18-6 record over the years in season-opening games.
ALL-TIME HOME RECORD-Clemson has a 249-71 record when playing in Littlejohn Coliseum for a .777 mark.
100% GRADUATION RATE–Since the beginning of the women’s basketball program at Clemson in 1975-76, 100% of the players staying for four years have graduated.
GEREN IS CAREER LEADER FOR BEST FREE THROW PCT.-Amy Geren is Clemson’s career leader for best free throw percentage with an .843 mark. During her career she is 279-331 from the free throw line.
THREE-POINT WEAPON-Amy Geren is in second place on the Clemson career list for most 3-pt field goals scored in a career (184).
CLEMSON’S CAREER LIST FOR MOST 3PT GOALS MADE
Name Yrs Years GP FGA FGM1. Tara Saunooke 4 1991-95 121 586 2522. Amy Geren 3+ 1995- 113 498 184
UMOH AND GEREN MOVING UP CAREER SCORING CHART- Amy Geren jumped two spots on the Clemson scoring list with her 17 point performance at Maryland. The senior is now ninth in Clemson history in career scoring. She went ahead of Donna Forester and Louise Greenwood with her performance at Maryland. Classmate Itoro Umoh is 12th in Clemson history in career scoring, just just 14 points behind Geren. Umoh needs just 14 points against Virginia to jump into the top 10 in scoring in Clemson history.
POINTS SCORED
Rk. Name Yrs. Years GP Avg. Points 1. Barbara Kennedy 4 1978-82 127 24.5 3113 2. Janet Knight 4 1982-86 114 15.7 1795 3. Shandy Bryan 4 1989-93 126 12.9 1631 4. Karen Ann Jenkins 4 1985-89 111 13.6 1514 5. Mary Anne Cubelic 4 1979-83 119 12.6 1501 6. Tara Saunooke 4 1991-95 121 12.1 1462 7. Bobbie Mims 4 1976-80 126 11.5 1448 8. Kerry Boyatt 4 1989-93 121 11.8 1422 9. Amy Geren 3+ 1995- 113 11.2 1271 10. Donna Forester 2 1976-78 63 20.2 1270 11. Louise Greenwood 4 1985-89 112 11.3 1268 12. Itoro Umoh 3+ 1995- 114 11.0 1257
JIM DAVIS’ NON-CONFERENCE RECORD–Head Coach Jim Davis has a cumulative 135-38 record vs. non-conference teams during his Clemson career.
DAVIS IS THE FOURTH WINNINGEST COACH IN ACC HISTORY-Head Coach Jim Davis is the fifth all-time winningest coach in the history of the ACC with 250 victories. He is also fourth for most victories in ACC games with 108. He is also the third all-time winningest coach in the ACC by percentage, (.689). Davis is also tied for fourth for the best winning percentage in the ACC Tournament with a .600 figure (15-10).
UMOH IS IN FOURTH PLACE FOR MOST STEALS-Itoro Umoh is tied for fourth place on the Clemson career list for most steals. Currently she has 239 steals, the same total Debra Buford had between 1977-81. Umoh is also fourth all-time at Clemson for most steals per game with a 2.10 figure. Obviously, Umoh needs just one steal at Virginia to move into third place in school history.
CLEMSON CAREER STEAL LEADERS
Name Yrs. Years GP S/G Steals 1. Barbara Kennedy 4 1978-82 127 2.57 327 2. Ramona O'Neal 4 1985-89 117 2.44 286 3. Debra Buford 4 1977-81 127 1.88 239 4. Itoro Umoh 3+ 1995- 114 2.10 239
ITORO UMOH IS ONE OF CLEMSON’S BEST ALL-TIME PLAY MAKERS-Itoro Umoh moved into fourth place in Clemson history in career steals with four against Maryland on January 28. She also went over the 400 mark with that performance and enters the Virginia game with 402. She needs just 10 assists to move ahead of Susan Fehling into third place on the all-time list. She has averaged 3.52 assists per game during her career. This season she has had at least four assists in every game, including a high of 11 assists in the Florida State game on January 7. Umoh is averaging 6.3 assists per game this season.
CLEMSON CAREER ASSISTS LEADERS
Name Yrs. Years GP A/G Asts 1. Bobbie Mims 4 1976-80 126 4.89 617 2. Melinda Ashworth 4 1982-86 111 4.17 463 3. Susan Fehling 3 83-85, 87-88 87 4.72 411 4. Itoro Umoh 3+ 1995- 114 3.52 402 5. Drema Greer 2 1977-79 61 6.54 399
LADY TIGER RANKINGS IN 1998-99
AP USA TodayPreseason NR NRNov. 16 NR NRNov. 23 NR NRNov. 30 25 24Dec. 7 15 14Dec. 14 14 12Dec. 21 11 11Dec. 28 10 10Jan. 4 12 10Jan. 11 16 12Jan. 18 16 16Jan. 25 15 15
PLAYING TIME FOR EVERYONE-Clemson has seven players who are averaging in double figures in minutes played this season. Itoro Umoh leads the team in minutes played with a 31.1 minutes per game average.
CLEMSON HAS SHOT 50% IN FOUR GAMES THIS SEASON- The Lady Tigers have shot 50% from the field in four games this season. Clemson shot 55% from the floor against Wofford and 52% from the floor against Maryland on December 5. Against Dartmouth, the Lady Tigers shot .529 from the field. In the win over LSU, Clemson shot 22-44 from the floor for a .500 figure.
LADY TIGERS WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS–Clemson has outrebounded its opponents in 16 of the 20 games this season. Clemson has outrebounded its opponents by a 8.5 margin this season. The Lady Tigers have tied two opponents in rebounding this season. Clemson is 15-1 this season when outrebounding its opponents this season. North Carolina is the only ACC team to outrebound Clemson this season.
GEREN AND UMOH ARE BOTH 1,200 POINT SCORERS–Amy Geren has scored 1,271 points in her career, while Itoro Umoh has scored 1,257 career points. This is the third time in Clemson history that there has been two 1,200 point scorers in the same class as both Umoh and Geren are both seniors.
Clemson 1,200 points Classmates
Player Years PointsKaren Ann Jenkins 1985-89 1,514Louise Greenwood 1,268Shandy Bryan 1989-93 1,631Kerry Boyatt 1,422Amy Geren 1995-99 1,271Itoro Umoh 1,257
SPECIAL SENIOR CLASS–Clemson’s senior class consists of Amy Geren, Itoro Umoh, Natasha Anderson, and Nikki Blassingame. They have become household names and have meant a great deal to the Lady Tiger program. This senior class has scored 3,982 points, and has grabbed 1,704 rebounds. This senior class is also responsible for 792 assists and 540 steals.
The 1999 senior class has been to three straight NCAA Tournaments and three straight ACC Tournament Championship games, and won the 1996 ACC Tournament Title.
BLASSINGAME HAD CAREER HIGHS VS. DUKE–Nikki Blassingame scored a career high 25 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds in Clemson’s 86-77 loss to Duke on 1-14-99. She was 12-18 from the field against the Blue Devils.
AGAINST THE ACC–Clemson has four players averaging in double figures in ACC games. Itoro Umoh has a 14.1 average in conference games, while Natasha Anderson is second with a 13.4 average. Amy Geren has a 11.9 average against the league, while Nikki Blassingame is fourth at 10.6. It is interesting to note that Umoh, Anderson and Blassingame all have higher averages in ACC games than in non-conference contests.
MUNGRO NOW STARTING–Joanie Mungro has provided bench strength for the Lady Tigers this season. She is Clemson’s top player off the bench through the first 20 games with a 4.1 scoring average and a 4.4 rebound average. Now she is in the starting lineup due to an injury to Erin Batth. In her first start since Batth’s injury and third start of the season overall, Mungro had seven points and a team best 10 rebounds at Maryland.
COSSEY HAS CAREER HIGH IN N.C. STATE GAME–Angie Cossey scored a career high nine points and had two rebounds in Clemson’s 70-58 win over N.C. State on 1-21-99. She also played a 20 minutes in the contest. Cossey followed that up with four assists and five rebounds in 23 minutes against Maryland. Those were career high figures in the assist and rebound categories for the junior college transfer.
MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS–Clemson is 13-1 when leading at the half this season. The Lady Tigers are also 4-0 this season when shooting 50% or better this season.
CLEMSON’S RECORD ON SUPER SUNDAY–Clemson is 2-2 over the years when playing on Super Bowl Sunday. The last time Clemson played on Super Sunday was January 25, 1998, as Duke defeated the Lady Tigers 78-59 in Durham, NC. On that Super Sunday, Denver defeated Green Bay 31-24. Clemson also defeated Virginia, 57-45 at Clemson on Super Sunday on January 28, 1996. On that day the Dallas Cowboys defeated Pittsburgh 27-17. The Dallas Cowboys are 3-0 when Clemson plays on a Super Sunday.
Super Sunday Results for Clemson
Super Bowl XXXII, 1-25-98, Denver 31, Green Bay 24Duke 78, Clemson 59 at Durham, NC
Super Bowl XXX, 1-28-96, Dallas 27, Pittsburgh, 17 Clemson 57, Virginia 45 at Clemson, SC
Super Bowl XXVIII, 1-30-94, Dallas 30, Buffalo 13 North Carolina 71, Clemson 68, at Chapel Hill, NC
Super Bowl XXVII, 1-31-93, Dallas 52, Buffalo 17 Clemson 88, Duke 63, at Clemson, SC
Current Seniors Clemson’s Best–The current senior class of Nikki Blassingame, Itoro Umoh, Natasha Anderson and Amy Geren has a record of 84-30, a .737 winning percentage. That is the highest winning percentage for a four-year class in Clemson history on a percentage basis. The group is approaching the school record for overall wins, which is 88 set by last year’s seniors and the senior class of 1980-81.
When it comes to ACC games, this year’s group of seniors is also among the best. The current seniors are 36-22 in ACC regular season games with six league contests remaining. The record for most ACC regular season wins by a class is 38, held by last year’s seniors, who were 38-26.
When it comes to games against ACC teams (counting the ACC Tournament) this class has a 43-24 mark. That is just two wins away from the record of 45 victories against ACC teams, set by the seniors of 1997-98.
Thus, a 3-3 record down the stretch will make this the winningest Clemson senior class in ACC games, regular season play and overall (counting ACC Tournament games).
Here is a rundown of the winningest classes in Clemson history for overall and ACC games:
Clemson’s Winningest Classes
Overall Total Wins Overall Winning Percentage Sr. Class Pct Record Sr. Class Rec Pct 1997-98 .698 88-38 1998-99 84-30 .737 1980-81 .682 88-41 1997-98 88-38 .698 1981-82 .674 87-42 1980-81 88-41 .682 1979-80 .674 87-42 1996-97 83-40 .6748 1990-91 .675 85-41 1995-96 83-40 .6748 1991-92 .669 85-42 1990-91 85-41 .6746 1998-99 .737 84-30 1981-82 87-42 .6744 1992-93 .667 84-42 1979-80 87-42 .6744
ACC Regular Season Wins ACC Regular Season Win %
Sr. Class Pct Record Sr. Class Rec. Pct 1997-98 .594 38-26 1981-82 24-9 .727 1996-97 .578 37-27 1980-81 22-10 .688 1995-96 .578 37-27 1979-80 16-9 .640 1994-95 .578 37-27 1990-91 35-21 .625 1998-99 .621 36-22 1991-92 36-22 .621 1993-94 .581 36-26 1998-99 36-22 .621 1991-92 .621 36-22 1997-98 38-26 .594 1992-93 .583 35-25 1992-93 35-25 .583 1990-91 .625 35-21 1993-94 36-26 .581
Overall Wins vs. ACC Winning % vs. ACC Teams
Sr.Class Pct Record Sr. Class Rec. Pct 1997-98 .616 45-28 1981-82 29-13 .690 1998-99 .642 43-24 1980-81 26-14 .650 1996-97 .589 43-30 1998-99 43-24 .642 1995-96 .583 42-30 1997-98 45-28 .616 1991-92 .612 41-26 1990-91 40-25 .615 1993-94 .577 41-30 1979-80 19-12 .613 1992-93 .580 40-29 1991-92 41-26 .612
Lady Tigers Tie Record for Best 20-Game Start–The Lady Tigers have a 17-3 record through 20 games, and that ties the record for the best 20-game start in Clemson history. This is the third time in history Clemson has had a 17-3 record through 20 games. The 1979-80 team and the 1995-96 teams also had a 17-3 record to start the season. The 1980-81 and 1997-98 teams were both 16-4.
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