North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Duke
Women's Hoops Falls To No. 1 Duke, 54-44
1/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score?|? Quotes?|? AP Story
RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State women's basketball (9-10, 4-4 ACC) fell to No. 1 Duke (20-0, 7-0 ACC), 54-44, Wednesday, Jan. 29. Redshirt-junior Terah James led the Pack with 13 points and three steals, while the Blue Devils were guided by junior Alana Beard with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Knowing the tradition between these two teams is important to remember when looking at the game just played. With rocky shooting and poor possessions from both teams, the true fans of the game saw just how much pressure each team is up against.
"We really had a slow start and sputtered offensively in the first half," said NC State head coach Kay Yow. "We played hard on the defensive end and did what we needed to do there."
Despite the loss, NC State can be proud of the fact that it held Duke to its lowest scoring output this season and second-lowest shot percentage. The women also forced the Blue Devils to turn the ball over more times than any other opponent in their 20 games. In addition, the women outscored and outshot Duke in the second half. NC State tallied 33 points and shot 42.3 percent compared to Duke's 30 points and 32.4 percent. And Duke, despite having the ACC's best 3-pt. shooter in Vicki Krapohl, shot just seven percent on 1-14 from the behind the arc.
"I thought we played well in the second half, especially after falling behind in the second half," said Yow. "I think it speaks volumes for our team. I like the way that we never gave up tonight. When you get 20 points down and you've already played the first half offensively like we did; there's a point when some teams can really start to bend and perhaps break. That never happened with us."
The fact which makes all of the above information more representative of the game, is that NC State was held to just 11 points in the first half, but came back to outscore, outshoot and force more turnovers in the second half, against the nation's No. 1 team. And in doing so, the Wolfpack opened the door for other teams to do the same.
In addition to James' 13 points, the Wolfpack had two players tally eight points, including junior Nanna rivers and redshirt-junior Kaayla Chones.
NC State travels to Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 1, to begin the second round of the ACC regular season. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip -off. The Terrapins are 8-11, 2-6 in ACC play.
