North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Baylor University
Wolfpack Falls Short Against Baylor, 79-63
12/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2003
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - NC State women's basketball fell to Baylor, 79-63 in the final game of the San Juan Shootout, Monday, Dec. 22. The Wolfpack's record dropped to 7-4 overall, while the Bears improved to 10-1. For NC State, senior Kaayla Chones led with her 24th career double-double 15 points and 15 rebounds. Baylor's Sophia Young led with a game-high 24 points, including 19 in the second half. Young became the MVP of the Shootout, while Chones was on the All-Shootout team.
The deceptive final score doesn't tell the tale of this closely matched game however. The first half resulted in four lead changes before Baylor claimed the last one to take a 10-point lead into the break. Chones stepped up to the line for a 6-of-7 performance in her 12 minutes of playing time, to go along with six points from the floor. She led all scorers in the game at that point. The score remained knotted at 19 until the final six minutes, when Baylor went on a 16-6 run to end the period.
With a cushioned 10-point advantage it appeared the game was in favor of the Bears, however, NC State returned from the break with persistence. The Pack did not let up for the next 15 minutes, bringing the score within five points with five minutes remaining. With fouls being an issue with the clock sitting at five minutes, the Pack sent Baylor to the line for 10 more points. Chones went on to score just three more points to become the only Wolfpack player in double figures. Freshman Keisha Brown was next in line with nine, while senior Alvine Mendeng finished with eight to go along with six boards. Baylor finished with four players in double digits. Behind Young's 22, Jessica Stratton and Dionne Brown each contributed 12 points, while Ebony Jackson had 11 points. The Bears also shot 48 percent (28-of-55) from the floor to just 31 percent on 23-of-74 by the Pack.
NC State will travel to Hartford, Conn., for a game versus the No. 1 ranked Connecticut Huskies (8-0) on Dec. 29, 7 p.m.
