North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
East Carolina
Wolfpack Tops East Carolina, 88-51
12/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2003
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RALEIGH, N.C. - Three women reached double figures for the Wolfpack as NC State defeated East Carolina 88-51 at home in Reynolds Coliseum on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Redshirt-senior Terah James led all Wolfpack scorers with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, which involved a perfect 3-of-3 performance from behind the three-point arc. Rachel Stockdale added 13 points and Billie McDowell chipped in 12, aided by a 4-of-4 effort at the free-throw line. With the win, NC State improves to 3-2 overall, and 2-1 at home, the Pirates fall to 2-3.
"I was really pleased with the game and it was great to get a lot of players playing time tonight," said NC State coach Kay Yow. "We were able to play different combinations of players and the coaching staff was able to see how those players reacted in game situations."
James, Stockdale and McDowell did not start the game for the Pack, but along with eight non-starters, paced NC State to a 64-point effort from the bench, accounting for 75 percent of the final score. The Wolfpack took great care of the ball, dishing 26 assists to just eight turnovers on the night. Freshman Ashley Key had a game-high five assists. The Wolfpack had its best three-point performance of the season, pouring in six treys in the first half, while shooting 36.4 percent for the game.
"It was great to see Terah and Rachel shoot well tonight," said Yow. "They really make our offense work with their play."
Redshirt -senior Kaayla Chones was forced to the bench early with three fouls at the 12:29 mark in the first half, in her absence however, the Wolfpack pulled together to notch a15-0 run. During the stretch, Stockdale drained a three and junior Kendra Bell hit an open layup under the basket. Stockdale then followed with a jumper to put the Pack up by 10 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half. Over the last 15 minutes NC State outscored ECU 34-12, giving the Pack a 24-point at the half.
ECU opened the second half with a 7-0 run, with all points coming from the Pirates' leading scorer on the night, Courtney Willis. The Pirates had a late surge with eight points in the last two minutes of regulation.
The Pack forced 26 turnovers with a tenacious defense. The Pack tallied 10 steals and held the Pirates to just 31.6 percent from the field.
"We kept the defensive pressure high until the end of the game and I felt really good about that," said Yow. "We want to play pressure defense and run in transition, so our depth is important. Our transition game and pressure defense create the foundation of the system we want to run."
"I have to give NC State a lot of credit for their defensive pressure," said East Carolina head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener. "They caused us to take bad shots in the first half and forced a lot of turnovers. When we have a hard time scoring, we have a hard time defending. We are not a zone team, but we played zone tonight to help control their team speed and quickness. I have respect for their players' quickness and thought playing zone gave us our best chance to win."
With Chones on the bench, junior Darline Jasmin and freashman Sasha Reaves took over post-play, combining for 12 points in 25 minutes.
Courtney Willis was the catalyst in the Pirate offense, putting up 25 points, while Eisha Bishop added 15 and pulled down 12 rebounds earning a double-double in her first start of the season.
NC State returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Dec. 6, against No. 9/11 Georgia in Athens at the Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs enter the contest at 4-1, fresh off of a 65-52 win over Houston on Wednesday.
