North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
South Carolina
Wolfpack Runs Over Gamecocks, 75-48
12/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2004
COLUMBIA, S.C. - NC State women's basketball went on a 28-1 run in the final eight minutes of the game to defeat South Carolina 75-48 on Thursday, Dec. 16. The win gave the Wolfpack its sixth straight as it improved to 7-1 on the season. The Gamecocks fell to 2-5. Junior Tiffany Stansbury led all scorers with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds en route to her fourth double double, while Angela Hunter of South Carolina, finished with 12 points.
It took a while for either team to score, but South Carolina struck first and jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first four minutes. After three minutes, the Gamecocks' Larissa Kulcsar hit two-straight layups and sophomore Iva Sliskovic hit a third to give South Carolina the early advantage. NC State was 0-5 in that stretch and scored its only point off a free throw from sophomore Ashley Key at 18:38. NC State's junior Tiffany Stansbury finally broke the ice for the Wolfpack with a baseline jumper four minutes later. The Pack was shooting 41 percent entering the game, but was 1-8 before Stansbury's shot went in. The score was a low 8-3 just before the midway point of the half. NC State battled back to bring the score within two after a Stansbury layup and a fading jumper by senior point guard Kendra Bell. The score remained 13-10, still in favor of South Carolina, until Wolfpack junior Billie McDowell hit her 14th three-pointer this season from the far baseline to knot the score at 13. The Pack finally took the lead at 16-15 after junior Monica Pope connected on all three of her free throw attempts after she was fouled beyond the line at 6:24. Junior Tiffany McCollins hit all three of her four attempts in just three-plus minutes of play off the bench to give NC State a 25-22 lead heading into the break. The guard from Memphis, Tenn., led all Wolfpack scorers en route to collecting a career high six points, while South Carolina's Kulcsar also had six to lead the Gamecocks. NC State shot just 28 percent in the first half, while South Carolina wasn't much better at 32 percent. The Pack's Stansbury helped NC State defensively as she had a game-high the blocks and had two steals to go along with five rebounds and four points in 15 minutes of action. As a team, NC State held South Carolina without a field goal in the final four and a half minutes.
The second half turned out to be the opposite of the first. South Carolina did hit the first basket, a three pointer by Lauren Simms on the baseline, but NC State didn't blink. The Wolfpack answered right back with three, three-pointers, including two from McDowell on the left side and one from Key on the right side. NC State opened the half shooting an incredible 70 percent as it hit seven of its 10 attempts from the floor. The Pack took its biggest lead at 40-29. South Carolina did not go away however. Angela Hunter hit two threes from the left side to help the Gamecocks to lessen NC State's lead at 44-42. Key returned the offensive threat with her second three-pointer to keep the Pack up by five, 47-42 eight minutes into the second half. As the half drew closer to its midway point, both teams had nearly tied their output from the first half with NC State scoring 22 points and South Carolina with 20. Just three minutes later NC State had regained its 11 point lead thanks to six-straight points from Stansbury. The Pack was in the lead again, 55-42, holding South Carolina scoreless for the entire three minutes between the media timeout and a called timeout by South Carolina coach Susan Walvius. A minute later, NC State had scored two more baskets, one from Stansbury and other from Key, to bring the lead to 17, 59-42 entering the eight minute mark. NC State had outrebounded South Carolina, 15-6 in that time. NC State put the South Carolina team to rest after its collective offensive run of 23-0 from the 12:28 mark until Fabri hit the back end of her two free throws to end the streak. That run helped the Pack take a 30-point lead at 73-43. Stansbury had 16 points and was 9-of-10 from the floor before she exited the game with just over three minutes to go. She finished with a career-high 20 to lead all scorers. The run expanded to 28-1 until Kulcsar netted a jumper with a minute remaining. NC State held South Carolina to just two field goals in the final eight minutes of the game. Kulcsar accounted for both. The final score was 75-48. The win gave NC State its third straight versus South Carolina and improved the Wolfpack advantage to 16-8 all-time.
NC State hosts North Carolina A&T on Saturday, Dec. 18, at 2 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack's final game before the holiday break will take place at George Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m., in Washington, D.C.
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