North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Mount St. Mary's (Md.)
Bell's Career Night Rings the Wolfpack to Victory
12/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2004
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Senior Kendra Bell had a stellar performance of 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and seven steals to lead NC State to an 83-45 victory over Mount Saint Mary's in the opening game of the Saint Peter's Classic on Wednesday, Dec. 29. NC State improved to 9-2 on the year. Mount St. Mary's dropped to 1-8. The Wolfpack had four players finish in double figures, including sophomore Ashley Key, who collected her fourth-straight double-digit game with 12 points. The Mount was led by Samira Rashid with 13 points.
"We are so happy we came away with a win", said NC State head coach Kay Yow. "After the first half, we weren't playing well. We came out after the half and really stepped it up. The team rose to the challenge. It was a totally different effort."
Despite starting cold in the first half after allowing four-straight free throws from The Mount's Samira Rashid, NC State redeemed itself with a 10-0 run to take the lead at 10-4. Two-straight buckets from senior Kendra Bell and a three-pointer from junior Rachel Stockdale helped NC State take the lead for good. But it wasn't easy. Mount Saint Mary's went on a 9-1 run midway through the half to come within four at 25-21, before freshman Khadijah Whittington hit two bonus free throws with just over two minutes to go to put NC State up six. Sophomore Ashley Key made NC State's final basket of the half to give the Wolfpack a 31-23 at the break. Both Key and Bell led the Pack with seven points each. The Mount's Rashid led all scorers with 11 points. NC State gave up 25 first half rebounds to The Mount, the most it had all season to any of its previous 10 opponents. The Pack gave up 23 to Seton Hall back on Dec. 2. NC State used 10 steals to force 16 Mount turnovers. NC State was averaging 12.70 steals per game entering the contest.
NC State went on an 8-0 run coming full steam out of the locker room at the half. Stockdale started the run with a three-pointer on the first possession. NC State shot nearly 50 percent in the second half to break away from The Mount. Led by eight second half points from Whittington and seven each from Bell and junior Monica Pope, NC State stepped out of the shadows to hold The Mount to its lowest offensive output since March 8, 2004 with 45 points and go on to record 83 points off its own. It was the third time NC State finished with 80 or more points this season.
Notes: Kendra Bell recorded her first career block and added a career-high seven steals ... Key's fourth-straight double figure game ... Whittington tied her career-high of 13 points and went 5-of-5 from the free throw line ... NC State hit a season-high seven three-pointers.
NC State will face host Saint Peter's College on Thursday, Dec. 30, at 7:30 p.m. in Jersey City, N.J. The Wolfpack returns home to host Wake Forest on Monday, Jan. 3, in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener at 6 p.m, in Reynolds Coliseum.
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