North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Seeks Out ACC Road Win at Wake Forest
2/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Feb. 3, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State women's basketball improved to 11-11 overall and 3-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after defeating Georgia Tech last Sunday. Now the Wolfpack will look to pick up a road win at Wake Forest on Thursday, Feb. 5. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Winston-Salem. The Deacs sit at 10-10 overall and are 3-6 in the ACC as well. The Wolfpack has not lost at Wake Forest since 1996 and it owns a 20-3 all-time series advantage at Joel Coliseum. NC State leads the overall series 48-6.
NC State extended its home winning streak to two after defeating Georgia Tech 75-71 on Sunday. The Wolfpack is 3-6 in Atlantic Coast Conference action and rests them in sixth place. The Pack lost the opening game of the Wake Forest series back on Jan. 5 in Reynolds, 70-66. Since that loss the Pack has gone 3-4 in ACC play. Senior Kaayla Chones continues to lead the squad with her 14.7 ppg and 7.5 rpg. Senior Alvine Mendeng is second on the team in points per game in ACC games with 8.8 ppg and in rebounds with 6.2 rpg. Junior Kendra Bell has been excelling at the point guard position during conference play. Behind Chones, Bell has averaged 29.0 ppg during the nine ACC games, which includes playing more than 39 minutes in each of the last three games. In the win over Georgia Tech, Bell hit 5-of-6 free throw attempts in the last minute to help the Pack overcome the Yellow Jacket's push at the end. Freshman Sasha Reaves has sparked the Wolfpack front court the past two contests. She posted back-to-back double figure games for the first time and finished with a career-high 11 points and eight rebounds over GT. Freshman Marquetta Dickens remains at the top of the scoring chart with her 7.4 ppg and 8.6 ppg in ACC games. Senior Nanna Rivers, who leads the team in assists, tacked on a season-high eight against the Yellow Jackets. She is ranked 11th in the conference for her 3.32 apg. NC State will look to pick up its first road win since defeating Florida State on Jan. 19 and second ACC road win overall.
The Demon Deacons lost in the last few seconds to Virginia at home on Sunday, 62-61. Despite a game-high 19 points from sophomore Liz Strunk, Wake Forest ended its two-game winning streak that included an upset against the No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels. Three Deacs are averaging double-figures, led by Strunk's 13.9 ppg. She also leads the team in rebounding with 5.3 rpg. Cotelia Bond-Young and Erin Ferrell are each averaging 11.4 ppg. Bond-Young also leads the team in assists, averaging 3.5 apg. In addition, the guard is second in the ACC for her 19 three-pointers in the nine conference games. Strunk was named ACC Player of the Week after helping the Demon Deacons to their first back-to-back ACC victories since the 2000-01 season. Senior Tonia Brown needs just 11 points to become the 12th Wake Forest player all-time to reach 1,000 career points. Of their five ACC home games, the Deacons' only win came against the Heels on Jan. 26. Wake Forest has not defeated NC State in Joel Coliseum since 1996 when it took the series as well. The Deacs defeated the Pack 76-72 on Jan. 23. The win at NC State this season in the first round of ACC play was the first win since that 1996 season.
The game can be heard live on WNKC 88.1 FM. Patrick Kinas will provide play-by-play with Kristen Gillespie handling the color duties.
