North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Wake Forest
Wolfpack Rallies Past Wake Forest, 70-66
2/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2004
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Cotelia Bond-Young scored 18 points and Tonia Brown added 15 to eclipse 1,000 for her career, but it was not enough as NC State rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit en route to a 70-66 victory in ACC women's basketball action from Joel Coliseum Thursday night.
With the Demon Deacons trailing 69-66 and only 6.2 seconds left in the game, Bond-Young came open for a game-tying 3-pointer, but Wolfpack senior center Kaayla Chones blocked the shot and Billie McDowell corralled the loose ball then knocked down one of two free-throws to seal the victory.
The Deacs (10-11, 3-7 ACC) pushed their nine-point halftime lead to 10 points just moments into the second-half, but NC State (12-11, 4-6 ACC) slowly chipped away.
The Wolfpack cut the deficit to five points, 41-36, with 15:44 left in regulation, but Erin Ferrell answered with a 3-pointer to put the Deacs up eight, 44-36. NC State responded with six unanswered points to get back within two points, 44-42, at the 13:33 mark.
The Demon Deacons surged back to a nine-point advantage, 53-44, with 8:59, but the Wolfpack answered one more time with a 14-3 run over the next five minutes to take a two-point lead, 58-56, with exactly 4:00 minutes left.
Wake Forest would score the next four points, two on Liz Strunk free-throws and two more on Melissa Washington free-throws to regain the lead, 60-58, but McDowell drained a 3-pointer to give NC State the lead for good, 61-60, with 2:24 left.
The Wolfpack pushed the lead to five points, 67-62, with 31.4 seconds remaining, but Bond-Young's jumper at 23.4 and a pair of free-throws from Tonia Brown after Kendra Bell split two free-throws cut the deficit to two points, 68-66. Chones then knocked down just one of two at the charity stripe, but saved the day on the ensuing Demon Deacon possession with the critical block.
Chones led NC State with 18 points and six rebounds, while Alvine Mendeng added 16 points and seven rebounds. Kendra Bell chipped in 11 points and McDowell was the final NC State player in double figures with 10.
In addition to Bond-Young's 18 and Tonia Brown's 15, Ferrell added 12 points and five rebounds, while Strunk scored 11 points. It was the first game in the past six for the Demon Deacons that Strunk failed to lead the squad in scoring.
With her 3-pointer at 12:42 of the second-half, Tonia Brown became just the 12th player to ever record 1,000 points in Wake Forest women's basketball history.
Bond-Young and Tonia Brown carried the Deacs in the first-half. Bond-Young poured in 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, while Tonia Brown added 10 in the opening half.
The first-half featured seven ties and seven lead changes. The Wolfpack's Ashley Key tied the game, 26-26, with a 3-point field goal with 1:22 left before halftime. Wake Forest then closed the half on a 9-0 run. Tonia Brown drained a 3-pointer, then Ferrell converted on a three-point play before Bond-Young' 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Deacs a 35-26 lead into half.
The Demon Deacons have the weekend off, but return to action Monday evening at Maryland. Tip-off with the Terrapins is scheduled for 7 p.m. Maryland captured the first meeting this season, 75-58.
