North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack to Host Wake Forest in ACC Opener
1/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2005
Wolfpack Radio Network Airtime: 5:45 pm
NC State women's basketball tips off its 2004-05 Atlantic Coast Conference slate Monday, Jan. 3, with a televised meeting against Wake Forest. Both the Wolfpack and Demon Deacons are 10-2 for the year in non-conference action and are looking to continue their success with an opening conference win. NC State will be looking to extend its home winning streak to six, while the Deacs are hoping to win their second-straight game at Reynolds Coliseum for the first time in the series. The game tips off at 6:06 p.m. live on FOX Sports Net South with Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli. The Wolfpack Capitol Sports Radio Network, now extended to four stations, including WKNC- 88.1 FM Flagship, WFAY 1230 AM, WZAX 99.7 and WNMX 106.1 in Charlotte, will broadcast the game. And XM Satellite radio will broadcast the game on XM 180. Coverage begins 15 minutes prior to tip-off with Patrick Kinas and Que Tucker.
The meeting will mark the 56th since the first on Jan. 10, 1975. NC State leads the series 49-6 all-time and is 25-3 at home. The Pack and Deacs split the series in 2003-04 as Wake Forest ended a 14-game losing streak to NC State in the last eight years with a 70-66 victory in Reynolds last year. NC State then defeated Wake Forest on its home court, 70-66 to even the series.
NC State is 19-6 all-time in ACC openers and is 9-1 at home. The Pack is 2-0 against the Demon Deacs, 1-0 in Reynolds. The last ACC opener at home against Wake Forest took place on Nov. 26, 1980. NC State won 85-49.
NC State closed out the month of December with two-straight victories and a 7-1 record, its best December since 1999-2000 when the Pack went 5-0. The same success will likely be more challenging for the month of January as NC State's next eight games will be against seven ACC schools in the nation's second-best conference and the final non-conference game of the season at Vanderbilt, a team that is ranked 15th in the nation.
The Wolfpack is fresh off its second tournament title after picking up two road wins at the Saint Peter's Holiday Classic in Jersey City, N.J. Dec. 29 and 30. NC State defeated both Mount Saint Mary's and Saint Peter's to clinch its second crown. Junior Tiffany Stansbury was named the Classic's MVP, while sophomore Marquetta Dickens was named to the all-Classic team. Stansbury posted her conference best fifth double double when she recorded career highs of 27 points and 18 rebounds against Saint Peter's on Dec. 30. The Philadelphia native leads NC State in scoring and rebounding with 12.1 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Ashley Key has reached double figures in scoring the last five games and is now second on the squad in scoring average with 9.9 ppg. Senior point guard Kendra Bell narrowly leads the assist category with 2.67 per game. Dickens is right behind her with 2.58 assists a contest. Following its performance against Mt. Saint Mary's by holding The Mount to just 45 points, NC State maintained its position among the nation in scoring defense, and remained first among the 324 schools.
After being selected to finish last in the preseason standings, Wake Forest has emerged as one of the top five teams in the ACC. The Demon Deacons are 10-2 heading into their first ACC game this season. Wake Forest opened the year with a eight-straight wins, which included a 65-57 upset of No. 15 Houston on Dec. 17. Since then, Wake has gone 2-2 in the last four games, with a loss to Hawaii, 68-64 on Dec. 18 and recently to Kentucky, 66-61 on Dec. 30. A trio of juniors and one senior are leading Wake Forest to its best seasons in recent memory. Guard Cotelia Bond-Young has a team-best 15.7 points per game thanks to stellar three-point shooting. She averages 3.17 three-points made a game. Porshé Jones is dishing out a team-high 5.42 assists a game, while averaging 11.7 ppg. Forward Liz Strunk is second on the squad in scoring with 14.3 ppg. Erin Ferrell is the lone senior among the starting five, which also includes Keila Evans. The forward is grabbing an average of 7.9 rebounds per game and is averaging 11.3 ppg.
The Demon Deacs are led by first year head coach Mike Petersen. A veteran of the coaching world of 24 years, Petersen has been a head coach for 12 of them. He is 198-29 in that time. His prior years as a head women's basketball coach include four years at the helm of Gonzaga from 1985-89 and three years at TCU from 1996-99. He arrived at Wake Forest via Minnesota, where he was the men's basketball associate head coach for four years. NC State head coach Kay Yow and Petersen will meet for the first time as Yow has never faced either of his previous teams. Yow is 48-6 all-time against the Demon Deacs. In her 34 years as a head coach, Yow owns a record of 663-302 and is 606-283 in her 30 years at NC State.
NC State will wrap up its non-conference slate for the 2004-05 season with a road game at Vanderbilt on January 6. The Commodores are ranked 13th and 15th in the nation currently with a 10-1 record, and are 5-0 at home. The lone loss came at the hands of Western Kentucky, 85-77 on the road. Four players are averaging double figures, led by Ashley Earley 19.7 ppg and 9.2 rpg. Dee Davis is next with 15.2 ppg and she is also the team's leading assist giver with 7.0 apg.
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