North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Vanderbilt
Wolfpack Upsets No. 12 Vanderbilt, 65-64
1/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2005
NASHVILLE - NC State shot 60 percent in the second half and overcame a 12-point deficit to hand No. 12 Vanderbilt its first home loss in 43 games at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Jan. 6. The Wolfpack upset the nationally ranked Commodores, 65-64, thanks to four second half three-pointers from junior Rachel Stockdale. She finished with a game-high 16 points and was one of three Wolfpack players to reach double figures. NC State improved to 12-2, while Vanderbilt dropped to 11-2 for the season.
"This team never gave up," said NC State head coach Kay Yow. "Even when we were down by 12 points in the second half, they continued to play hard. We just kept telling them not to give up and they didn't."
The game started off just as everyone expected, tight on both ends of the floor. After the first four minutes the score was a paltry 8-2 in favor of Vanderbilt. The Commodores took the six point lead using two, three-pointers, which included a long bomb from the team's leading three-point shooter, Abi Ramsey. Junior Tiffany Stansbury helped the Pack get on the scoreboard finally after she made a layup just before the four-minute mark. NC State was down by as many as eight before using a 6-0 run within a span of 15 seconds to bring the score to 14-12. Sophomore Ashley Key had six of those points. Vanderbilt used the inside power of Carla Thomas to keep the NC State defense on its toes. She led the half with seven of the Commodores' 17 rebounds. She also finished with seven points.
NC State took its first lead of the game at 26-23 thanks to consecutive three-pointers by Key and junior Billie McDowell with just under three minutes to go. Vanderbilt's leading scorer at the break, Ramsey led the Commodores with eight points to give them a small 30-28 lead heading into the half. Freshman Khadijah Whittington came off the bench for NC State to grab a team-high six rebounds and also added six points. Key led all scorers in the half with nine points. NC State's defense forced 11 Vanderbilt turnovers and had a small lead in the rebound category, 18-17.
The second half started out just as the first for NC State. The Pack waited four minutes to score, but it was worth it. After Vanderbilt edged out to a 12-point lead just four minutes into the game after an 8-0 run, NC State held the Commodores scoreless for the next four minutes and regained some momentum and took the lead with eight minutes to go, after a remarkable test of character. Junior Monica Pope came off the bench and hit all three of her three-point attempts and Stockdale nailed three as well as NC State took the lead for the second time of the game, 49-47 with eight minutes to go. The Wolfpack jumped out to its biggest lead of the game after Stockdale hit her fourth three of the half, 56-49. But Vanderbilt didn't lay down. The Commodores tied the score at 56 after a three-pointer from Caroline Williams with just under five and half to play. Vanderbilt regained the lead at 58-57 after Thomas hit both her bonus free throws with four minutes to go. Four-straight points from Stansbury, including a jumper and two free throws, gave the Pack its fourth lead of the game. Vanderbilt did come back to tie the score at 61 with just under two minutes to go and came within one with one second left to tick after Dee Davis hit two-straight three pointers. But a layup from Whittington, who finished the game with 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds, and two free throws from Stockdale resulted in NC State's its fourth-straight win and third-straight on the road.
"We came in ready for a challenge," said Stockdale. "We knew it would be a tough environment to play in. Vanderbilt has a great team and a lot of fans attend games, so it was rowdy. I am proud of the team and how we never gave up tonight. We believed in each other and the team and kept playing despite being down in the second half by 12."
NC State shot just 37.5 percent in the first half, but shot 60 percent in the second period, which included hitting 7-of-12 three-point attempts. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt was held to 37 percent shooting in the second half after shooting 45.8 percent in the first. The Commodores also shot 83.3 percent from the free throw line, after hitting 10-of-12 attempts in the second half.
NC State's Key also was the third double-figure scorer with 10 points for her seventh-consecutive double-digit game.
The Wolfpack will remain on the road and travel to Clemson, S.C. to face the Tigers on Sunday, Jan. 9. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. The game can be heard live on WKNC 88.1, 1230 AM, WNMX 106.1 in Charlotte and on XM Satellite Radio's ACC Sports. Coverage with Patrick Kinas and Kerby Court begins 15 minutes before tip-off.
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