North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 23 Wolfpack To Take on Saint Joseph's
11/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. -
#23 NC STATE (1-0, 0-0 ACC) AT SAINT JOSEPH'S (1-0, 0-0)
Tip-off: 2 p.m., Nov. 20, 2005, Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (3,200)
All-Time Versus Saint Joseph's (H/A/N): 4-0 (5-0/4-0/1-0)
Streaks: 4 wins
Last Meeting Result: 12/29/98 in Philadelphia, ST 62, SJU 55
Notable: This is the second meeting at Saint Joseph's, all three other games were played in Raleigh (one was a NCAA Tournament game) ... Refer to school as Saint Joseph's, SJU or St. Joe's, not St. Joseph's.
NC State women's basketball travels to face Saint Joseph's for a 2 p.m. meeting on Sunday, Nov. 20. Both teams sit at 1-0 on the year after picking up season opening wins on Friday, Nov. 18. N0. 23 NC State knocked off visiting UNC Greensboro, 76-46, while Saint Joseph's topped Princeton 58-46 in Philadelphia. The Wolfpack and Hawks will meet for the fifth time and NC State leads the all-time series, 4-0. The Pack will travel to the Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam over the Thanksgiving holiday, Nov. 25-26. NC State will face Iowa State and then either North Florida or No. 5 Rutgers. Sunday's game will be broadcast live on WKNC FM 88.1 with Patrick Kinas or via gopack.com.
The season opener treated several NC State players well. Junior Ashley Key made her point guard debut and posted seven assists and just two turnovers in her first 27 minutes on the job. Sophomore Khadijah Whittington recorded her third career double-double and led the game in scoring and rebounding, both also career highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds. The Roanoke, Va. native reached double figures for the 13th time in her career. Also reaching double figures were senior center Tiffany Stansbury and junior Keisha Brown. Stansbury picked up 15 points, while Brown came off the bench to net 10 points to go along with a career-high five steals and two three-pointers. Also noteworthy were the three blocks from junior Sasha Reaves. NC State is 6-0 all-time in Philadelphia and the last time the squad played in the "City of Brotherly Love" was in 1998, when it took home the Saint Joseph's Hawk Classic title with wins over New Hampshire and SJU.
Seniors Rachel Stockdale and Tiffany McCollins returned to game action on Friday, Nov. 18. Both had been sidelined due to knee problems. Stockdale had missed two weeks of practice after her knee sprain during a preseason drill, while McCollins recently rejoined practices after rehabbing her knee this summer and preseason.
NC State head coach Kay Yow owns an all-time record of 675-308 in her 35th year of coaching and is 618-289 in 31 seasons at NC State.
The Hawks are looking to build on a disappointing 7-23 record from a year ago. Saint Joseph's opened the season with a 58-46 against Ivy League foe Princeton on Friday. Two players reached double figures, led by junior guard Ayahna Cornish's 16 points and two steals. Teammates Whitey French finished with 10 points. The team returns all five starters from last season, including Cornish, who led the team in scoring with 12.5 ppg - the only player to average double figures. The squad is directed by fifth-year head coach Cindy Griffin. She is 73-53 at SJU and 121-86 in her 8th season overall.
Quick Hits Khadijah Whittington attempted NC State's first dunk in history with 1:46 remaining in the game against UNCG, she missed. NC State has now won nine of its last 10 season openers. Tiffany Stansbury has posted double figure games the last three games dating back to March 5 of last season. The center now has 19 double figure games to her credit. Stansbury will be back in her hometown of Philly for the first time since high school.
NC State is 21-2 all-time when matching up with an Atlantic-10 conference opponent. The Wolfpack is 4-2 on the road with both losses earned at George Washington, including a 65-56 loss on Dec. 21, 2004. The last time NC State played at the Alumni Fieldhouse was December 28-29, 1998. The Pack knocked off New Hampshire, 66-57 and topped Saint Joseph's 62-55 to win the Hawk Classic.
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