North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
George Washington
Wolfpack Knocks Off George Washington, 76-71
12/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. -
NC State women's basketball had four players finish in double figures and outrebounded George Washington by 16 boards to earn a 76-71 victory over the Colonials on Friday, Dec. 30. With the win, NC State improves to 9-3, while GW falls to 6-4. Thanks to a double-double of 13 points, 13 rebounds from Wolfpack senior center Tiffany Stansbury, NC State increased its home non-conference winning streak to 16 and allowed the Pack to remain unbeaten at home, 6-0. George Washington was paced by 18 points from both Jessica Simmonds and Sarah-Jo Lawrence. NC State will host No. 25 Virginia Tech on Monday at 7 p.m. The Hokies are 12-0 on the year.
"I have a lot of respect for George Washington," said NC State head coach Kay Yow. "We played well tonight, but had more turnovers than we would have liked and missed really important free throws. This was a very important non-conference win for us that will pay dividends down the road and as we begin ACC play on Monday."
The Wolfpack opened the game with a 12-2 run thanks in part to consecutive three-pointers from senior Billie McDowell, who was making her fourth start of the season. The run left George Washington in the dust giving NC State a 14-2 lead with 14:39 to play. In fact, it wasn't until the 13:24 mark that the Colonials hit their first field goal to bring GW within eight at 14-6. After allowing George Washington to get within five with just under six minutes remaining, NC State regained some of its offensive momentum and took its second double figure lead of the half, 32-22 with 3:47 to go. A relentless Colonials squad then used an 11-4 run of its own to close the half and cut NC State's lead to just three points at 36-33. George Washington used three of its 10 steals in the first half to place pressure on the Wolfpack and then dished inside to senior Jessica Simmonds for some offense. She hit two lay-ups during the run and led all scorers at the break with 10 points. McDowell led NC State with eight.
The second half started much like the first with NC State tearing out to a 13-5 run over a span of four minutes to lead 49-38. George Washington then cut the Wolfpack lead to six after Sarah-Jo Lawrence hit back-to-back three-pointers with 12:30 left. NC State continued to dominate offensively despite sloppy play on both ends of the floor. The Pack wracked up its offensive rebounds during several put-back attempts. One from junior Marquetta Dickens on the left side tipped in a missed three-point attempt from McDowell that gave NC State another double figure lead at 12:59. The Pack took its largest lead of the game at 14 as senior Tiffany Stansbury worked inside for a lay-in with eight minutes remaining. Whittington led all Wolfpack scorers with 16 points, which included nine in the second half. George Washington used full-court pressure to force some key Wolfpack turnovers down the stretch and came within six points, twice. A lay-up from Simmonds with 1:30 left cut the score to 72-66. A Wolfpack foul with just over a minute left allowed Lawrence to hit two free throws to bring the Colonials within four, 72-68. Sophomore guard Kimberly Beck hit an open three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining in the half and put GW within two points, its closest margin of the game. But NC State's McDowell had other plans and responded with a three-pointer of her own with 18 seconds left to ice the victory. McDowell finished the game with 12 points. Junior Ashley Key added 13 points and game-high five assists.
The Wolfpack will host unbeaten No. 25 Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 2, in Reynolds Coliseum. The Hokies are 12-0 and remain one of seven teams in Division I basketball without a loss.
