North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack women begin the long wait for the NCAAs
3/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 5, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
GREENSBORO -- After a one-game appearance in the ACC Tournament, the NC State women's basketball team has at least two weeks to wait for its next action this season.
That doesn't really concern Wolfpack coach Kay Yow, mainly because she saw only one correctable flaw in her team's 63-56 quarterfinal loss to Maryland Saturday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.
That was at the free-throw line.
The Wolfpack was 4-for-9 from the line, compared to Maryland's 16-for-27. Most of the 22 fouls called on the Wolfpack came while trying to stop Terrapin freshman Crystal Langhorne, who had 23 points and 16 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Tiffany Stansbury, Marquetta Dickens, Khadijah Whittington and Kendra Bell all had four fouls.
So interior defense is clearly a concern.
"It's frustrating in a game like tonight because if you look at the stat sheet, we were in the game," Yow said. "In every way but on the free throw line. It happens."
So the Hall of Fame coach will give her team off until Tuesday, then practice until the weekend. They'll take another couple of days off, then reconvene for the NCAA Tournament Selection show next Sunday at 5 p.m.
Then, the Wolfpack will practice daily until play begins in the NCAA Tournament. And Yow knows exactly what she wants to work on.
"We will just work on defense," Yow said. "We have a great defensive team, but we cannot commit a lot of fouls while we are playing it.
"We want to get back and work on playing our aggressive defense without fouling as much and we'll continue to work on our offenses." The sixth-seeded Terrapins took the lead five minutes into the first half and never gave it up. They stretched it to as many as eight points, but the third-seeded Wolfpack stayed within reach, despite a poor shooting night by senior point guard Kendra Bell, who missed nine of her first 11 shots.
But Bell got hot late in the game, hit four of her next five shots, including three 3-points, and the Wolfpack drew within one point with 1:05 to play when Stansbury hit a jumper in the lane.
After Shay Doron gave Maryland a 59-56 lead by driving to the basket, the Wolfpack got Bell open for a 3-point shot in the corner. It sailed long, however, ending the Wolfpack's comeback chances.
"I saw I was open and I shot it long," said Bell, who had a team-high 15 points. "It happens."
So now the No. 19 Wolfpack will have a long wait before it will play again.
"There are a lot of teams in the country that will have to deal with the same situation," Yow said. "We all have to wait. It's just a matter of having a few days off here and there, then when you hit the floor for practice again meaning business and working hard."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
