North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Wrap-Up
6/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
June 8, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. - The media again looked shortsighted as it predicted a seventh place finish for NC State among the ACC title contenders. Once again, as was the case last season, NC State superceded those low expectations and cleanly finished third. NC State earned its 20th, 20-win season and first since 2001 and first 20 win regular season since 2000, despite unusual adversity and a no-star roster. While guiding her team to a 21-8 record and 10-4 ACC slate, head coach Kay Yow won her 600th game of her 30-year career at NC State and coached her 900th game in the same time frame, becoming the first ACC women's coach to do so. Although such triumph was shadowed by her recurrence of breast cancer, Yow's resiliency and the resiliency of her players, kept NC State in the running for one of its best seasons on record. The Wolfpack strung together seven wins early in the season and picked up road wins over several ranked teams (#12 Vanderbilt, #23 Virginia Tech and #16 Maryland) along the way as well. The team finished with only three losses on the road and just two at home. In doing so, NC State jumped back into the national spotlight as a team, one forged on team chemistry, to become ranked for the first time since Dec. 17 2001 and finished at No. 21 in the final Associated Press poll. In total, NC State was ranked for the final seven weeks of the season. The Wolfpack's 317 weeks in the poll all-time, ranks sixth in the nation and is first among ACC contenders. To top the season, NC State advanced to its 18th NCAA Tournament in 24 tries. And after falling to Middle Tennessee in the first round, the Pack remains hungry for redemption next year and with losing two players to graduation, NC State has a solid table at which to eat from next year. Those sitting at the table include the team's top five leading scorers, Tiffany Stansbury (11.6 ppg), Billie McDowell (11.2 ppg), Ashley Key (8.6 ppg), Khadijah Whittington (8.4 ppg) and Marquetta Dickens (8.3 ppg). And don't forget, defensively, NC State has All-ACC defensive team member, Atlanta native, Ashley Key to fuel the Wolfpack's stopping power.
Senior Kendra Bell continued to be the floor general, a position she was honored with last season and stood as Yow's "glue" to keep her team composed and focused, with sights on a 20-win season. She later went on to be named Female Athlete of the Year by the NC State student newspaper. It was her idea to string her team's shoes with pink shoelaces in support of Coach Yow's battle with breast cancer and to promote awareness for the disease. All-ACC freshman team honoree Khadijah Whittington came off the bench and became the third-leading scorer in conference play with 9.9 ppg and earned her second start of her career in the NCAA First Round Tournament game versus Middle Tennessee State. Despite the loss suffered by NC State, she led the team with 18 points. But the biggest surprise of all, was the play of junior Billie McDowell. The shooting guard posted her best season of her career. Her numbers improved from 3.0 ppg as a freshman to a team-best 11.5 ppg heading into the season finale´. She was forced to exit that game after just eight minutes of playing time after she suffered a torn ACL after taking a jump shot from the left side of the court. She finished the year as the team's leading three-point shooter, averaging nearly 2.0 made per game, while hitting 34.4 percent of her attempts. She was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference third team, her first such league honor in three seasons. Junior Tiffany Stansbury finished her first season with the Wolfpack after transferring from Gulf Coast Community College. She led the team in scoring with 11.6 ppg, field goal percentage, 51.0 percent (also ranked 50th nationally), and in rebounds with 7.0 rpg. The Philadelphia, Pa. native was the given second team All-ACC honors. She was also awarded the H.C. Kennett award by the university as the top female athlete for 2004-05, joining the male recipient, Julius Hodge of the men's basketball program.
Team Notes
• The Pack saw seven different players lead the team in scoring this season. McDowell led the group with nine game-leading point totals.
• Bell finished her career ranked 15th on the all-time career assists leaders chart with 267 total.
• The Wolfpack's winning streak of seven games was the most since 2000-01.
• The Wolfpack finished third in the ACC for the second-straight season. The sole possession of third place was the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
• NC State has 20, 20+ win seasons and finished with 20 for the first time since 2000-01.
• NC State had just one ACC Player of the Week, Rookie of the Week, Khadijah Whittington. She helped NC State earn upsets at No. 23 Virginia Tech and No. 16 Maryland and a home win over Miami. Came off the bench to lead the team in rebounding at home against Miami with 10, while posting her first career double double. Also reached double figures with 16 points against the Terps and 11 against the Hurricanes. At Maryland she set career highs in free throw percentage, (100.0, 6-6), steals (4), blocked shots (2) and minutes (31).
• Coach Yow coached won 600th game at NC State, becoming the first coach to do so in the ACC.
• Coach Yow also coached her 900th game at NC State, became the first coach in the ACC and fifth coach in NCAA women's basketball division I history to coach 900 games at the same school.
• NC State tallied four All-ACC honors this season. Juniors Tiffany Stansbury and Billie McDowell earned second and third team All-ACC awards. Sophomore Ashley Key was named to the All-Defensive team and freshman Khadijah Whittington notched All-Freshmen team accolades.
• NC State topped last season's result of 10 wins over Top 100 RPI teams, with 13 this season. Six of those were in the Top 50. Those wins included upsets of then ranked Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Maryland, as well as Virginia, Florida State and Nebraska. The other five wins came against Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Miami, Louisville and Seton Hall.
• What they said about NC State's defense: "They really disrupted us with their defensive pressure. You see someone on tape but it's not the same thing, and they came out today with that quickness and took it to us." - Tennessee Head Coach Pat Summitt
"This was a test. We played against a really good defense today, which is not something you come across often." - Duke Head Coach Gail Goestenkors
"I think they're one of the best defensive teams that we'll face in the conference." - Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese
"After seeing them up close and personal, I think NC State is one of the top teams in the country. They are definitely one of the most underrated teams in the nation. They are definitely a Top 20 team, if not a Top 10 team." - Georgia Tech Head Coach MaChelle Joseph
"We've said all year long that NC State is the best defensive team in our conference." - Florida State Head Coach Sue Semrau
• At age 62, Yow had a recurrence of her breast cancer that was originally diagnosed in 1987. The limited tumor recurrence has been removed surgically. Coach Yow chose to pursue a program of dietary and nutritional modification for eight days. In so doing, she was away from the team for the games against North Carolina on Friday, Jan. 14, and against Virginia Tech on Monday, Jan. 17. She later missed a game at Wake Forest on Feb. 24, after coming down with the Flu. Yow turned 63 on March 14.
