North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 25 Wolfpack Holds On to Defeat Virginia 73-63
1/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - No. 25 NC State hit 10 three pointers and senior Billie McDowell netted a season-high 23 points, which included five three-pointers en route to No. 25 NC State defeating Virginia, 73-63 on Friday, Jan. 13, in University Hall. A 17-5 run midway through the second half gave the Wolfpack the cushion it needed to overcome a sluggish first half. Ashley Key added 14 points for NC State, while Virginia's Tiffany Sardin finished with 16 points. No. 25 NC State hosts No. 4 North Carolina on Sunday at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX Sports Net.
"We are fortunate to come out of here with a win tonight," said NC State head coach Kay Yow. "Billie McDowell had a great game for us and all of our players that came off the bench played a key role in our win."
NC State's Billie McDowell led all scorers with 10 points in the first half and helped the Wolfpack lead offensively for the majority of the half. But it was Virginia who would take momentum into the locker room at the break. The Cavaliers posted seven-straight points in the final three minutes to erase a seven-point deficit. Virginia's Brenna McGuire hit two free throws and a three-pointer near the Wolfpack bench to knot the score at 27. She led the Cavs with eight points.
It took the Pack a bit of time to get its offense rolling. Early turnovers and a scoring drought that lasted for nearly five minutes in the beginning of the half allowed Virginia to stay close. Turnovers were the main reason for NC State's offensive struggles. The Wolfpack had four consecutive miscues in just two minutes. NC State went on to post just five in the remaining 17 minutes. The Pack's scoring woes were short-lived as NC State regained the lead for nine minutes after Virginia tied the game at 14 with just over 10 minutes to play. Ashley Key used a transition layup to recover from its scoreless spell at 14:42. Virginia posted 10 first half turnovers thanks in part to seven Wolfpack steals. Both Monica Pope and Marquetta Dickens had two picks each. NC State also held the rebound advantage at 23-19, with Khadijah Whittington posting five. Neither team's field goal percentage was strong. NC State shot just 30.3 percent (10-33), while Virginia finished with 37.0 percent (10-27).
McDowell started the second half much like the first. She sandwiched a layup from Sasha Reaves with two three-pointers, each coming from the left baseline. A steal from Key and a transition layup from Pope pushed NC State ahead by four, 37-33 with 16 to play. The Wolfpack used a 9-0 run to take its largest lead at eight points, 41-33 with just under 14:30 to go in the half. The scoring splurge forced Virginia's head coach Debbie Ryan to use a timeout. NC State then used a 17-5 run over course of six minutes, which included two three-pointers from McDowell and one from Rachel Stockdale to take its first double figure lead at 49-36 with 11:34 to play. A late 6-0 run by the Cavs brought Virginia within eight points at 65-57 with over two minutes left. Despite a solid second half performance from the Cavaliers' Tiffany Sardin, who had 12 of her team-high 16 points in the second 20 minutes, Virginia could not overcome. NC State hit eight of 10 bonus free throws down the stretch to remain on top.
NC State returns to Reynolds Coliseum for a 5 p.m. matchup on Sunday, Jan. 15, against No. 4 North Carolina on FOX Sports Net.
