North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Wake Forest
Wolfpack Falls 65-64 at Wake Forest
1/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - A Wolfpack foul and a made jumper by Wake Forest's Cotelia Bond-Young put the game in the hands of the Demon Deacons. NC State held the lead 64-62 until Bond-Young hit the clutch jumper from the left free throw line and the Wolfpack fouled with 3.7 seconds remaining in the game. She made good on the free throw to give Wake Forest the win 65-64. With the loss, NC State drops to 10-4 and 1-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference action. Wake Forest improves to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in ACC play. The Demon Deacons' Liz Strunk led all scorers with 21 points, while Tiffany Stansbury led NC State with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Ashley Key added 16 points.
"We worked hard to come from behind in the second half, but hurt ourselves in the end," said NC State head coach Kay Yow. "The foul with 3.7 seconds left put the ball in their hands (Wake Forest's) and they used it. It was a very tough loss for us today, but we have a lot of ACC games left, so we'll have to learn from our mistakes today."
NC State used a couple of extensive scoring runs and held Wake Forest to just three points in the first four minutes. A slow start from both teams kept the score low. It was just 6-3 at the first media timeout. But quicker transition play from the Wolfpack pushed NC State to a 15-point lead with just over nine minutes to play . Back-to-back three pointers from Marquetta Dickens and Ashley Key and 10-straight points from Tiffany Stansbury in the paint aided the effort. Wake Forest did not give in however and returned with a run of its own.
The Demon Deacons used an 8-0 run, six points of which came from forward Deirdre Naughton, brought Wake Forest within three points with under a minute to play in the half. With the score at 34-31, the Deacs' Yolanda Lavender coolly put in a short jumper and NC State then fouled Cotelia Bond-Young as she went in for a lay-up with 4.9 seconds remaining. With the score sitting at 34-33, NC State's Key pushed the ball up the floor from the end line and was fouled just after passing midcourt. She hit both of her bonus free throws to give the Wolfpack a three-point lead, 36-33 at the break. Wake Forest's Liz Strunk led all scorers with 14 points, which included a 2-for-2 performance from the arc, while Stansbury led NC State with 12 points. Key had 11 points and was 4-of-4 from the line.
A quick return from the locker room, included five points from Billie McDowell, but the Wolfpack allowed two three-pointers and a couple of easy baskets to give Wake Forest some confidence. The Demon Deacons took the lead after Bond-Young finally connected on a shot, after missing her first nine attempts in the first half. She hit a three-pointer from the left side that gave Wake Forest the lead at 46-43 with 15:32 remaining.
After Stansbury exited at the 17-minute mark with an injury, she didn't score her first points in the half until a lay-up and a free throw went in for the 6-foot-3 center with just over 13 minutes to play. The score stood at 53-48 in favor of Wake Forest with 12 minutes to play in the half. NC State used a 5-0 run and held Wake Forest scoreless for over five minutes to tie the score at 53 with just under eight minutes on the clock. Two free throws from Alex Tchangoe ended the scoreless streak for Wake.
A three-pointer from Monica Pope near the Wolfpack bench gave NC State a 59-58 lead. Wake answered right back with a jumper, but Key returned on the next possession for a three-pointer of her own and the Pack found itself back on top 62-60 with just under two minutes to go. NC State stayed on top until Wake Forest's Bond-Young hit a jumper and was fouled with 3.7 seconds to play and she made good on the attempt to push the Deacons ahead for one last time, 65-64. The Wolfpack had forced Bond-Young to miss her shot attempt on the previous play, but she couldn't be stopped in the end.
NC State travels to Virginia on Friday, Jan. 13, for a 7 p.m. game that will be televised regionally on FOX Sports South.
