North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Women win 78-48 over High Point
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. Four players scored in double figures to lead NC State to a season-opening 78-48 win over High Point in the first round of the Preseason WNIT Thursday night at Reynolds Coliseum.
Khadijah Whittington posted her sixth career double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Ashley Key added 14 points, including 10 in the first half. Nikitta Gartrell, in her first collegiate game, tossed in 13 points and Marquetta Dickens had 10 points and four assists.
Candyce Sellars led High Point (0-1) with 12 points, while Amber Manuel had 11 points and six rebounds.
NC State (1-0), which led by 12 points, 57-45, with 7:09 to go, finished the game on a 21-3 run to notch its second straight 30-point season-opening victory. Last year, the Wolfpack downed UNC Greensboro, 76-46, to begin the 2005-06 season.
The Wolfpack got off to a quick start and led 13-2 just 4:33 into the contest. Key, the senior from Atlanta, scored six early points to lead the club.
High Point would rally and get within two points on four occasions, the final time at 25-23 after a Sellars fast-break layup with 4:44 left until halftime. But the Panthers never could gain the lead in the game. A 3-poiner by the Pack’s Shayla Fields made it 32-23 with just over two minutes left in the opening half. NC State took a 34-25 lead into the break.
The Wolfpack shot 81.8 percent (9-for-11) from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes and forced 12 turnovers to keep the advantage in favor of the home team.
Whittington and Dickens opened the second half with consecutive buckets and High Point never got any closer than nine points the rest of the way. Whittington, the junior from Roanoke, Va., had a good second half with 12 of her 18 points coming after halftime.
“I was really pleased how we shot free throws overall,” said head coach Kay Yow, who moved one win closer to the 700-win mark. She now has 694 to her credit.
“I was also really impressed with the defensive effort we gave against a good shooting team like High Point,” added Yow. “They have excellent shooters and if you don’t stay with them, they will make their shots. I thought our defense continued to get better as the game wore on.”
NC State outrebounded the Panthers, 47-33 and shot 21-of-27 from the free throw line in the game. The Wolfpack turned its 22 forced turnovers into 31 points and led by a 20-7 margin in second chance points.
Conversely, High Point struggled and shot only 5-of-13 from the charity stripe and only 34.5 percent from the field the entire game.
NC State will now host Iona on Sunday at Reynolds in the second round of the WNIT beginning at 2pm. The Gaels upset host St. John’s 66-56 on Thursday night. Iona is the preseason favorite to win the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference title.
