North Carolina State University Athletics
Strong second half gives Pack win over South Carolina
11/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. Nikitta Gartrell scored 13 points and Keisha Brown added 11 points to lead the NC State women’s basketball team to a 53-41 victory over South Carolina in a tough-shooting night for both teams at Reynolds Coliseum Wednesday night.
NC State (5-2) shot 52.1 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away after both teams went into halftime tied 18-18. The win was the Pack’s 21st straight against non-conference opponents at Reynolds dating back to the 2002-03 season.
With the Pack holding a slim 28-27 second half lead, the club put together a methodical 13-3 run in a span of 8:13 to take a 41-30 lead with 6:04 to go. Freshman Sharnise Beal led the charge with five points off the bench.
South Carolina (4-3) got within five points, 46-41, with 51 seconds to go, but the Wolfpack converted five-of-six attempts from the free throw line and Shayla Fields added a fast-break layup to secure NC State’s second straight win.
“We played a much better second half, shooting 52 percent, said interim head coach Stephanie Glance. “We didn’t achieve our goal of keeping them off the offensive boards in the first half, but in the second half, we limited their offensive rebounds, we wanted to take better care of the ball and get better shots, and I think we did that for the most part.”
The two teams set a Reynolds Coliseum record by combining for the fewest made field goals in a game (32). The Pack was 17-of-47 (36.2 percent), while the Gamecocks shot 15-of-64 (23.4 percent) from the floor. It broke the record set in January 5, 2001 when NC State (19) and Clemson (14) totaled 33 field goals.
The Pack limited its opponent to 20.6 percent shooting in the first half as the Gamecocks only made seven buckets. However, NC State made only six and shot 23.1 percent from the field.
Neither team led by more than four points in the opening 20 minutes. Gartrell scored four points in the final 2:43 and Gillian Goring, making her first appearance of the year, added a bucket to send the game into halftime tied 18-18.
“This team is still trying to find itself, added Glance. “We are going through an emotional period. We just had a tough west coast road swing. So, this is a good win to come back home under the circumstances to pull the win out. It (the win) was good for a lot of reasons. Gillian Goring came back and gave us 14 minutes and the freshmen continue to get better.”
Khadijah Whittington entered the game leading the ACC with 11.7 rebounds per game. She wound up hauling in a season-high 16 caroms for her fifth double-digit total of the year.
Iva Sliskovic paced South Carolina with a game-high 17 points, while Demetress Adams had nine points and eight boards. Melanie Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds in leading South Carolina to a 49-44 advantage in the rebounding column.
NC State continues through its six-game home stand on Saturday against Temple at 2 pm at Reynolds Coliseum.
PACK POINTS
NC State improves to 17-8 against South Carolina and has won four straight meetings and 11 of 13 overall...The Pack has allowed 55 or fewer points in each of its five wins this year...The club has allowed 68 in both losses...NC State has shot better than 50.0 percent in the second half in its last two games, which is the only two times its happened this year.
