North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State holds back Temple for 59-57 win
12/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Raleigh, N.C. – Keisha Brown made three second-half 3-pointers and scored 14 points for the game to lead the NC State women’s basketball team to a 59-57 victory over Temple on Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum.
NC State (6-2) had to hold off a furious comeback from Temple (3-3) in the late stages of the game to post its season-high third consecutive victory. Brown led the Wolfpack with 14 points, one off her season-best of 15 at Arizona. The Charlotte, N.C. native canned 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc.
Khadijah Whittington continued her steady play with 11 points and 11 rebounds, her third double-double of the season and No. 10 for her career. The ACC’s leading rebounder also tied her career-high with four blocks. Marquetta Dickens had a nice all-around game with six points, a career-best seven assists and five rebounds.
Kamesha Hairston led Temple with 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Fatima Maddox tossed in 20 points. The duo combined for all but 14 of the Owls points on the afternoon. Hairston had a double-double at halftime with 15 points and 10 boards.
NC State looked in control of the game when it went on a 19-6 run over a 6:37 span of the second half that broke open a two-point affair to give the Wolfpack a 54-39 lead with 8:26 to go.
The lead went to 16 points, 57-41, after Brown drained her third trey of the half with 6:51 left in the ballgame. However, the Pack only scored two points the rest of the way and had to hold on as Temple made its comeback.
After the 3-pointer by Brown, the Owls went on a 9-0 run to make it 57-50. A layup by Fields put the Pack up 59-50, but a jumper and a 3-pointer by Maddox and a beautiful running layup by Hairston made it a one-possession game, 59-57.
The run was fueled by the Pack’s inability to convert from the free throw line. Fields missed three in a span of 19 seconds, while Whittington missed two more with 4.5 seconds left that would have sealed the win. The Owls did get a decent look at a game-tying shot, but Hairston’s effort missed and NC State escaped with its 22nd straight win at Reynolds against non-conference opponents.
“We’ll take it (the win),” said interim head coach Stephanie Glance. “We made a few adjustments in the second half, our zone really slowed them down and we shot better in the second half.”
For the third straight game, NC State shot better than 50.0 percent from the field in the second half, after really struggling in the first half. On Saturday, the Pack shot 59.1 percent (13-of-22) compared to only 37.1 percent (13-for-35) in the opening 20 minutes.
Temple missed its first nine shots of the game, which allowed the Pack to open up an early 6-0 lead after a Dickens’ fast-break layup just over two minutes into the game.
The Owls eventually found their shooting touch and converted eight of its next 13 shots to take a 17-14 lead with 7:49 to go until halftime. Hairston led the way with seven of her team-high 15 first half points during the run.
Nikitta Gartrell would give the Wolfpack the lead, 19-17, with a jumper at the 5:34 mark. NC State then went scoreless for the next couple minutes, which allowed Temple to take its largest lead of the half, 27-21, on a Hairston jumper with 1:41 to go that capped an 8-2 run for the Owls.
Fields then began a quick 8-0 run to end the half with a 3-pointer with 1:23 to go. Sasha Reeves later converted a layup and Brown drilled a 3-ball with eight seconds left to give the Pack a 29-27 lead at the half.
“It was a critical shot, said Glance referencing the 3-pointer by Brown before halftime. “It gave us the momentum going into halftime. I think it made every body feel better, made the team feel better and everyone is happy going to the locker room.”
NC State hosts Winthrop on Monday night at Reynolds Coliseum at 7 pm.
Pack Points
NC State improves to 3-0 all-time against Templem in scoring, rebounds, blocks and steals…NC State made only one free throw in the game…Temple’s 57 points was the most scored by an opponent this year at Reynolds…The Pack entered the game allowing only 41 points per game at home.
NC State (6-2) had to hold off a furious comeback from Temple (3-3) in the late stages of the game to post its season-high third consecutive victory. Brown led the Wolfpack with 14 points, one off her season-best of 15 at Arizona. The Charlotte, N.C. native canned 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc.
Khadijah Whittington continued her steady play with 11 points and 11 rebounds, her third double-double of the season and No. 10 for her career. The ACC’s leading rebounder also tied her career-high with four blocks. Marquetta Dickens had a nice all-around game with six points, a career-best seven assists and five rebounds.
Kamesha Hairston led Temple with 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Fatima Maddox tossed in 20 points. The duo combined for all but 14 of the Owls points on the afternoon. Hairston had a double-double at halftime with 15 points and 10 boards.
NC State looked in control of the game when it went on a 19-6 run over a 6:37 span of the second half that broke open a two-point affair to give the Wolfpack a 54-39 lead with 8:26 to go.
The lead went to 16 points, 57-41, after Brown drained her third trey of the half with 6:51 left in the ballgame. However, the Pack only scored two points the rest of the way and had to hold on as Temple made its comeback.
After the 3-pointer by Brown, the Owls went on a 9-0 run to make it 57-50. A layup by Fields put the Pack up 59-50, but a jumper and a 3-pointer by Maddox and a beautiful running layup by Hairston made it a one-possession game, 59-57.
The run was fueled by the Pack’s inability to convert from the free throw line. Fields missed three in a span of 19 seconds, while Whittington missed two more with 4.5 seconds left that would have sealed the win. The Owls did get a decent look at a game-tying shot, but Hairston’s effort missed and NC State escaped with its 22nd straight win at Reynolds against non-conference opponents.
“We’ll take it (the win),” said interim head coach Stephanie Glance. “We made a few adjustments in the second half, our zone really slowed them down and we shot better in the second half.”
For the third straight game, NC State shot better than 50.0 percent from the field in the second half, after really struggling in the first half. On Saturday, the Pack shot 59.1 percent (13-of-22) compared to only 37.1 percent (13-for-35) in the opening 20 minutes.
Temple missed its first nine shots of the game, which allowed the Pack to open up an early 6-0 lead after a Dickens’ fast-break layup just over two minutes into the game.
The Owls eventually found their shooting touch and converted eight of its next 13 shots to take a 17-14 lead with 7:49 to go until halftime. Hairston led the way with seven of her team-high 15 first half points during the run.
Nikitta Gartrell would give the Wolfpack the lead, 19-17, with a jumper at the 5:34 mark. NC State then went scoreless for the next couple minutes, which allowed Temple to take its largest lead of the half, 27-21, on a Hairston jumper with 1:41 to go that capped an 8-2 run for the Owls.
Fields then began a quick 8-0 run to end the half with a 3-pointer with 1:23 to go. Sasha Reeves later converted a layup and Brown drilled a 3-ball with eight seconds left to give the Pack a 29-27 lead at the half.
“It was a critical shot, said Glance referencing the 3-pointer by Brown before halftime. “It gave us the momentum going into halftime. I think it made every body feel better, made the team feel better and everyone is happy going to the locker room.”
NC State hosts Winthrop on Monday night at Reynolds Coliseum at 7 pm.
Pack Points
NC State improves to 3-0 all-time against Templem in scoring, rebounds, blocks and steals…NC State made only one free throw in the game…Temple’s 57 points was the most scored by an opponent this year at Reynolds…The Pack entered the game allowing only 41 points per game at home.
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