North Carolina State University Athletics
Bell Leads Wolfpack Women Over Elon
11/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. Tia Bell’s first career double-double led NC State to a 65-41 victory over Elon Tuesday night at Kay Yow Court at Reynolds Coliseum in a matchup of the only two college teams Yow has ever coached.
NC State (3-0) improved to 4-0 all-time against the Hall of Fame mentor’s former squad she directed from 1971-75, beginning a legendary career that has now spanned 38 seasons.
The athletic, second-year Bell was a large reason why the Pack came home victorious.
The Washington, D.C., native had monster night statistically with 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks all game highs to send NC State to its third win in four days, something Yow mentioned may have hampered the Wolfpack’s lack of crisp play.
“It certainly may have been a factor being our third game in four days, but I’m not using it as an excuse. We probably didn’t have our legs under us after also practicing yesterday,” said Yow.
The slugging start saw Elon (1-2) grab an early 8-4 lead as the Wolfpack missed six of its first eight shots.
However, the quicker and stronger Pack strung together an 11-0 run to take a 15-8 lead with 10:10 remaining in the first half. Bell was the catalyst with five points in the spurt.
The lead grew to 20, 33-13, on a layup in the paint by freshman Bonae Holston (10 points) just before the half.
The Phoenix hung around in the second half, cutting its 35-16 halftime hole, down to 41-29 after a Courtney Medley (nine points) three-pointer midway through the half. But Wolfpack sophomore shooter Brittany Strachan found her range after missing the first eight shots she put up in the game.
A simple layup got the Kernersville, N.C., native going with 9:34 left. Strachan followed with a jumper a minute later to swing the momentum back in favor of NC State. Then later another jumper made it 59-39 with just over two minutes remaining.
The combination of Bell and Strachan, two new players in Yow’s starting lineup this year, combined for 29 points and 19 rebounds. Strachan added a career-best five assists and five steals, while Bell had five of the Pack’s nine blocks on the evening.
“I just wanted to come out and play hard and give great effort,” said Bell. “We had a mismatch (in size) in the post and we were able to take advantage of it.”
Nikitta Gartrell tossed in 14 points for her third straight double-digit effort.
Elon’s Amber Wall had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
NC State leaves the friendly confines of Raleigh for the next 19 days. This weekend the squad will take part in the Subway Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota. Saturday the red and white will take on Yale at noon eastern time.
NC State (3-0) improved to 4-0 all-time against the Hall of Fame mentor’s former squad she directed from 1971-75, beginning a legendary career that has now spanned 38 seasons.
The athletic, second-year Bell was a large reason why the Pack came home victorious.
The Washington, D.C., native had monster night statistically with 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks all game highs to send NC State to its third win in four days, something Yow mentioned may have hampered the Wolfpack’s lack of crisp play.
“It certainly may have been a factor being our third game in four days, but I’m not using it as an excuse. We probably didn’t have our legs under us after also practicing yesterday,” said Yow.
The slugging start saw Elon (1-2) grab an early 8-4 lead as the Wolfpack missed six of its first eight shots.
However, the quicker and stronger Pack strung together an 11-0 run to take a 15-8 lead with 10:10 remaining in the first half. Bell was the catalyst with five points in the spurt.
The lead grew to 20, 33-13, on a layup in the paint by freshman Bonae Holston (10 points) just before the half.
The Phoenix hung around in the second half, cutting its 35-16 halftime hole, down to 41-29 after a Courtney Medley (nine points) three-pointer midway through the half. But Wolfpack sophomore shooter Brittany Strachan found her range after missing the first eight shots she put up in the game.
A simple layup got the Kernersville, N.C., native going with 9:34 left. Strachan followed with a jumper a minute later to swing the momentum back in favor of NC State. Then later another jumper made it 59-39 with just over two minutes remaining.
The combination of Bell and Strachan, two new players in Yow’s starting lineup this year, combined for 29 points and 19 rebounds. Strachan added a career-best five assists and five steals, while Bell had five of the Pack’s nine blocks on the evening.
“I just wanted to come out and play hard and give great effort,” said Bell. “We had a mismatch (in size) in the post and we were able to take advantage of it.”
Nikitta Gartrell tossed in 14 points for her third straight double-digit effort.
Elon’s Amber Wall had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
NC State leaves the friendly confines of Raleigh for the next 19 days. This weekend the squad will take part in the Subway Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota. Saturday the red and white will take on Yale at noon eastern time.
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