North Carolina State University Athletics
Harper Chalks Up First Win At NC State
11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
From A.J. CARR
RALEIGH, N.C. - Fourteen seconds into her first game as N.C. State women's basketball coach, Kellie Harper came out of her seat on the Wolfpack bench.
Nattily attired in a gray dress and jacket to match, she presented a tall sideline presence, bearing the look of a leader. And Friday night the Pack players needed a poised guide to steer them through a turbulent stretch and to a 87-71 win over Florida International in the opening round of the Shearton Wolfpack Raleigh Invitational.
After what initially was a stress-free rout, State shockingly lost a 21-point first-half lead, creating nerve-wracking vibes. But then it regained traction with relentless pressure defense to reach tonight's title game against Vermont.
"It was my first great Reynolds [Coliseum] experience," said Harper, the successor to Hall-of-Fame coach Kay Yow, who died of cancer last spring. "It was a lot of fun. I'm happy right now."
Harper was not happy in the last four minutes of the first half when State's offense sputtered against FIU's zone and pony-tailed Golden Panthers guard Ashley Traughott began a three-point barrage on the way to a golden 25-point performance.
But the Pack ultimately weathered Traughott's deadly 7-of-8 accuracy behind the arc, plus a 20-point effort from Monika Bosilj. Besides tightening up on defense, it produced some scorers of its own.
Sophomore Bonae Holston led with 20 points on an 8-for-12 touch, Amber White collected a career high 17, Nikitta Gartrell contributed 14 and and Marissa Kastanek added 11 in her college debut.
Struggling at the start of the second half, State finally regained the lead about the 10-minute mark when Emili Tasler hit a three, then made a steal and fed Gartrell for a transition basket to ignite a 12-0 run.
Traughott and the Panthers didn't cower. But the Pack kept them at bay with two treys by Apex sophomore Emili Tasler, a 25-for-30 night at the foul line, and a finishing flurry off more turnovers.
To solve FIU's vexing zone, Harper employed her man-to-man offense, got more movement and more points.
"Our team needs to play high energy," Harper stressed. "It did that for 36 minutes tonight. That's fun. That's exciting."
The curious and loyal came to see what 'Kellie Ball' might look like. In this game, the crowd of 1,324 witnessed aggressive, full-court pressure "D" that forced 27 turnovers with a nine-player rotation and an uptempo pace that resulted in 23 fast-break points.
"It fits our personnel," said Lucy Ellison, who contributed seven points and led State in rebounding with seven boards. "Run, get layups, that's a lot of fun."
Harper, a former point guard who helped Tennessee win three national titles, likes to push it on offense, but will use the full-court press judiciously.
"We felt we needed it against this team to gain an advantage," she said.
When White put her signature on the victory with a three-pointer at the final buzzer, Harper flashed a smile, an expression of joy and relief.
Leading up to this season opener, most of the focus has been on the new coach. She 'wants the players to get the attention.'
Before departing the court, Harper took the P.A. microphone, thanked the fans for coming, exhorted them to return tonight, and told her team "that's great ladies."
As beginnings go, it made the coach happy.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Fourteen seconds into her first game as N.C. State women's basketball coach, Kellie Harper came out of her seat on the Wolfpack bench.
Nattily attired in a gray dress and jacket to match, she presented a tall sideline presence, bearing the look of a leader. And Friday night the Pack players needed a poised guide to steer them through a turbulent stretch and to a 87-71 win over Florida International in the opening round of the Shearton Wolfpack Raleigh Invitational.
After what initially was a stress-free rout, State shockingly lost a 21-point first-half lead, creating nerve-wracking vibes. But then it regained traction with relentless pressure defense to reach tonight's title game against Vermont.
"It was my first great Reynolds [Coliseum] experience," said Harper, the successor to Hall-of-Fame coach Kay Yow, who died of cancer last spring. "It was a lot of fun. I'm happy right now."
Harper was not happy in the last four minutes of the first half when State's offense sputtered against FIU's zone and pony-tailed Golden Panthers guard Ashley Traughott began a three-point barrage on the way to a golden 25-point performance.
But the Pack ultimately weathered Traughott's deadly 7-of-8 accuracy behind the arc, plus a 20-point effort from Monika Bosilj. Besides tightening up on defense, it produced some scorers of its own.
Sophomore Bonae Holston led with 20 points on an 8-for-12 touch, Amber White collected a career high 17, Nikitta Gartrell contributed 14 and and Marissa Kastanek added 11 in her college debut.
Struggling at the start of the second half, State finally regained the lead about the 10-minute mark when Emili Tasler hit a three, then made a steal and fed Gartrell for a transition basket to ignite a 12-0 run.
Traughott and the Panthers didn't cower. But the Pack kept them at bay with two treys by Apex sophomore Emili Tasler, a 25-for-30 night at the foul line, and a finishing flurry off more turnovers.
To solve FIU's vexing zone, Harper employed her man-to-man offense, got more movement and more points.
"Our team needs to play high energy," Harper stressed. "It did that for 36 minutes tonight. That's fun. That's exciting."
The curious and loyal came to see what 'Kellie Ball' might look like. In this game, the crowd of 1,324 witnessed aggressive, full-court pressure "D" that forced 27 turnovers with a nine-player rotation and an uptempo pace that resulted in 23 fast-break points.
"It fits our personnel," said Lucy Ellison, who contributed seven points and led State in rebounding with seven boards. "Run, get layups, that's a lot of fun."
Harper, a former point guard who helped Tennessee win three national titles, likes to push it on offense, but will use the full-court press judiciously.
"We felt we needed it against this team to gain an advantage," she said.
When White put her signature on the victory with a three-pointer at the final buzzer, Harper flashed a smile, an expression of joy and relief.
Leading up to this season opener, most of the focus has been on the new coach. She 'wants the players to get the attention.'
Before departing the court, Harper took the P.A. microphone, thanked the fans for coming, exhorted them to return tonight, and told her team "that's great ladies."
As beginnings go, it made the coach happy.
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