North Carolina State University Athletics
Gartrell Buries Late Game Shots For OT Victory
2/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. The longer the game went on, the better Nikitta Gartrell became as she sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer and came back with another, this time the game winner, with 6.3 seconds left in the extra session for a miraculous 65-63 victory over Wake Forest Tuesday from Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
Looking for its first three-game winning streak since late December, NC State (12-14, 4-7 ACC) scrapped and clawed all night long and some how came out on top. Gartrell led all scorers with a career-high 22 points.
Shayla Fields added 15 points and Sharnise Beal tossed in 14. Tia Bell had six more blocks today after tying a school record with eight during Sunday’s win over Virginia.
What the game lacked in flow was more than made up in effort as both teams dug deep after playing its third game in the last five days. And throw in the fact that the same two teams squared of less than a week ago in Raleigh, a 59-51 Pack victory, each team was very familiar with what the other team was trying to do on both ends of the playing surface.
Three free throws by Wake Forest’s Brooke Thomas in the final 24 seconds of regulation gave Wake Forest at 54-51 lead, but she missed her last attempt from the charity stripe and that left the door slightly open for the Wolfpack. Gartrell promptly took advantage of the opportunity by banking in a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to send the game into an extra session.
Gartrell again struck at the same point on the floor in overtime, but instead of a bank shot, her three ball caromed off the rim twice before falling threw the net to give the Pack a 60-57 lead with 3:21 to go.
Alex Tchangoue then went to work for Wake Forest in overtime, canning a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions to take a 63-62 lead, but that just set up the final heroics for Gartrell.
After a miss by Thomas, Bonae Holston hauled in the carom, passed it along to Fields and she new who had the hot hand, finding Gartrell and she pulled up once again from beyond the arc and buried the game’s deciding shot.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair with seven ties. Wake Forest led 44-37, but NC State climbed back with a 12-5 run to tie it up 49-all with 2:58 left.
The Wolfpack was its own worst enemy in the first half by doing something it normally doesn’t do turn the ball over. Leading the conference in fewest giveaways at just over 15 a game, the Pack had 14 turnovers by halftime.
But the pink team from Raleigh had an efficient shooting half, converting at a 58.8 percent clip over the first 20 minutes.
NC State made all but four of its first 14 shots of the first half and led by as many as six, 15-9, at the midpoint after a jumper by Gartrell.
Morris tied it 17-all with a three-pointer for Wake Forest three minutes later, but Bell and Fields inched the lead back to four, 21-17, with just over five minutes left.
Wake again got a three, this time from Waters, to tie things up 23-all, but Holston canned one of her patent short turn-around jumpers to give the lead right back for the Pack. At that point the visitors were shooting over 70-percent, but they did go on to miss its final three shots of the half, allowing Wake Forest to take the lead at half, 27-25.
Gartrell made all four of her shots in the half for nine points, while Riddle paced Wake with eight on 4-of-5 shooting in the first.
NC State hosts No. 10 North Carolina Monday at 7 p.m. from Reynolds Coliseum. The game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports Carolinas, Fox Sports Net Florida, Comcast SportsNet, NESN).
Looking for its first three-game winning streak since late December, NC State (12-14, 4-7 ACC) scrapped and clawed all night long and some how came out on top. Gartrell led all scorers with a career-high 22 points.
Shayla Fields added 15 points and Sharnise Beal tossed in 14. Tia Bell had six more blocks today after tying a school record with eight during Sunday’s win over Virginia.
What the game lacked in flow was more than made up in effort as both teams dug deep after playing its third game in the last five days. And throw in the fact that the same two teams squared of less than a week ago in Raleigh, a 59-51 Pack victory, each team was very familiar with what the other team was trying to do on both ends of the playing surface.
Three free throws by Wake Forest’s Brooke Thomas in the final 24 seconds of regulation gave Wake Forest at 54-51 lead, but she missed her last attempt from the charity stripe and that left the door slightly open for the Wolfpack. Gartrell promptly took advantage of the opportunity by banking in a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to send the game into an extra session.
Gartrell again struck at the same point on the floor in overtime, but instead of a bank shot, her three ball caromed off the rim twice before falling threw the net to give the Pack a 60-57 lead with 3:21 to go.
Alex Tchangoue then went to work for Wake Forest in overtime, canning a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions to take a 63-62 lead, but that just set up the final heroics for Gartrell.
After a miss by Thomas, Bonae Holston hauled in the carom, passed it along to Fields and she new who had the hot hand, finding Gartrell and she pulled up once again from beyond the arc and buried the game’s deciding shot.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair with seven ties. Wake Forest led 44-37, but NC State climbed back with a 12-5 run to tie it up 49-all with 2:58 left.
The Wolfpack was its own worst enemy in the first half by doing something it normally doesn’t do turn the ball over. Leading the conference in fewest giveaways at just over 15 a game, the Pack had 14 turnovers by halftime.
But the pink team from Raleigh had an efficient shooting half, converting at a 58.8 percent clip over the first 20 minutes.
NC State made all but four of its first 14 shots of the first half and led by as many as six, 15-9, at the midpoint after a jumper by Gartrell.
Morris tied it 17-all with a three-pointer for Wake Forest three minutes later, but Bell and Fields inched the lead back to four, 21-17, with just over five minutes left.
Wake again got a three, this time from Waters, to tie things up 23-all, but Holston canned one of her patent short turn-around jumpers to give the lead right back for the Pack. At that point the visitors were shooting over 70-percent, but they did go on to miss its final three shots of the half, allowing Wake Forest to take the lead at half, 27-25.
Gartrell made all four of her shots in the half for nine points, while Riddle paced Wake with eight on 4-of-5 shooting in the first.
NC State hosts No. 10 North Carolina Monday at 7 p.m. from Reynolds Coliseum. The game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports Carolinas, Fox Sports Net Florida, Comcast SportsNet, NESN).
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