North Carolina State University Athletics
Undersized Pack Pounds Tar Heels
2/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Kellie Harper didn't need long to beat rival North Carolina.
Bonae Holston scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half to help North Carolina State beat the Tar Heels 74-63 on Sunday, giving the first-year coach her first win in the rivalry and ending a six-game skid in the series.
Freshman Marissa Kastanek added 17 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Wolfpack (16-11, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), while Brittany Strachan added 15 points off the bench.
The Wolfpack had lost 18 of 20 in the series, but N.C. State's players ended the latest meeting with lots of hugs, high-fives and screams of delight as they walked off the court. It was N.C. State's first win in Chapel Hill since January 2004 and first against the Tar Heels in three years.
Yes, North Carolina (17-9, 5-7) is struggling. But that didn't change the fact that this was a huge win for the Wolfpack, if for no other reason that it sent a message that N.C. State isn't content to take a backseat to the Tar Heels under the 32-year-old coach charged with replacing late Hall of Famer Kay Yow.
It was probably Harper's biggest win at N.C. State, even if she didn't want to say it.
"I love winning," Harper said. "The kids will tell you: There's a huge difference in my mood when we win than when we lose. I do think this is big for us, for our confidence, to prove that our undersized kids can be effective and get things done."
Indeed. Harper's players played with poise when the Tar Heels seemed ready to take control to start the second half. They won the rebounding battle (44-42) against a bigger team that prides itself on controlling the boards. They buried clutch shots to go on a 15-0 second-half run to push ahead for good, then ran off a clinching 12-2 run in the final 3 minutes.
N.C. State shot 47 percent, including 9-for-20 from behind the arc.
"They believe in each other a little bit more," Harper said. "I think we're playing to our strengths a little bit more. They're feeling good about themselves and I think they were very focused and very determined to find a way to win."
N.C. State has won three straight since a 31-point loss at ACC-leading Duke on Feb. 11.
"After our Duke loss, we came together and said, 'We can turn this around and we can finish really strong for the rest of the season,'" Kastanek said. "With these wins, I think our confidence is really high right now."
The same can't be said of the Tar Heels, who have fallen fast since the start of February. Ranked as high as fourth nationally early in the year, they've lost six of seven to put themselves in jeopardy of missing the NCAA tournament.
Cetera DeGraffenreid scored 22 points to lead the Tar Heels, who won last month's meeting in Raleigh 81-69 behind a career-high 33 points from Italee Lucas. But Lucas scored just 15 on 6-for-22 shooting and missed all seven 3-point tries, part of North Carolina's 35-percent shooting day that included a 2-for-17 showing from behind the arc.
"It's like a bad dream," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We've been practicing really, really hard and I think we've had some real good practices. It just seems like we get out there and we have breakdowns defensively, but also that we can't make shots right around the basket, even when we're wide open."
The Tar Heels scored the first eight points of the second half and led 50-42 on Lucas' three-point play with 11:12 left, but Kastanek answered with a 3-pointer followed by another one from reserve Emili Tasler. Then, after Strachan tied the game with a pair of free throws, Tasler hit another 3 that put the Wolfpack ahead 53-50 with 8:15 left. Holston capped the 15-0 spurt with a pair of jumpers to make it 57-50 with about 6½ minutes left.
North Carolina got as close as 61-59 on a jumper from Lucas, but Strachan answered with a jumper off an inbounds play with 3:18 left and Kastanek followed with a clutch 3 from the left corner that pushed the margin to 66-59. North Carolina got no closer from there.
Bonae Holston scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half to help North Carolina State beat the Tar Heels 74-63 on Sunday, giving the first-year coach her first win in the rivalry and ending a six-game skid in the series.
Freshman Marissa Kastanek added 17 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Wolfpack (16-11, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), while Brittany Strachan added 15 points off the bench.
The Wolfpack had lost 18 of 20 in the series, but N.C. State's players ended the latest meeting with lots of hugs, high-fives and screams of delight as they walked off the court. It was N.C. State's first win in Chapel Hill since January 2004 and first against the Tar Heels in three years.
Yes, North Carolina (17-9, 5-7) is struggling. But that didn't change the fact that this was a huge win for the Wolfpack, if for no other reason that it sent a message that N.C. State isn't content to take a backseat to the Tar Heels under the 32-year-old coach charged with replacing late Hall of Famer Kay Yow.
It was probably Harper's biggest win at N.C. State, even if she didn't want to say it.
"I love winning," Harper said. "The kids will tell you: There's a huge difference in my mood when we win than when we lose. I do think this is big for us, for our confidence, to prove that our undersized kids can be effective and get things done."
Indeed. Harper's players played with poise when the Tar Heels seemed ready to take control to start the second half. They won the rebounding battle (44-42) against a bigger team that prides itself on controlling the boards. They buried clutch shots to go on a 15-0 second-half run to push ahead for good, then ran off a clinching 12-2 run in the final 3 minutes.
N.C. State shot 47 percent, including 9-for-20 from behind the arc.
"They believe in each other a little bit more," Harper said. "I think we're playing to our strengths a little bit more. They're feeling good about themselves and I think they were very focused and very determined to find a way to win."
N.C. State has won three straight since a 31-point loss at ACC-leading Duke on Feb. 11.
"After our Duke loss, we came together and said, 'We can turn this around and we can finish really strong for the rest of the season,'" Kastanek said. "With these wins, I think our confidence is really high right now."
The same can't be said of the Tar Heels, who have fallen fast since the start of February. Ranked as high as fourth nationally early in the year, they've lost six of seven to put themselves in jeopardy of missing the NCAA tournament.
Cetera DeGraffenreid scored 22 points to lead the Tar Heels, who won last month's meeting in Raleigh 81-69 behind a career-high 33 points from Italee Lucas. But Lucas scored just 15 on 6-for-22 shooting and missed all seven 3-point tries, part of North Carolina's 35-percent shooting day that included a 2-for-17 showing from behind the arc.
"It's like a bad dream," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We've been practicing really, really hard and I think we've had some real good practices. It just seems like we get out there and we have breakdowns defensively, but also that we can't make shots right around the basket, even when we're wide open."
The Tar Heels scored the first eight points of the second half and led 50-42 on Lucas' three-point play with 11:12 left, but Kastanek answered with a 3-pointer followed by another one from reserve Emili Tasler. Then, after Strachan tied the game with a pair of free throws, Tasler hit another 3 that put the Wolfpack ahead 53-50 with 8:15 left. Holston capped the 15-0 spurt with a pair of jumpers to make it 57-50 with about 6½ minutes left.
North Carolina got as close as 61-59 on a jumper from Lucas, but Strachan answered with a jumper off an inbounds play with 3:18 left and Kastanek followed with a clutch 3 from the left corner that pushed the margin to 66-59. North Carolina got no closer from there.
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