North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
8-3
Florida Gulf Coast
8-2
Kastanek Leads State To Victory over FGCU
12/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2011
HONOLULU, Hawaii – Marissa Kastanek’s season-high 22 points was just enough for NC State in a 69-64 victory over Florida Gulf Coast in the first game of the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Invitational on Wednesday night from Stan Sheriff Center.
After giving up all of a 17-point second-half cushion, NC State (8-3) scored the final five points of the game, including a mid-court steal and fast break layup from Kastanek with 1:10 to go that for all intense and purposes was the game’s deciding bucket.
Bonae Holston iced it with a layup in the paint with 23 seconds left on her third offensive rebound of the sequence after she blocked a shot at the other end of the floor on defense.
The Wolfpack’s lead ballooned to 46-29 on a Kastanek jumper at the 17:27 mark of the second half, after coming out of intermission with a 12-point advantage.
Florida Gulf Coast, a good mid-major team that already knocked off teams like Michigan State, Richmond and Virginia Tech this season, answered with a 29-9 run to take a 58-55 lead with 4:04 to play.
The lead grew to four, 61-57, on a three-pointer from the Eagles’ Eglah Griffin (19 points) moments alter and looked like the Wolfpack was in jeopardy of being another BCS victim.
But State responded with the next seven points to take a 64-61 lead. That was short lived as the Eagles did what it does better than anyone in the country, shooting three-pointers.
The active NCAA leader, Kelsey Jacobson, with 275 made three’s coming into the game, was held quite until she drilled one with 1:37 remaining for a 64-all tie.
After a State turnover, Kastanek jumped the passing lane at mid-court and slashed untouched for the game-winning bucket.
FGCU came into the game averaging 12.8 three-point makes a game, tops in the nation. The Pack held them to just six from beyond the arc, forcing the Eagles to make layups and mid-range jumpers.
Kody Burke added 17 points for the Wolfpack, while Holston had eight points and 10 boards.
A Kastanek three-pointer made it 19-12 with 8:06 left in the first half - far and away the biggest lead for either team to that point after a slugging start by both clubs.
Turnovers began to mount for the Eagles as well, leading to a comfortable working margin for the Wolfpack. Donovan made the 13th miscue pay off with a three-ball from the corner for a 26-16 lead with just under five minutes until halftime.
The three-pointer also capped a 14-4 run for State that grew out of a 12-all tie way back at the 10:22 mark.
Florida Gulf Coast crept back in the game, 30-24, but Burke and Kastanek made consecutive deep balls for a 36-24 lead
Kastanek had her best half of the year with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The Lincoln, Neb., native had seven of the final 10 points of the opening stanza as the Pack would go into the half up 38-26.
NC State plays Alcorn State Thursday at 9 p.m., ET in the second day of the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Invitational.
