Sunday, December 20
Gainesville, Fla.
12PM
NC State
9-3
73
vs
62
Eastern Kentucky
4-5
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Kentucky
22
11
11
18
62
NC State
26
21
6
20
73
Photo by: Greg Mintel
Wolfpack Advances Past EKU at Gator Holiday Classic
12/20/2015 3:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The NC State women's basketball team improved to 9-3 on the season Sunday afternoon with a 73-62 win over Eastern Kentucky in the first round of the 2015 Gator Holiday Classic.
Trailing 19-16 with 3:28 remaining in the first quarter, the Wolfpack closed the opening frame on an 11-3 run and never looked back for the rest of the way, leading for the final 31:52. The Colonels would pull within five points (61-56 with 3:53 remaining) but a quick 6-0 Wolfpack run would put the game out of reach.
"I thought Jennifer Mathurin had a great game, not only scoring but also rebounding," NC State head coach Wes Moore said in his postgame radio interview with broadcaster Patrick Kinas. "I thought she saved us so many times on the glass, so that was the big thing. We didn't shoot very well in the second half and they were able to make it interesting."
As a team, NC State shot 23-57 (.404) and 10-31 (.323) from distance. The Wolfpack was led by four players in double figures, with Jennifer Mathurin's 20 points on excellent 5-6 shooting (4-4 from distance) leading all players. Dominique Wilson (14 points, eight rebounds), Ashley Williams (10 points, eight rebounds), and Miah Spencer (10 points, nine assists, seven rebounds) also chipped in strong offensive performances.
Fast Facts
-Ashley Williams' eight rebounds were a career high.
-Mathurin missed a double-double by just one rebound.
-EKU did not score a single second-chance point.
-Wolfpack players took four charges in the win. Dominique Wilson led the team with two.
"Second chance points, they (EKU) didn't score any," Moore said. "That was a big plus for us to go 12-0 in that category. That is a good sign. We just need to take care of the ball better and get better (offensive) looks."
As a team, NC State out-rebounded Eastern Kentucky by a 51-28 margin. Sunday's game marked the first time NC State had collected 50 rebounds or more in a single contest since a 94-52 win over Morgan State on November 18, 2013.
Eastern Kentucky was led offensively by 17 points from Jalen O'Bannon. She was joined in double figures by Abby Wright and Shameekia Murray, each of whom scored 12 points. The Colonels shot 22-64 (.344) from the field, a mark which included a 9-23 (.391) success rate from three-point range.
The Wolfpack shot very well from the field in the first half, going 16-30 (.533) and 7-15 (.467) from distance. NC State dominated the boards to the tune of a 24-13 advantage, only allowing two offensive rebounds for the Colonels throughout the opening 20 minutes. Mathurin had a spotless first half for NC State, scoring 16 points on 5-5 shooting (4-4 from distance). NC State held Eastern Kentucky without a point for the final 3:44 of the first half and ended on an 8-0 run to take a 47-33 lead into the intermission.
Despite struggling from the field in the second half (7-27) and only scoring six points in the third quarter, the Wolfpack hung on for the victory thanks in large part to a dominating rebounding effort (28-14) over the course of the final 20 minutes.
NC State concludes play at the Gator Holiday Classic against host (RV/RV) Florida Monday at 2:30 p.m. The Gators defeated Saint Francis 122-65 in the second game of the tournament Sunday afternoon.
#STATEment
Trailing 19-16 with 3:28 remaining in the first quarter, the Wolfpack closed the opening frame on an 11-3 run and never looked back for the rest of the way, leading for the final 31:52. The Colonels would pull within five points (61-56 with 3:53 remaining) but a quick 6-0 Wolfpack run would put the game out of reach.
That's a big play! @ilovelebron_23 finds @Ashleyw311 open in the corner. 9 assists for Spencer! 66-56 Wolfpack. pic.twitter.com/5V6xBGFB2I
— NC State WBB (@PackWomensBball) December 20, 2015"I thought Jennifer Mathurin had a great game, not only scoring but also rebounding," NC State head coach Wes Moore said in his postgame radio interview with broadcaster Patrick Kinas. "I thought she saved us so many times on the glass, so that was the big thing. We didn't shoot very well in the second half and they were able to make it interesting."
As a team, NC State shot 23-57 (.404) and 10-31 (.323) from distance. The Wolfpack was led by four players in double figures, with Jennifer Mathurin's 20 points on excellent 5-6 shooting (4-4 from distance) leading all players. Dominique Wilson (14 points, eight rebounds), Ashley Williams (10 points, eight rebounds), and Miah Spencer (10 points, nine assists, seven rebounds) also chipped in strong offensive performances.
16 now for @jen11r! She's feeling it today. pic.twitter.com/Mhc0tToRho
— NC State WBB (@PackWomensBball) December 20, 2015Fast Facts
-Ashley Williams' eight rebounds were a career high.
-Mathurin missed a double-double by just one rebound.
-EKU did not score a single second-chance point.
-Wolfpack players took four charges in the win. Dominique Wilson led the team with two.
"Second chance points, they (EKU) didn't score any," Moore said. "That was a big plus for us to go 12-0 in that category. That is a good sign. We just need to take care of the ball better and get better (offensive) looks."
As a team, NC State out-rebounded Eastern Kentucky by a 51-28 margin. Sunday's game marked the first time NC State had collected 50 rebounds or more in a single contest since a 94-52 win over Morgan State on November 18, 2013.
Eastern Kentucky was led offensively by 17 points from Jalen O'Bannon. She was joined in double figures by Abby Wright and Shameekia Murray, each of whom scored 12 points. The Colonels shot 22-64 (.344) from the field, a mark which included a 9-23 (.391) success rate from three-point range.
The Wolfpack shot very well from the field in the first half, going 16-30 (.533) and 7-15 (.467) from distance. NC State dominated the boards to the tune of a 24-13 advantage, only allowing two offensive rebounds for the Colonels throughout the opening 20 minutes. Mathurin had a spotless first half for NC State, scoring 16 points on 5-5 shooting (4-4 from distance). NC State held Eastern Kentucky without a point for the final 3:44 of the first half and ended on an 8-0 run to take a 47-33 lead into the intermission.
Despite struggling from the field in the second half (7-27) and only scoring six points in the third quarter, the Wolfpack hung on for the victory thanks in large part to a dominating rebounding effort (28-14) over the course of the final 20 minutes.
NC State concludes play at the Gator Holiday Classic against host (RV/RV) Florida Monday at 2:30 p.m. The Gators defeated Saint Francis 122-65 in the second game of the tournament Sunday afternoon.
#STATEment
Team Stats
EKU
ST
FG%
.344
.404
3FG%
.391
.323
FT%
.692
.739
RB
28
51
TO
10
18
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Forward
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