Feb. 1, 2004
Raleigh, NC – Kendra Bell and Ashley Key scored 17 points apiece as four Wolfpack players scored in double figures in NC State’s 75-71 victory over Georgia Tech (11-10, 2-7) Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum. With the win, NC State improved to 11-11 overall and 3-6 in the conference.
Key hit 3-of-6 three pointers while Bell was perfect on both of her attempts from beyond the arc. Also scoring in double figures for the Wolfpack were Kaayla Chones and Sasha Reaves, with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
NC State scored seven consecutive free throws with less than a minute remaining in the game to hold off the Jackets comeback. During that time, Megan Isom and Fallon Stokes hit a pair of three-pointers while Terry and Stewart added layups. Over the final eight minutes, there were six ties and 10 lead changes and neither team led by more than two points during that time until the Wolfpack hit the free throws at the end of the contest.
“I have to give credit to NC State,” said Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph. “They came out in the second half, and they really established an inside game. They dominated us on the boards there at the end when they needed to. I have to give a lot of credit to them for making the plays there at the end when they needed to, because I thought that our kids played hard tonight.”
The Yellow Jackets shot 46.8 percent from the field, including 63.6 percent from the three-point arc. Isom hit four threes while Stokes added two in the contest. Stokes led all scorers with 24 points while Isom and point guard Alex Stewart added 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Georgia Tech jumped out to a 40-30 lead early in the second half thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Stewart and Megan Isom. State then scored three straight baskets to pull within four points in the game before the Jackets would score to make the score 44-38. The Wolfpack scored five straight free throws to pull within one point at 9:21. After Stokes hit a jumper to put the Jackets up by three, Key hit a shot from beyond the arc to tie the game at 46-46.
After the Wolfpack scored the first basket less than 10 seconds into the game, Georgia Tech went on a 19-5 run, highlighted by 10 points from Stokes, to take a 19-7 lead with 12:24 remaining in the frame. State pulled within seven points at 11:40 and the two teams traded baskets the rest of the half. The Pack would pull within two points on their final basket of the frame at 2:08, but the Jackets scored three uncontested buckets over the final two minutes, including a driving layup by Isom with four seconds on the clock, to take a six-point lead into the lockerroom. Stokes led all scorers in the half with 13 points NC State point guard led the Pack with eight points in the frame.
The Yellow Jackets will take almost a week off before returning to the triangle area to face second-ranked Duke Saturday at 2 p.m. Georgia Tech will broadcast the game on WREK-Radio, 91.1 FM in Atlanta, and online at www.wrek.org, while livestats for the contest are available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
