Jan. 28, 2002
Final Stats
Raleigh, NC -- -
Four free throws and a steal by Nanna Rivers in the final 22 seconds of the game, sealed a 62-55 victory over Maryland for the NC State women's basketball team Monday night at Reynolds Coliseum. More importantly, the win broke a three-game ACC losing streak for the Wolfpack, as it finished the first half of conference play with a record of 4-4.
"It was a really hard fought game by both teams," said NC State head coach Kay Yow. "It was especially good for us to win this game because it made us .500 at the end of the first half of the ACC. Now we can focus on building off this win when we start over with the second half of conference play."
Maryland led 22-21 at halftime, fueled by NC State's 14 first-half turnovers. Midway through the second half, the Wolfpack went on a 9-2 run with back-to-back three pointers from freshment Liz Bailey and Rachel Stockdale to pull out to a 43-34 lead that it never relinquished.
Kaayla Chones continues to lead the Pack in ACC play. The 6-3 sophomore center dominated the Terrapins in the paint for 18 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double marked Chones' fourth out of the Pack's last five games. Also, big for NC State was the combination of Talisha Scates and Amy Simpson. The two combined for 21 of the Pack's 62 points, including 14 in the second half.
NC State welcomed back forward Carisse Moody who had been out of action three weeks after suffering a sprained ankle on January 6. The Wolfpack lost three of the four games with the 6-1 forward out of the lineup. Moody managed to score six points and grabbed five boards 23 minutes of action.
"It was really good to see Carisse back on the floor tonight," said Yow. "She hasn't had a lot of time to practice since she was injured, but she did manage to do pretty well tonight. It was good to see her and Kaayla back on the floor together."
Marche Strickland, meanwhile, led the Terps with 18 points and five assists, followed by Crystal Washington, who added 10 more of her own.
The Wolfpack (10-9, 4-4) managed to outshoot Maryland (10-10, 3-6) at the foul line, connecting on 19-of-25 for 76 percent, while the Terps shot only 30%. NC State is back home Thursday night when it hosts Wake Forest at 7 pm.
