Tigers,
Wolfpack drop Demon Deacons
By Margaret McKenzie
Old Gold and Black Reporter
>
February 16, 2001
Miserable
shooting from the floor was the dominating factor in the Demon Deacons’
69-35 loss to North Carolina State in the Joel Feb. 8. The Deacs converted
on only 13 of their 63 shots and no player scored in double digits in
the conference loss against the 21st-ranked team in the country.
The game
opened with a basket from N.C. State forward Carisse Moody, and this
margin only grew as the game progressed. Never losing the lead, the
Wolfpack managed to build as much as a 23-point advantage in the first
half. The offensive attack was a series of N.C. State runs sparked by
the 12 first-half points from Moody and eight from Talisha Scates.
As a team the ‘Pack shot 53.1 percent from the floor, overpowering
the dismal 20 percent for the Deacons. By halftime the N.C. State lead
had ballooned to 37-14, and the Wolfpack did not let up in the second
half.
At the 12:07 mark when Ivy Gardner made a layup N.C. State, its lead
reached 33 points. The offense consistently performed for the Wolfpack,
utilizing the inside-outside game with Moody touching the ball every
time down the court. In a contrasting style of play, the flustered Deacons
could not execute in their half-court offense.
“You have to give credit to State,” senior forward Kristen
Shaffer said.
“They took away every thing we wanted to do offensively and we
got rattled. A lot of us started taking really quick shots and that
was not the answer.”
A strong, quick Wolfpack defense was able to silence Shaffer and freshman
Eafton Hill, the Deacs’ two leading scorers. Shaffer scored only
six points on 2-for-7 shooting and committed four turnovers, and Hill’s
2-for-10 performance netted her only four points. N.C. State Head Coach
Kay Yow noted that there was a conscious effort to closely defend the
two players.
“Our players understand what really good players they (Hill and
Shaffer) are,” Coach Yow said. “We want to play them as tough
as we can.”
N.C. State closed the game by going on a 12-6 run to secure the 69-35
victory. The loss, however, did come with a few positive aspects for
the future.
“Individually, people did well, and it was good to see that we
can get the ball in the post,” Head Coach Charlene Curtis said.
The Wolfpack was led by Moody, who recorded a double-double with 20
points and 10 rebounds. Both Scates and Tynesha Lewis scored in double
digits, with 12 and 10 points respectively.
LaChina Robinson came off the bench to score seven points, leading the
Demon Deacons in scoring. Both Tiffani Listenbee and Shaffer added six
points and Hill grabbed nine rebounds.
The home stand continued Feb. 11 with a tough loss to Clemson, another
top 25 and conference opponent. The telling statistics in this game
were the rebounding margin and free throws attempted, both categories
dominated by Clemson.
The first seven minutes of the game was a back-and-forth struggle, with
neither team leading by more than three, but after seven early lead
changes Clemson took the lead for good when Erin Batth hit a two-point
shot after an offensive rebound. The advantage grew to as much as 11
in the final minutes of the half after forward Nuria Forns converted
from three-point range.
The Deacs answered though, scoring last. Junior Val Klopfer made a three
with 43 seconds left to close within eight at intermission, 32-24. The
Deacons’ first half play was hesitant.
“We were very passive in the first half,” Curtis said. “We
only got to the free throw line once.”
In the
second half the Deacs narrowed the lead to five points but could get
no closer. The younger more athletic Deacon players who proved to be
more effective against the constant Tiger pressure dominated the play
in the second half.
The Deacs’ shooting percentage from the floor was better than Clemson’s,
but the Deacs did not reach the free throw line with enough frequency.
They only attempted 10 free throws in the half, converting on four.
whereas the Tigers hit an impressive 94.7 percent of their attempts.
Going into the game the Deacons wanted to out rebound Clemson and attempt
more free throws.
“We didn’t achieve our two goals for every game today,”
Curtis said. Clemson closed the game on a 12-5 run, winning 72-55.
Forns, who scored 18 points and converted on three of her five three-point
attempts, led Clemson’s offensive attack. Krystal Scott and Chrissy
Floyd also scored in double figures for the Tigers. Scott had 16 points
and six assists and Floyd scored 13 points.
Opening the game with a basket, it appeared that Shaffer’s shooting
woes were ending, but the basket was only one of the two that she made
in the game.
Hill, however, rebounded from her sluggish performance against N.C.
State, leading the team with 12 points and eight rebounds and blocking
two shots.
The typical balanced scoring reappeared for the Deacs as seniors Brenda
Mock Kirkpatrick and Olivia Dardy both scored 10 points and freshman
Bianca Brown added seven.
“We have had two goals all season, to truly become a team and we
are learning to do that, encouraging each other,” Curtis said.
“The other goal is to finish the regular season with a winning
record, and we’ve put ourselves in a hole. For now we just want
to stay focused on Thursday and what we can do between now and then.”
The Demon Deacons will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to face Florida State
Feb. 15.
The Seminoles are currently on a three-game winning streak and will
be looking to avenge their loss to the Deacs earlier this season at
the Joel.
