By Aaron M Smith
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY – On a snowy Western New York afternoon, North Carolina State utilizing a distinct height advantage raced to a 17 point second half lead, only to survive a late rally by the St. Bonaventure Bonnies and secure a 70-66 road victory.
With a frontcourt featuring multiple players over six feet tall, the Wolfpack scored on their first three trips down the floor, sprinting to a 8-1 lead. Center Markeisha Gatling got the scoring started with a turnaround jumper in the lane off a pass from Myisha Goodwin-Coleman.
“As a team we want to get the ball inside against any opponent” Coach Kellie Harper confirmed.
Offensively, the Brown and White struggled early with the Wolfpack height, committing a shot clock violation on their first possession. The Bonnies didn’t score until the 17:2o mark when Ashley Zahn skipped a cross court pass to Cece Dixon for a wide open triple.
Seconds later, a steal by Zahn led to a lay-up by Dixon, and Bonas quickly closed the gap, 8-6.
The teams would exchange baskets until another triple by Cece Dixon would tie the game at 18. On the play, Alaina Walker stole the ball from a Wolfpack player, dribbled the length of the floor and dished the ball to a wide open Dixon on the wing.
On the next possession, senior Alaina Walker was called for a loose ball foul under the Wolfpack basketball. During the play Walker banged her head while falling to the ground and would be forced to leave the game. Needing stitches, the Pomona, NY native would not return to the game as a precautionary measure.
State again attacked the paint as Kody Burke hit a turnaround jumper and was fouled on the play. The 6’2″ junior hit the ensuing free throw to complete the old-fashioned three point play and give the Wolfpack a 24-19 run.
“We thought were going to have some advantages to get the ball inside. We really worked on it the last couple days in practice, taking our time, finishing when we got it in the paint and giving ourselves an opportunity to score,” Harper explained. “Sometimes you can kick the ball inside and still not be able to score because they play good defense. Even though they have a smaller lineup, they are still very good defensively”.
Thanks to Burke scoring seven of North Carolina State’s next eight points, the Pack finished the first half on a 21-6 run, and entered the locker room with a 39-24 lead .
In the first stanza, the Wolfpack shot 55 percent from the field and held a 30-10 advantage in points scored in the paint.
“I was really pleased with our second half obviously. More than anything, I was pleased with our mentality”, Coach Crowley admitted. “We had a really bad stretch at end the first half. I think some of that was reactive to losing Alaina and some of it was just our mentality. But they (Bonnies women) never hung their heads in the second half. Playing like that, hopefully they understand that we can find some pretty good success throughout the rest of the season if we do that”.
The second half started with teams exchanging baskets and the Bonnies unable to cut into the NC State lead. Each run made by the Brown and White was matched with an equal response by the Wolfpack.
A 6-0 run by Bonas cut the lead to 65-54 with a little over 3:46 to play in the second half and the Reilly Center faithful could sense a comeback was in the works.
Desperately needing a basket on State’s next trip down, Burke kicked a pass from the post to Goodwin-Coleman for a dagger trifecta in the corner and a 68-54 lead. Coach Crowley quickly called timeout and any momentum gained by the Bonnies was seemingly deflated.
Yet St. Bonaventure refused to quit and promptly went on another 6-0 run to bring the lead back to within striking distance with just 1:43 left on the clock, 68-60.
After a steal by Katie Healy, an alert Dixon found Nyla Rueter in front of the Bonnies bench. The freshman calmly knocked down the triple and cut the lead to 68-63.
The Brown and White forced a Wolfpack turnover on the next possession, and cashed in on the mistake as Zahn hit another three ball from the top of the key to trim the lead to 68-66.
The Bonnies quickly fouled, putting Wolfpack’s Krystal Barrett on the line for a crucial one and one. The sophomore missed the first free throw, but Burke grabbed a critical offensive rebound and scored to put the game out of reach, 70-66.
” I knew we definitely needed an offensive rebound. I had to crash harder than I ever had”, Burke stated. “Marissa was aside from me, we were crossing and it worked out. It just so happened that I got the ball and was able to score. It was crucial”.
Cece Dixon lead all scorers with 23 points and Zahn added 14 points in a losing cause.
Kody Burke had 20 points and seven rebounds for the visitor, while Krystal Barrett and Marissa Kastanek each contributed 12 points.
North Carolina State out rebounded St. Bonaventure in the game 39-26 and held a 50-24 advantage in points scored in the paint.
SBU forced the Wolfpack into 24 turnovers and shot 46% from behind the three point line.
The loss was the first for the Brown and White at home this season, and the first victory on the road for North Carolina State.
The Bonnies are off until the New Year, when they travel to Wisconsin to face Green Bay on January 5th. Tip off is scheduled for 3 pm.
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