Creighton University
North Carolina State
North Carolina State Tops Women's Basketball 84-71
11/13/2010 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina State used a 14-0 run midway through the second half to pull away from the Creighton women's basketball team, defeating the Bluejays 84-71 in the championship game of the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational at Reynolds Coliseum Saturday night. Freshman Sarah Nelson had a double-double and led five Bluejays in double figures with 14 points, while Kelsey Woodard chipped in 11 points to earn all-tournament recognition. Kellie Nelson (12), Sam Schuett (11) and Carli Tritz (10) also scored in double figures for the Bluejays.
The win gave the Wolfpack (2-0) the tournament title as the only undefeated team in the event, dropping the Bluejays to 1-1. The College of Charleston (1-1) topped Liberty (0-2) on a late three-pointer, 49-46, in the consolation game of the tournament earlier in the evening.
North Carolina State (2-0) used an 8-0 run after halftime to go ahead 46-34, but the Bluejays responded with an 8-0 run of their own, as Ally Jensen drained a three-pointer, Woodard converted a three-point play and Kellie Nelson's bucket brought the score to 46-42 in favor of the Wolfpack.
A layup from Tritz with 11:37 to play cut the NC State lead to 53-51, the closest Creighton would get in the second half. From there, the Wolfpack ripped of a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to surge ahead 67-51 and take control of the game.
Creighton would get back within single digits just once over the final seven minutes, when Sarah Nelson's second three-pointer of the game made the score 73-64 with 3:47 left. The Bluejays could not overcome the deficit, losing their first ever meeting with a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The teams exchanged baskets for the first four points of the game and a quick 7-0 burst by the home team gave the Wolfpack a 9-4 lead. The Bluejays bounced back with the next six points of the game to go ahead 10-9.
Creighton led 32-31 after a Tritz bucket with 3:34 to play in the half, but NC State went on another 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the half, up 38-32 with 1:32 left in the opening stanza. The Bluejays trailed 38-34 at the half after six ties and 15 lead changes in the first 20 minutes.
Sarah Nelson scored nine of her team-leading 14 points in the first half and would finish with a game-high 10 rebounds to notch her first career double-double. The rookie made 6-of-11 shots from the floor and 2-of-4 from three-point range, while adding three assists and a steal in 25 minutes off the bench. Schuett finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and a team-high four assists before fouling out with 52 seconds to play.
NC State rode Amber White's career-high of 29 points to the victory, as she was named tournament MVP. Lincoln, Neb., native Marissa Kastanek scored 18 points, including 14 in the second half to also earn all-tournament honors. Lakeesa Daniel added 13 points for the victors.
Creighton shot 40.3 percent (27-67) in the loss, but made just 34.2 percent of its shot in the second half after shooting at a 48.3 percent clip in the first half. The Jays hit 4-of-15 (.267) three-pointers after half, after sinking 4-of-9 (.444) in the opening half. Both Woodard and Jensen hit two three-pointers on the night. One day after making only 8-of-17 free throws, the Jays were a perfect 9-for-9 at the stripe Saturday.
The Bluejays also out-rebounded the taller Wolfpack squad, 39-36, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds. CU committed 13 of its 19 turnovers in the second half. NC State out-scored the Jays 24-5 on fastbreak points, while the CU bench out-scored NC State 31-16. NC State shot 51.6 percent from the field and 4-of-8 from long range in the win.
Creighton concludes its season-opening three-game road trip with a game at Bowling Green on Monday night at 5 pm (CST). The six-time reigning Mid-American Conference champions will be opening their home season following a road loss at Evansville on Friday night. Fans can listen to the CU-BGSU game on KOIL AM 1180 in Omaha and online at www.koilam1180.com.
