The women’s basketball team (7-2) wasted no time in pouncing on Winthrop (2-8) in Reynolds Coliseum Monday night as the Wolfpack jumped out to an 11-2 lead to start the game and eventually held on for a 65-54 win. The run began with two consecutive three-pointers from sophomore guard Shayla Fields, who finished with a career-high 18 points in the effort.
According to interim head coach Stephanie Glance, who is standing in while coach Kay Yow battles breast cancer, the defensive play for the first three-fourths of the game allowed Winthrop to hang around too long.
“Credit to the returning players who buckled down, got on solid defensively, [and] made some great plays,” Glance said. “Beyond three quarters of the game, the last quarter really got us in the system defensively that we wanted to be in. And prior to that, it was a disappointing three quarters of the game.”
State suffered a scare on the last play of the first half as junior forward Khadijah Whittington fell to the floor under the Winthrop basket and had to be helped to the locker room by teammates and coaches.
Glance said the injury to Whittington was in her back, but that she was unaware of her status for practicing and competing this week. The Pack would play the entire second half in a close contest without Whittington, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, going into Monday’s game.
State fell behind and traded leads for a majority of the second half at the hands of hot shooting from Winthrop’s Tiffany Rodd, who finished with 23 points in the game. According to Glance, the Pack was on the verge of an embarrasing loss if something didn’t change.
“We were not playing with a fire,” Glance said. “We weren’t playing, we weren’t thinking, we just weren’t agressive. We were at a point where if we did not turn it around then we would have regressed when the game ended.”
It was the play of senior forward Sasha Reaves, whose basket with 9:30 left gave the Pack the spark it needed, providing the team with a 50-49 lead and starting a 12-0 run that would put Winthrop away for good.
“They did an excellent job, especially Sasha,” Glance said. “I think defensively Sasha did a great job. And offensively – she rebounds, she has great hands, she has good position. They had to step up for us to win the game, and they did.”
Another key player in the run was senior guard Ashley Key, who finished with ten points in the contest. Key’s defense down the stretch on Winthrop point guard Yvonne Van Daalen also helped the run as Key blocked two of Van Daalen’s shots and forced five turnovers from the Winthrop guard. Key said the game was close because of a lack of execution defensively and that State did not overlook Winthrop as a capable team.
“We wanted to come in, even though they have a losing record, and still have respect for them as a team,” Key said. “Because they do go out and work hard every day just like we do. I feel like it was more of a letdown on our part to execute.”
State sealed the deal with 9-10 free throw shooting in the second half, making a late Winthrop rally impossible. According to Reaves, it was the responsibility of the bench to compensate for the loss of Whittington. The Pack’s bench outscored Winthrop’s bench 26-0 in the game.
“I just knew that KD [Whittington] had gone down and that somebody else needed to step up,” Whittington said. “And so I just went in there and stayed focused and did the best that I could. I was just being more aggressive and doing what I could to help my team.”
The win was the third for the Pack in the last six days, and according to Glance, the team looks forward to some much-needed rest.
“I think we need some emotional time to regroup,” Glance said. “Although, under the circumstances I’m really proud of this team because I feel that they have battled incredibly well to having no forewarning of the loss of coach Yow.”
Glance also commended the play of her team despite balancing a rigorous basketball schedule and maintaining their academics.
“What they have accomplished thus far, they are definitely to be commended. In the midst of adversity they rose to the occasion.”
