In front of a sell-out crowd of 8,560, the women’s basketball team put together one of its strongest defensive efforts of the year, taking down No. 17 Virginia 60-54 in N.C. State’s fourth annual Hoops 4 Hope game. This was the Wolfpack’s first win against a nationally ranked team in more than a year.
Interim head coach Stephanie Glance was beaming by the bench as time expired. She knew the effort displayed on the court would make former head coach Kay Yow more than proud, as Yow always taught her team to play with heart.
“The significance of this game lies in a team that – under very adverse circumstances – has continued to persevere and work hard,” Glance said. “They didn’t just throw the towel in.”
Glance also said that the team has been working hard in practices and will use the momentum from the Virginia game to prepare for Wake Forest and North Carolina. If victorious, the team could earn a higher seed in the ACC tournament.
“I’m so happy for them today that they have been able to reap the rewards of that [effort],” Glance said.
Nikitta Gartrell, Sharnise Beal and Shayla Fields all contributed multiple baskets in the opening minutes of the game, putting State on the board 18-8 after nine minutes of play. On back-to-back plays, both teams hustled and scrapped for the loose ball, and State earned the possession each time.
With the first half winding down, the State defense kicked into high gear, placing tremendous pressure on a statistically solid Virginia offense. The Cavaliers were forced into a throw-away attempt as the shot clock expired.
“We can look at the categories and see that we were outrebounded, but we got a lot of steals, we were all over the floor, and we were pressuring the ball,” Glace said. “That was what we wanted to do against Virginia.”
State headed to the locker room up 29-26 at the half. During the break, over 250 breast cancer survivors lined up on the court. The women were grouped based on the number of years each had battled cancer.
The Wolfpack came back out in the second half with the same grit displayed in the opening twenty minutes, but the Cavaliers picked up the pace. They earned the lead after State went seven minutes without a basket. Freshman forward Bonae Holston knocked down the first basket of the half, followed by two quick two-pointers from Fields to bring the Pack within five.
Gartrell and Fields, known as one of the top back court duos in the ACC, continued to press against a struggling Virginia defense. Gartrell came up with a big steal to feed Fields for a clean three pointer, tying the game at 40.
Down the stretch, junior guard Beal made multiple key baskets to further the Pack’s lead. Gartrell scored on three consecutive shots, including a basket with no time left on the shot clock to put State up 53-46.
Gartrell attributed her scoring run to help from her teammates, as well as getting involved defensively.
“I pressured the ball a little bit, we got some steals and turnovers,” Gartrell said. “I got my teammates involved and then in one of the big shots that I made, Shayla drove around and kicked it back to me, and I had a lot of confidence when I took the shot.”
As the horn sounded, the team ran together on the court in a celebratory huddle. The players and staff all put on Hoops 4 Hope hats and were all smiles as they saluted the cheering crowd. This game was more than just any other – it was a game to honor Yow and all of those who continue to live out her legacy.
“It wasn’t like a normal game,” Gartrell said. “In the locker room, we talked about a lot of things as far as preparing ourselves for the game. We knew that this was a game we wanted to win, and we pulled it out.”
Fields and Gartrell led the team with 19 and 15 points, respectively. Holston tallied 12 points for the Pack and recovered seven rebounds.
Sophomore forward Tia Bell threw a block party for her team with eight blocked shots, tying a school record that has stood for thirty years. Bell said she was so caught up in the game that she didn’t even realize how tremendous her effort was, and said the chances just came to her naturally.
“I didn’t think I would tie the school record, but one came after the other, and it was giving my team a boost and helping me stay involved in the game,” Bell said.
Bell also led the team with seven defensive rebounds. Glance attributed Bell’s success to the prowess she has developed on defense beneath the basket.
“Tia can do that. It’s one of her strengths,” Glance said. “She has really good timing and a knack for how to block shots and when to block shots, and that certainly helped us underneath.”
Virginia coach Debbie Ryan attributed the win entirely to the on-court chemistry and determination of the Wolfpack.
“They’re definitely a different team than the one we saw at the beginning of the year, no question about that,” Ryan said.
