On the eve of senior guard Marissa Kastanek’s final home game as a member of the Wolfpack, the N.C. State women’s basketball team (14- 15, 6-11 ACC) did not disappoint her nor the Reynolds Coliseum crowd as State defeated the Virginia Cavaliers (15-13, 7-10 ACC) Thursday night, 80-59.
The Pack avenged its previous loss to the Wahoos when State lost in Charlottesville, 78-59.
“When you have a senior night, you want your seniors to go out on a high note,” head coach Kellie Harper said.
Kastanek, who played all but two minutes, ended the game with 14 points, giving her 1,604 for her career. This total makes her the 10th player in State history to surpass the 1,600-point milestone. Her four baskets beyond the three-point arc gives her 235 for her career, one shy of former UNC-Chapel Hill player Nikki Teasley for 13th in At lantic Coast Conference history.
“It was pretty emotional,” Kastanek said. “We still have Clemson, we still have the ACC tournament and we still have postseason play so we are not done yet. With the help of my teammates we won my last game at Kay Yow Court, so it was a happy moment.”
Junior center Markeisha Gatling led the Pack with 21 points and added seven assists in the victory.
“[Gatling] looked like she transferred her drills to the game ,” Ha rpe r said. “She slowed down, read the defense and was aggressive.”
Junior forward Kody Burke scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, recording her sixth double-double of the season.
“We wanted to make this a special night for [Kastanek],” Burke said.
“It worked,” Kastanek said.
After being suspended for the game against UNC-Chapel Hill, junior guard Myisha Goodwin- Coleman scored 14 points, 12 of which coming from beyond the arc. Goodwin-Coleman and Kastanek each made four three-point baskets in the contest.
Junior guard Len’Nique Brown led the team in assists with eight. She also added four points in her 27 minutes of play.
Hot shooting from the Wolfpack led to an early first half lead. Kastanek connected on two of her first three three-point attempts to give the Pack a 6-2 lead. While Kastanek was held without a basket for the remainder of the half, her offensive presence allowed her teammates to increase the lead to 20-8.
Virginia was able to slow down State’s offense after switching to a man-to-man defense, but the Cavaliers’ three-point shooting was ice cold. The Cavs missed all 11 attempts from three-point range in the first half.
Virginia attempted to chip away at the lead but the efficient Pack offense didn’t allow the Cavaliers to pull closer than eight points throughout the half. State shot 52.8 percent from the floor and entered halftime leading 43-33.
Burke contributed 12 points and six rebounds in the first half, while Gatling led all scorers with 14 first half points. Goodwin-Coleman played only eight first half minutes after missing the previous game due to a suspension. In those eight minutes, she made three of five shots from behind the arc and scored 11 points.
“Our offensive execution was stellar in the first half,” Harper said.
Virginia entered the second half on a hot shooting streak and cut the 10-point deficit down to four, but the Pack quickly responded with a 13-0 run.
With 12 minutes remaining in the half, State re-established its double-digit lead and never looked back. Kastanek checked out of the game with 1:40 to go. The reserves checked in for the remainder of the 80-59 win.
The Pack will return to action against Clemson in its final regular season game of the season on Sunday at Littlejohn Coliseum.
