Dec. 30, 1997
No. 18 NC State Rolls Past Wake Forest, 75-46
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Senior forward Chasity Melvin scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 18 North Carolina State rolled past host Wake Forest, 75-46, in an Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball contest at Joel Coliseum on Tuesday night.
NC State (11-1, 2-0 ACC) jumped on the Demon Deacons (4-8, 0-2) early, taking a 10-4 lead in the first 4:13 of the game. Wake Forest hit four free throws and a quick jumper in the next 48 seconds to get within two, but that was as close as the Deacs would get. The Wolfpack's swarming defense and full-court pressure forced 15 Deacon turnovers in the first half and converted them into 18 points, building State a 25-point halftime lead at 43-18. The 'Pack continued to dominate play in the second period, leading by as many as 33 points.
"I thought the key for us was midway through the first half when we turned up our defensive intensity, which helped us offensively too," said NC State Head Coach Kay Yow. "We had good balance inside and outside and we worked hard on the boards. Our bench continues to help us. Our two freshmen, Tynesha [Lewis] and Monica [Bates] played extremely well." State shot 52 percent from the floor in the win and outrebounded the Deacons, 39-2. Wake shot just 32 percent from the floor, including 0-for-10 from the three-point arc, and committed a total of 24 turnovers. Lewis added 16 points and five rebounds for the Wolfpack, while junior guard Kristen Gillespie dished five assists and made four steals. For Wake Forest, junior forward Cynthia Kelley was the only player in double figures with 12 points. Junior forward Emon McMillian grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Wake hosts No. 22 Duke on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Joel Coliseum.
NC STATE (75) - Jones 3-8 0-0 6, Melvin 11-19 2-2 24, Shepard 3-3 2-2 8, Williams 0-3 1-3 1,
Gillespie 0-2 0-0 0, Wallace 1-4 0-0 2, Bates 2-4 3-4 8, Erb 2-5 0-0 4, Lewis 6-7 4-7 16,
Poteat 2-3 0-0 4, McLendon 1-2 0-0 2.
Totals 31-60 12-18 75.
WAKE FOREST (46) - McMillian 2-4 2-2 6, Miklic 1-4 1-1 3, Kelley 5-15 2-4 12,
Coleman 2-7 3-3 7, Nelson 1-2 2-2 4, Whiteside 0-3 2-2 2, Mosley 1-6 0-0 2, Walker 0-0 0-0 0,
Dardy 2-4 0-0 4, Shaffer 1-3 0-0 2, Kirkpatrick 2-5 0-1 4. Totals 17-53 12-15 46.
Halftime - NC State 43, Wake Forest 18. 3-pointers - NCS 1-8 (Melvin 0-1, Williams 0-2,
Gillespie 0-1, Wallace 0-3, Bates 1-1); WF 0-10 (Coleman 0-5, Whiteside 0-3, Mosley 0-2).
Fouled out - none.
Rebounds - NCS 39 (Melvin 11); WF 28 (McMillian 6).
Assists - NCS 12 (Gillespie 5); WF 9 (Mosley 3).
Fouls - NCS 15, WF 16. A - 342.
