Showing posts tagged “Nikitta Gartrell”
Mike Potter ·
21 Mar 2010, 3:00 AM ·
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N.C. State got its wish to play in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in its first season under Kellie Harper.
Tonight, the younger players on the Wolfpack - which hasn’t been in the tournament since 2007 - get to see what it’s really all about.
The Wolfpack (20-13) is seeded No. 9 in the Kansas City Regional and will take on No. 8 seed UCLA (24-8) in its first-round game at 9:30 tonight in Minneapolis.
An interesting sidebar has Harper (pictured) going against UCLA coach and fellow former Tennessee guard Nikki Caldwell, who was a graduate assistant with the Lady Vols during Harper’s 1998-99 senior season - oddly the only time during Harper’s career the team didn’t win the NCAA title. Caldwell was a player on Tennessee’s 1991 NCAA title team.
“I think Pat recruits highly competitive people, and I think that’s one thing Coach Caldwell and I have in common,” Harper said during Saturday’s press conference in Minneapolis. “When you play at the University of Tennessee you’re bound with all other former players, whether you played together or not, and that’s the connection that Nikki and I have. I think each player that plays for Pat (Summitt) takes away something and for me, I’ve tried to take away poise during game situations and (I’ve) tried to take away running a classy program, and I think Nikki does the same thing. She’s very professional, has a lot of energy, and has done a great job.” Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Amber White, Bonae Holston, Darxia Morris, Jasmine Dixon, Marissa Kastanek, Nikitta Gartrell, Nikki Caldwell, Pat Summitt, Tennessee Volunteers, UCLA
Mike Potter ·
15 Mar 2010, 9:56 PM ·
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N.C. State's Marissa Kastanek dribbles up court as Duke's Karima Christmas defends during the ACC Tournament championship game. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
BACKYARD BISTRO/RALEIGH Kellie Harper couldn’t remember exactly when she had been in such a situation before.
Back when the N.C. State women’s basketball coach was a point guard at Tennessee the Lady Vols - who won three NCAA titles during her career - were pretty much in the NCAA Tournament before the season started. Then during her five seasons as head coach at Western Carolina and three seasons as an assistant at Chattanooga before that, Southern Conference teams knew they had to win the conference tournament or they might earn a bid to the WNIT.
But the Wolfpack (20-13) has been on the NCAA “bubble” ever since losing the ACC championship game to Duke eight days ago, although most of the bracketologists had N.C. State in the field.
Harper and her team gathered with about 300 fans on Monday night to watch the Selection Special on ESPN that announced the 64 competing teams.
Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. Central, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Amber White, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Chattanooga, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, Hampton Pirates, Hartford, Jasmine Thomas, Joanne P. McCallie, Joy Cheek, Kellie Harper, Louisiana State, Marissa Kastanek, Michigan State, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Nikitta Gartrell, Portland State, Southern Conference, Sylvia Hatchell, Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia Cavaliers, Western Carolina
Mike Potter ·
7 Mar 2010, 5:50 PM ·
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Duke celebrates its first ACC women's basketball title since 2004. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
GREENSBORO COLISEUM It’s finals day at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, and for the ninth time in its 11 seasons in Greensboro there are two North Carolina teams in the championship game.
One of two very different stories is going to be written today.
The most likely one is “Third Time’s the Charm!” That means Duke, which is ranked No. 9 nationally and the tournament’s top seed, beats N.C. State and wins for the first time in Joanne P. McCallie’s three straight trips to the final.
The other is “The Glass Slipper fits!” That means first-year Wolfpack coach Kellie Harper takes her outsized, scrappy sixth-seeded team shakes off its 70-39 loss on Feb. 11 at Cameron Indoor Stadium and pulls off a big upset.
Duke gets McCallie her sixth conference tournament title, including one in the Big Ten at Michigan State and four others at Maine, with a 70-60 victory in front of 9,432 fans.
Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Alex Montgomery, Amber White, Bonae Holston, Boston College, Carolyn Swords, Georgia Tech, Jasmine Thomas, Joanne P. McCallie, Joy Cheek, Karima Christmas, Kellie Harper, Lynetta Kizer, Maine Black Bears, Marissa Kastanek, Maryland Terrapins, Michigan State, Monica Wright, Nikitta Gartrell, Virginia Cavaliers
Mike Potter ·
6 Mar 2010, 8:05 PM ·
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GREENSBORO COLISEUM Somebody wants to write a Cinderella story out of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament this season, and the candidate is going to come out of this second semifinal game.
Waiting in tomorrow’s 1 p.m. title contest will be No. 8 Duke, which has played in the last two conference finals and knows exactly what the finals are all about.
Those candidates for the glass slipper are No. 6 seed N.C. State, a team common wisdom says is headed for the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens today, and No. 7 seed Boston College, which just needs to keep winning unless it plans to head to one of the two post-season consolation tournaments.
BC is coming off a very big upset over No. 2 seed Florida State, while the Wolfpack is coming off an impressive although probably less shocking conquest of No. 3 seed Virginia.
It’s the 33rd edition of the tournament, and never have No. 6 and No. 7 seeds squared off in the semifinals.
The regular season results don’t offer much predictive help, as the Eagles rolled 83-66 on Jan. 10 in Chestnut Hill and the Wolfpack got revenge 74-63 on Feb. 21 at Reynolds Coliseum.
And as is obvious, it’s a matchup between Eagle size and Wolfpack speed with State holding on to win 63-57. Continue reading »
ACC, Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill Bonae Holston, Boston College, Carolyn Swords, Florida State, Inga Muciniece, Jaclyn Thoman, Kellie Harper, Lucy Ellison, Marissa Kastanek, Nikitta Gartrell, Sylvia Crawley, Virginia Cavaliers
Mike Potter ·
4 Mar 2010, 11:39 PM ·
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GREENSBORO COLISEUM During football season they call this matchup the “Textile Bowl” between the two largest land-grant institutions in the Carolinas.
N.C. State will be looking for revenge against Clemson in the nightcap of the first round of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. It was at Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 31 where the Wolfpack played its worst game of the season in a 69-56 loss.
Kellie Harper’s 17-12 club may need to win this one to start nailing down an invite to the NCAA Tournament.
Clemson, coached by NCSU alumna Cristy McKinney, is 13-17 and is the only team in the ACC with a losing record.
It’s a 40-minute grind, but the Wolfpack will advance with a 59-54 victory.
State never trails in the first half, leading 14-5 on a jumper from Bonae Holston (pictured) at 13:36 and holding a working margin most of the way before leading 24-19 at the break.
But the Tigers don’t go belly-up. Clemson takes its biggest lead of the game on a Lele Hardy layup that makes it 44-40 with 7:56 to go before the Wolfpack makes its late push. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Bonae Holston, Christy Brown, Clemson, Cristy McKinney, Kellie Harper, Keyrra Gillespie, Lele Hardy, Marissa Kastanek, Nikitta Gartrell, Sthefany Thomas, Virginia Cavaliers
Mike Potter ·
28 Feb 2010, 6:33 PM ·
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Talk about a balanced effort.
N.C. State didn’t put anyone in double figures, but the Wolfpack upset No. 22 Georgia Tech 54-46 to win its Senior Day women’s basketball game at Reynolds Coliseum.
It was the first win of the season against a ranked team for the Wolfpack (17-13, 7-7 ACC), which earned the No. 6 seed for the ACC Tournament and will take on Clemson in the first round on Thursday night at 8.
Brittany Strachan hit a clinching 3-pointer for the Wolfpack.
Sharnise Beal and Inga Muciniece joined fellow seniors Lucy Ellison and Nikitta Gartrell in the starting lineup for the first time this season for State, which got nine points from Marissa Kastanek (pictured) and eight from Bonae Holston.
Brigitte Ardossi had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Tech (22-8, 8-6), while Alex Montgomery added 11.
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Alex Montgomery, Bonae Holston, Brigitte Ardossi, Brittany Strachan, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Inga Muciniece, Lucy Ellison, Marissa Kastanek, Nikitta Gartrell, Sharnise Beal
Mike Potter ·
28 Feb 2010, 12:01 AM ·
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It’s the final day of ACC women’s basketball before the tournament starts in Greensboro four days from now.
All three Triangle teams are, well, in the Triangle on a very big day for all involved.
It has been a long time since UNC has still been fighting for an NCAA berth in late February, but that’s the case for a Tar Heel team that has lost seven of its last eight games.
The Tar Heels will host No. 6 Duke today at 3 p.m. at Carmichael Arena in a game to be shown live nationally on the Fox Sports cable channels, and an upset of the Blue Devils on Senior Day might be just what Sylvia Hatchell’s club needs to nail down a bid.
That won’t be an easy task, as Duke routed the Tar Heels 79-51 on Feb. 8 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. In its third season under Joanne P. McCallie (pictured), the Blue Devils have already clinched an ACC regular season championship and want to keep making the case for a No. 1 seed going into the NCAA Tournament.
Today will be the final home game before the tournament for Tar Heel seniors Trinity Bursey and Martina Wood.
An hour before that one starts N.C. State, which has been one of the surprises of the ACC in its first season under Kellie Harper, will look for an upset over visiting No. 22 Georgia Tech in the Senior Day game for Nikitta Gartrell, Lucy Ellison, Sharnise Beal and Inga Muciniece.
State’s only home ACC loss this season has been to UNC.
There are six games on today’s ACC slate, and the only seeds already set for the tournament are Duke at No. 1 and Florida State at No. 2. Georgia Tech is also guaranteed a bye into the quarterfinals. Continue reading »
ACC, Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill Amber White, Bonae Holston, Brigitte Ardossi, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Deja Foster, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Inga Muciniece, Italee Lucas, Jasmine Thomas, Joanne P. McCallie, Kellie Harper, Krystal Thomas, Laura Broomfield, Lucy Ellison, MaChelle Joseph, Martina Wood, Nikitta Gartrell, Sharnise Beal, Sylvia Hatchell, Trinity Bursey
Mike Potter ·
25 Feb 2010, 10:43 PM ·
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JOEL COLISEUM/WINSTON-SALEM Things are coming down to a photo finish for some spots in the ACC women’s basketball race, and a couple of teams that weren’t expected to be contenders are still fighting for a first-round bye in next week’s tournament.
N.C. State and Wake Forest come in to tonight’s tussle with identical 16-11 records, 6-6 in ACC play. The Wolfpack, picked ninth in the preseason media poll, would finish fourth with a win tonight and another in Sunday’s Senior Day game against Georgia Tech and would have an inside track for yes, an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Deacons need to win both of their remaining games, including Sunday’s visit to sub-.500 Clemson, and have Georgia Tech lose twice including Friday night at home to UNC to get the fourth spot themselves.
State beat Wake Jan. 22 at Reynolds Coliseum 51-49 with five points over the final 15 seconds, perhaps the Deacons’ most bitter loss of the season. Wake’s RPI is 100 while the Wolfpack’s is 32, meaning perhaps that the Deacons need four more wins to get an invite to the NCAA instead of the WNIT or the new WBI.
Of course it’s Wake’s Senior Night, but there are lots of Wolfpack fans in the house - perhaps 300 - including a noisy contingent of students that rode up on a pair of buses from Raleigh. The Wolfpack is coming off a Sunday win at UNC and the fans are feeling pretty good about their team.
There are about 2,000 fans in a 14,000-seat arena, but it’s certain to be pretty vocal.
Tonight Wake gets revenge, winning 66-50 to assure itself its best finish in ACC play since 1988.
The Deacons take the lead 12-10 on a Brittany Waters jumper with 10:22 left in the first half and hold it the rest of the way.
Wake is up 24-20 at the break, after a rough 20 minutes during which the Wolfpack shoots 26.7 percent and Wake 33.3.
State pulls to within 45-44 on a Brittany Strachan layup with 4:45 left, but the Deacons dominate the rest of the action.
Secily Ray finishes with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Waters adds 15 points and 10 rebounds for Wake, while Sandra Garcia has a team-high 16 points and Brooke Thomas 11.
Nikitta Gartrell (pictured) has 14 points and Bonae Holston 11 for the Wolfpack. Continue reading »
ACC, UNC-Chapel Hill Bonae Holston, Brittany Strachan, Brittany Waters, Brooke Thomas, Clemson, Courteney Morris, Georgia Tech, Kellie Harper, Mike Petersen, Nikitta Gartrell, Sandra Garcia, Secily Ray
Mike Potter ·
25 Feb 2010, 12:30 AM ·
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REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH If there has been a women’s basketball game this season N.C. State was very lucky to win, it was back on Jan. 22 against Wake Forest.
First-year Wolfpack coach Kellie Harper (pictured) knew it at the time, and went out of her way after the game to say how she could sympathize with what the Deacons might be going through that night.
With 15 seconds left, Nikitta Gartrell hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 49-all. And after the Deacons’ Brooke Thomas missed a shot in the lane, Amber White got the rebound and fired up a rainmaker that went through the hoop at the buzzer for a 51-49 win.
That turned out to be the Wolfpack’s only victory over a one-month span, but the dry spell hardly killed the season. State and Wake are both 16-11 and 6-6 in ACC play, and will play tonight at Joel Coliseum with outright possession of fifth place in the conference on the line.
If the Wolfpack can spoil the Deacons’ Senior Night game tonight and then win its own Senior Day contest on Sunday against Georgia Tech, it will finish fourth in the regular-season standings and earn a bye in the first round of the ACC Tournament beginning March 4 in Greensboro. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Amber White, Bonae Holston, Boston College, Brittany Waters, Brooke Thomas, Georgia Tech, Kellie Harper, Mike Petersen, Nikitta Gartrell, Secily Ray
Mike Potter ·
19 Feb 2010, 9:52 PM ·
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REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH N.C. State needs just one win to assure itself at least a .500 season and a near-certain spot in post-season play.
And tonight the Wolfpack is looking for revenge.
State lost 83-66 at Boston College on Jan. 10, and has dropped three straight in the series. BC is coached by UNC alumna Sylvia Crawley, while coming off the bench is wing guard Ayla Brown whose father Scott is the junior member of the U.S. Senate. Sen. Brown (R-Mass.) is observed on site.
BC still has an outside chance to get a bye in the first round of the ACC Tournament, while the Wolfpack still has a chance to wear white in the first round.
It’s “Pack the House” night with $1 tickets, and the Fox Sports cameras are in the house.
And the Wolfpack gets off to a very, very good start, playing one of its better games of the season in a 73-62 romp.
Boston College never gets the lead.
State scores the first six points on 3-pointers from Marissa Kastanek and Nikitta Gartrell (pictured), bolting to a 14-2 lead on a pair of Gartrell free throws with 13:32 left in the half. Continue reading »
ACC, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill Amber White, Ayla Brown, Boston College, Brittany Johnson, Carolyn Swords, Kellie Harper, Marissa Kastanek, Nikitta Gartrell, Scott Brown, Sharnise Beal, Stefanie Murphy, Sylvia Crawley, Virginia Tech
