Showing posts tagged “Tia Bell”
Mike Potter ·
11 Feb 2010, 10:26 PM ·
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CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM It’s another of those big Triangle rivalry games in women’s basketball, and unfortunately the only time Duke and N.C. State will play during the regular season.
It’s the first time first-year Wolfpack coach Kellie Harper has faced Duke, the team to which she lost in her final game as a player at Tennessee. That game denied her stated goal of winning four straight NCAA titles.
No. 8 Duke is holding its annual PinkZone game, wearing pink-trimmed uniforms and encouraging fans to wear as much pink as possible in an effort to raise awareness of breast cancer and research to combat the disease.
The Blue Devils will be heavy favorites and probably the toughest opponents the Wolfpack will play during the regular season. With 6-3 Tia Bell among three post players hurt, State has nobody who can come close to looking Duke’s 6-5 freshman Allison Vernerey (pictured) or 6-4 Krystal Thomas in the eye. And the inside mismatches are a big factor as the Blue Devils cruise 70-39. Continue reading »
ACC, Duke, N.C. State Allison Vernerey, Bridgette Mitchell, Joanne P. McCallie, Joy Cheek, Kellie Harper, Krystal Thomas, Marissa Kastanek, Miami Hurricanes, Shay Selby, Tia Bell, Virginia Cavaliers
Mike Potter ·
7 Feb 2010, 7:28 PM ·
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REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH N.C. State returns home for a Super Bowl Sunday matchup, this time against a team that seems to be at its same level in the ACC.
The Wolfpack (12-10, 2-5 ACC) is taking on Virginia Tech (12-10, 2-6), looking to snap a three-game losing streak one week after a 13-point loss at last-place Clemson. The Hokies, whose big claim to fame this season was a home-court shocker over UNC, have never beaten N.C. State in women’s basketball.
Both head coaches - the Wolfpack’s first-year mentor Kellie Harper and the Hokies’ Beth Dunkenberger - are former head coaches at Western Carolina.
Regional cable TV cameras are in the house. And the Wolfpack eventually responds with a pretty good show in a 70-57 victory. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Amber White, Beth Dunkenberger, Bonae Holston, Clemson, Emili Tasler, Kellie Harper, Lindsay Biggs, Marissa Kastanek, Savannah State, Sharnise Beal, Tia Bell, Utahya Drye, Virginia Tech, Western Carolina
Mike Potter ·
25 Jan 2010, 10:43 PM ·
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REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH Kellie Harper gets her first test of her ability to coach a big home-court upset for N.C. State tonight.
The opponent is archrival UNC, Sylvia Hatchell’s Tar Heels being the preseason favorites in the ACC and currently ranked No. 14 nationally. And the regional TV cameras are in the house.
Truth be told, the Wolfpack has performed a little better than expected so far while the Tar Heels have hit a couple of unexpected bumps.
UNC has won 17 of the last 19 meetings, although the Wolfpack has more wins against the Tar Heels than anybody and is looking for its 50th victory in the series.
One of the most interesting games in the ACC last season was UNC’s 75-66 win over the Wolfpack in the Smith Center for Hatchell’s 800th victory. The Tar Heels came back stronger in the second meeting, rolling to a 74-57 win. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Bonae Holston, Brittany Strachan, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Florida State, Italee Lucas, Ivory Latta, Kay Yow, Kellie Harper, Laura Broomfield, Nikitta Gartrell, Old Dominion, Sylvia Hatchell, Tia Bell, Tracy Reid, Virginia Cavaliers
Mike Potter ·
10 Jan 2010, 5:15 PM ·
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N.C. State’s four-game winning streak ran into a brick wall at Boston College.
Bonae Holston (pictured) led the Wolfpack with 19 points, but the Eagles got huge games out of three players to coast to an 83-66 win.
Mickel Picco had 21 points, 17 of them in the first half, to lead BC (10-6) to victory in its ACC opener.
Brittanny Johnson added a career-high 19 points for the Eagles, while center Carolyn Swords added 17 points and 16 rebounds.
Nikitta Gartrell added 15 points for State (11-6, 1-1 ACC) while Tia Bell added 15, but no other Wolfpack player scored more than five.
The Eagles dominated the boards by a 44-26 margin.
BC visits Maryland on Thursday night, while the Wolfpack’s next game is Jan. 17 at Florida State.
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Boston College, Brittanny Johnson, Carolyn Swords, Florida State, Maryland Terrapins, Mickel Picco, Nikitta Gartrell, Tia Bell
Mike Potter ·
4 Jan 2010, 11:39 PM ·
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REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH N.C. State plays its final women’s basketball game before the ACC season starts later this week, and the Wolfpack is facing a bigger challenge than might have been apparent when the schedule was released.
Tonight’s opponent is Ivy League member Columbia (8-4), which is having the best season in school history.
The Lions, who haven’t had a winning season since 1986, fell to the Wolfpack 78-58 on Dec. 22, 2008, in New York in the first game then-State coach Kay Yow was unable to coach before her death from breast cancer last Jan. 24. That was Columbia’s first game ever against an ACC opponent.
This season’s Lions are definitely on a roll, and they have a local player in Melissa Shafer, a sophomore guard out of Cardinal Gibbons High.
Kellie Harper’s Wolfpack is looking to pick up its 10th win in its 15 non-conference games to start the season. And State eventually hangs on for a nail-biting 60-58 win.
But it’s pretty obvious from the start the Lions aren’t going to go down without a fight.
State gets on a roll midway through the first half, going up 23-14 on a layup from Tia Bell (pictured) with 8:30 left in the period. But there is no knockout punch, and the Wolfpack is up 33-29 at the break after six lead changes and three ties. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Amber White, Bonae Holston, Columbia, Ivy League, Judie Lomax, Kathleen Berry, Kay Yow, Kellie Harper, Maryland Terrapins, Melissa Shafer, Nikitta Gartrell, Paul Nixon, Sharnise Beal, St. Francis (N.Y.), Tia Bell
Mike Potter ·
19 Dec 2009, 8:34 PM ·
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REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH N.C. State plays its final home game before its Christmas break, and the Wolfpack is in need of a win to keep its momentum headed in the right direction.
It’s a “guarantee” game against Big South member Winthrop, and the Wolfpack (6-4) - which hasn’t lost to anybody by more than six points - will be favored.
State has one brand-new player in freshman post Kelsie Lliteras, who took care of some academic concerns in the first semester at Durham Tech and is now ready to go. She’s from Nebraska like freshman guard Marissa Kastanek, and they have played on an AAU team together.
The place is officially in the “holiday spirit,” as the team will pose for group pictures with young fans after the game and there’s a toy collection for underprivileged kids at the door. And all’s well that ends well for the Wolfpack in a 66-53 victory.
The Wolfpack is a little too generous for Harper’s liking in the first half. State leads 30-28 at the break after trailing by as many as seven points in the opening period.
Winthrop actually leads in the second half - at 31-30 on a Jessica Fansler 3-pointer with 19:25 to go.
But the Wolfpack responds with a 9-0 run, including four points from Nikitta Gartrell and four from Brittany Strachan, to get some breathing room.
The lead is comfortable the rest of the way, but it never turns into a blowout. State’s biggest advantage is at 64-49 on a Tia Bell free throw with 1:17 left.
Lliteras gets in late and hits her only shot, a short jumper with 20 seconds left that completes the scoring for the game.
Bonae Holston (pictured) dominates in stretches and finishes with 17 points for the Wolfpack, while Strachan adds 10. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Bonae Holston, Brittany Strachan, Campbell, Georgetown, Kellie Harper, Kelsie Lliteras, Marissa Kastanek, Nikitta Gartrell, Shanice Cole, Tia Bell, Winthrop
Mike Potter ·
27 Nov 2009, 10:02 PM ·
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N.C. State will play in the championship game of Vanderbilt’s tournament, and Duke finished a sweep of its two games in Cancun.
But a slow start sealed N.C. Central’s fate at George Mason in the other women’s basketball game involving the Triangle’s Division I schools on Friday.
Duke’s Jasmine Thomas (pictured) had the best game of the night, producing her first career triple-double in the Blue Devils’ 74-43 win over Marquette.
Freshman Marissa Kastanek led all scorers with 16 points, while Lucy Ellison added career highs of 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Wolfpack got past Northwestern State 76-67 in the first round of the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament at Memorial Gym. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. Central, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Allison Vernerey, Amber Easter, Angelee LaTouche, Austin Peay, Bridgette Mitchell, Brittany Poindexter, Brooke Shepherd, George Mason, Jasmine Thomas, Joanna Miller, Joy Cheek, Kellie Harper, Krystal Thomas, Lauren Thomas-Johnson, Lucy Ellison, Marissa Kastanek, Marquette, Nikitta Gartrell, Northwestern State, Ohio State, Shanise Blanks, South Carolina State, Tennessee Lady Vols, Tia Bell, Vanderbilt
Mike Potter ·
23 Nov 2009, 11:57 PM ·
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Kellie Harper (pictured) got her first big win as women’s basketball coach at N.C. State Monday night.
Tia Bell and Marissa Kastanek scored 12 points each to lead the Wolfpack to a 62-52 road win over Colonial Athletic Association power Old Dominion at the Constant Center.
The Wolfpack (4-1) won its third straight game while the Monarchs, who shot just 34.6 percent, fell to 0-3.
State, which led 32-25 at the half, sealed the result by making its final eight free-throw attempts after a 1-for-7 start at the line in its first road game of the season.
Shadasia Green led ODU with 13 points.
Bonae Holston, who is from nearby Newport News, had eight points and eight rebounds for State.
The Wolfpack’s next game is against Northwestern State on Friday at 4 in the opening round of Vanderbilt’s tournament.
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Bonae Holston, Kellie Harper, Marissa Kastanek, Northwestern State, Old Dominion, Shadasia Green, Tia Bell, Vanderbilt
Mike Potter ·
20 Nov 2009, 11:01 PM ·
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N.C. State coach Kellie Harper, with husband and assistant coach Jon Harper and Marissa Kastanek, #23, in the background, directs traffic during her 100th win on Friday night against Davidson. (Photo by Jeremy Lange).
REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH Kellie Harper is quickly into her fourth home game in her short tenure as head coach at N.C. State, and tonight she has an opportunity to reach an early milestone.
The 32-year-old former Western Carolina coach, who comes into the game with a 2-1 record this season, can get her 100th career victory. Not in the realm of the 1,000-plus wins her mentor Pat Summitt has at Tennessee, but how many people have started careers as college or even high school coaches and never gotten to triple figures?
Tonight she’ll be facing an old foe, at least for her. Harper was 6-5 in her tenure at WCU against Southern Conference rival Davidson, which oddly hasn’t played the Wolfpack since 1976. The Wildcats, under former Wolfpack assistant Annette Watts, are 0-2.
And it’s a mismatch from the start, en route to a 79-54 Wolfpack victory.
The Wolfpack leads 3-0, then 10-2, then 41-15 at halftime.
Everything the home team does seems to work pretty well, as State outrebounds the Wildcats 30-11 at the break and shoots 47.1 percent to Davidson’s 24.1. Bonae Holston and Tia Bell are already in double figures at the break. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Alex Thompson, Annette Watts, Ashley Lax, Bonae Holston, Brittany Strachan, Davidson, Jon Harper, Marissa Kastanek, Old Dominion, Southern Conference, Tennessee Lady Vols, Tia Bell, Western Carolina, William & Mary
Rob Rowe ·
18 Nov 2009, 11:51 PM ·
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NC State head coach Kellie Harper smiles after her first victory as a member of the Wolfpack. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
REYNOLD’S COLISEUM/RALEIGH — Kellie Harper began her first season by going 1-1 in the Wolfpack Invitational Tournament. State won its first game against Florida International University 87-71 but lost in the championship game against Vermont University 52-47. Here is Mike Potter’s article on the Wolfpack’s first victory or first loss; for the story in photos, follow the page break.
Continue reading »
ACC, N.C. State, Story in photos, Women's Basketball Amber White, Bonae Holston, Cindy Russo, Courtney Pilypatis, Kellie Harper, Lucy Ellison, Marissa Kastanek, Marquita Adley, May Kotsopoulos, Mrs. Wuf, N.C. State, Tia Bell
