The Independent Weekly’s commentary on local sports
N.C. Central had a long, tough night on the road on Tuesday, falling behind by 24 points at halftime and eventually losing a 57-39 decision at Winthrop.
Both teams are nicknamed the “Eagles.”
Chanel White led Winthrop (9-14) with 13 points, followed by Kaitlyn Rubino and Jessica Fansler with 10 points each.
Shanise Blanks (pictured) led NCCU (7-15), which played without leading scorer Joanna Miller, with 11 points.
NCCU’s next game is Feb. 16 at Presbyterian.
N.C. Central goes looking for a road win tonight in women’s basketball, and although Joli Robinson’s club is almost always an underdog on the road it shouldn’t be a prohibitive one this time.
NCCU (7-14) will take on Big South Conference member Winthrop (8-14) in the schools’ first meeting in women’s basketball. Both teams are nicknamed “Eagles.”
The 7 p.m. contest will be at the Winthrop Coliseum, which hosted several ACC women’s basketball tournaments in the 1990s.
Joanna Miller (pictured) is NCCU’s leading scorer, while Shanice Cole leads Winthrop in scoring, rebounding and assists. Continue reading »
It was a very bad night for Division I women’s basketball in the Triangle.
Three teams played and three lost on the road, including Duke which fell for the first time in ACC play.
Duke dropped a 61-57 decision at resurgent Boston College, while UNC fell 80-69 at Miami and N.C. Central bowed 64-44 at Liberty.
Jasmine Thomas (pictured) scored 19 points, but she was the only player in double figures for No. 6 Duke (18-4, 6-1 ACC), which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Carolyn Swords had 14 points and Mickel Picco 12 for BC (13-10, 4-4), which shot 95.2 percent from the free-throw line. Continue reading »
Duke hopes to stay perfect in ACC play.
UNC wants to come back from a painful loss.
And N.C. Central is looking for a big upset.
That’s the situation tonight as three of the Triangle’s four Division I women’s basketball teams all hit the road tonight.
NCCU will go first at 5 p.m., traveling to Big South power Liberty in the opener of a doubleheader in which the Flames’ men’s team will take on Winthrop at 8.
Then the Blue Devils and Tar Heels go at the same 7 p.m. time, each of them taking on a coach who is a product of the arch-rival school.
No. 6 Duke will be visiting Boston College, coached by UNC alumna Sylvia Crawley who was the center for the Tar Heels’ 1994 NCAA Champions. The Blue Devils are the only team in the ACC with an unblemished conference record, and have the ACC’s only remaining candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in forward Joy Cheek (pictured).
The Tar Heels, ranked No. 9, are looking to rebound from a home-court loss to Florida State on Monday night. They’ll visit Miami, coached by former Duke star Katie Meier. Continue reading »
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 »
N.C. State will be favored in its final home game before Christmas this afternoon, while N.C. Central faces a big challenge on the road.
Kellie Harper’s Wolfpack (6-4) will host Winthrop at 5 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum, while Joli Robinson’s Eagles will look for their first win of the season against South Florida in the USF Shootout.
Freshman Marissa Kastanek (pictured) and Bonae Holston are the Wolfpack’s leading scorers.
South Florida won the WNIT last season. The Eagles will play the home team in the opener of the tournament at 4 p.m., followed by the other first-round game between East Carolina (8-1) and Houston Baptist (2-9) in which the Pirates will be heavy favorites. The final round of the tournament is on Sunday. Continue reading »
Tar Heel Tierra Ruffin-Pratt steals the ball from FMU in UNC's 105-64 exhibition victory. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
SMITH CENTER/CHAPEL HILL Sylvia Hatchell unveils her UNC women’s basketball team before the public for the first time, and as exhibition games go it may not be as much of a cakewalk as most.
The Tar Heels are ranked No. 5 in both major preseason polls and favored to win the ACC after going 28-7 last season. Tonight’s opponent is Division II Francis Marion, which went 27-5 last season. Francis Marion is where Hatchell coached for the first third of her career before taking the UNC job.
UNC will be without All-America candidate Jessica Breland, who has been suffering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma and may have to redshirt this season.
It’s the first of nine scheduled appearances at the Smith Center, where the Tar Heels will play before moving to their permanent home in the renovated Carmichael Auditorium after Christmas. The Patriots play hard but it isn’t close, as UNC rolls 105-64. There will be others like this this season at the Smith Center once the games start to count, too.
Hatchell starts a backcourt of Cetera DeGraffenreid and She’la White, leaving Italee Lucas - on the bench at tipoff. It turns out Lucas is being chastised for missing a class.
Laura Broomfield is at power forward while preseason ACC rookie of the year Tierra Ruffin-Pratt is at the small forward spot and Chay Shegog at center as expected.
UNC’s five freshmen combine for a total of 63 minutes on the floor. Continue reading »
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