RALEIGH--Kay Yow was honored in several ceremonies this weekend for her 20 years as N.C. State's head women's basketball coach.
And the current Wolfpack players did their part in adding to the festivities on Sunday, defeating No. 14 Duke 71-55 in front of 3,010 fans in Reynolds Coliseum.
"In this game, losing wasn't even an option," Wolfpack sophomore point guard Jennifer Howard said.
N.C. State took advantage of the Blue Devils' lackadaisical play early in the game.
Duke committed 15 first-half turnovers, and the Wolfpack jumped out to a 23-10 lead. State finished the half with an 11-1 run which gave it a 39-20 advantage at intermission.
"The first half was probably our finest half of the season," Yow said. "We played with intensity and focus out there. I feel like they were playing with pride and tradition which N.C. State basketball has been privileged to have."
Although the Wolfpack was motivated by the attention which its coach received--which included both pregame and halftime ceremonies involving former State players--its strong first-half performance came largely as a result of many early Duke mistakes.
"We weren't focused coming out," said Duke senior forward Carey Kauffman, who paced the team with 12 points. "We were letting them dictate our offense. We were playing tentatively, and we weren't playing our normal game. We weren't being as aggressive as we needed to be."
In particular, Duke's defense was ineffective in containing State's drives to the basket and its perimeter shooting. Senior guard Tammy Gibson scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half, and freshman center Chasity Melvin chipped in half of her 16 points before intermission.
"We weren't playing any defense at all in the first half," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "[Gibson] didn't even have to work for her shots."
To address this problem, Goestenkors substituted players more frequently than she normally does. And the reserves came through on defense.
"I wanted to find somebody who would play some defense," Goestenkors said. "I was going to keep going through the team until I either ran out of players or found someone who was willing to step up. Windsor [Coggeshall] came in and did a great job for us. And Shaeeta Brown came in and did a great job for us.
"After the Clemson game, I let the team know that if they didn't start stepping up on the defensive end, I was going to start subbing more. I thought they were becoming a little complacent. They had a feeling that they were going to play no matter what."
Coggeshall gave the Blue Devils an offensive lift in the first half. The sophomore scored seven points--to lead Duke in the half--including five straight points after State took a 28-14 lead.
But, despite their uninspired first-half play, the Blue Devils didn't give up at halftime. Instead, they became more aggressive at the start of the second half. Duke applied full court defensive pressure which caused several Wolfpack turnovers.
"I was very proud of the way the team came out at the beginning of the second half," Goestenkors said. "We had a lot of opportunities, but the opportunities slipped through our fingers."
The Blue Devils had just seven assists on the game, and they committed 25 turnovers. Duke's poor ball-handling opened the door for the Wolfpack, especially in the first half.
"In the first half, we had a lot of turnovers, and we were not really giving ourselves good chances to look at the basket," said junior center Alison Day, who finished with 12 points. "It's disappointing because we talked about working more as a team and getting the ball to a teammate if you're double-teamed. And we went out there, and it was like we never even practiced it."
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