Women Update Wednesday 11/27
Every Wednesday, Spectacular Magazine aims to bring you an update on women collegiate athletics around the state of North Carolina. Read below to check out what’s going on in women’s sports locally.
Brown-Turner leads Lady Wolfpack on Road Against St. Mary’s
MORAGA, C.A – The 14th-ranked NC State women’s basketball team (5-0) is off to its seventh consecutive 5-0 start to a season after defeating the Saint Mary’s Gaels (2-3) by a final score of 87-70 inside McKeon Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
The Wolfpack did a terrific job of sharing the ball during the victory, as six players scored 10 or more points. Freshman Jakia Brown-Turner led the Wolfpack with 16 points; junior Kayla Jones recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Grace Hunter (13 points), Jada Boyd (13), and Elissa Cunane (10) joined in on the action. As a team, the Wolfpack shot 34-of-62 (.548) and 11-of-22 (.500) from three-point range.
Saint Mary’s entered the game with a +15.3 rebound margin per contest, and the Wolfpack outrebounded the Gaels by a count of 43-23.
Taycee Wedin led all players with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting (6-of-11 from distance). She was joined in double figures by 16 points from both Sam Simons and Emily Codding. As a team, the Gaels shot 16-of-34 (.471) from distance and 24-of-64 (.375) from the field.
The hosts only led once on Sunday afternoon, taking an early 8-7 lead on a three-pointer by Tyra Moe with 6:47 remaining in the first quarter. NC State responded immediately, using an 11-0 run over the next 3:35 to take an 18-8 advantage, a lead that the team would not relinquish for the rest of the game. NC State led by as many as 25 points (73-48) with 7:22 remaining in the game.
NC State continues its current four-game road swing in Hawaii. The Wolfpack will take on Texas (Nov. 29), Hawaii (Nov. 30), and North Texas (Dec. 1).
Gorecki Nets Double-Double, Duke Downs Troy
DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke women’s basketball tandem of graduate Haley Gorecki and sophomore Miela Goodchild combined to score 49 points as the Blue Devils downed Troy, 99-85, Sunday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Gorecki collected her 11th career double-double with 23 points and a season-high 13 rebounds, while Goodchild scored 23 of her 26 points in the second stanza to pace the Blue Devils. Gorecki chipped in five assists, three steals and two blocked shots over 35 minutes. She finished the week with 53 points and 17 rebounds while leading Duke to two victories.
A native of Queensland, Australia, Goodchild matched a career-high with 26 points while hitting 5-of-8 three-pointers. She totaled a Blue Devil record 16 points in the fourth quarter. Goodchild added four rebounds and three assists.
Duke jumped out to a 21-point lead in the first quarter as Troy missed its first nine field-goal attempts and the Blue Devils led, 25-4, with 3:16 remaining in the first. Senior Leaonna Odom collected six early points for Duke. The Trojans got hot hitting their last five attempts to conclude the quarter on an 8-2 run. The Blue Devils held a 31-17 advantage heading into the second period while being paced by Gorecki with nine points and five rebounds.
Duke’s 31 first-quarter points were the second-most by the Blue Devils in school history.
Troy continued cutting into the Duke lead in the second quarter outscoring the Blue Devils, 23-17, and Duke held a 48-40 lead at the break. Blue Devil freshman Azana Baines scored eight of her nine points in the second quarter, while eight different Duke players scored in the first half, led by Gorecki’s nine. The 48 first-half points tied a season-high for the Blue Devils.
In a tightly contested third quarter, the Blue Devil defense clamped down on the Trojans and held Troy to 5-of-19 field goals. Duke increased its lead to 66-56 heading into the final frame.
The final quarter featured a total of 62 points, including a Duke record 33 and a Blue Devil opponent record of 29. Goodchild led all scorers in the fourth period, tallying 16 points for a Blue Devil record.
Senior Leaonna Odom added 16 points for the Blue Devils, while freshman Jada Claude pulled down a career-high eight boards. Troy (3-2) was led by Jasmine Robinson’s 25 points.
Duke finished the contest hitting a season-best 50.8 field goal percentage while outrebounding Troy, 49-41. In the paint, the Blue Devils outscored the Trojans 44-26. Duke won back-to-back contests for the first time this season and improved to 4-2.
Duke will continue its homestand by hosting Davidson Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
NCCU Loses Tough Battle at Home to High Point
DURHAM, NC – Senior forward Paulina Afriyie was one rebound shy of a double-double for host North Carolina Central University, but High Point University swished a dozen 3-pointers to pull away to a 78-58 non-conference victory Sunday afternoon in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Afriyie led the Eagles with 16 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Freshman Anissa Rivera matched her season-high total of 14 points as she sank a trio of 3-pointers. Junior Kieche White reached double-digit scoring for a third straight game with 11 points.
The Panthers led wire-to-wire, using a hot hand early to secure their second win of the season.
Check out a gallery of the game below from reporter Lawrence Davis III.
Charlotte Falls to Fordham for Season’s First Loss
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A 3-point barrage by visiting Fordham was too much for the Charlotte women’s basketball team to overcome, as the 49ers dropped a 76-51 decision to the Rams Sunday afternoon inside Halton Arena.
Charlotte’s offense was led by the starting backcourt duo of redshirt junior Christian Hithe and junior Mariah Linney with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Hithe reached a new career-high by burying 6-of-14 field goals and both of her free-throw attempts, while Linney drained four 3-pointers, her third-straight game of at least three, and also sank both charity tosses for her total.
Redshirt senior Jade Phillips, a member of last week’s NCAA Starting Five, continued to find ways to stuff the stat sheet. She matched Hithe’s team-high six rebounds while adding six points and team-highs of four assists and three steals in 25 minutes.
The 49ers committed just six turnovers, a season-low, and the second time this season the number has been in the single digits. It betters the eight miscues the Niners had at Wake Forest Nov. 15.
It was a close game early, as a pair of Phillips free throws closed Charlotte to within two, 11-9, coming out of the first-quarter media timeout at 4:49. A short time later she picked up two quick fouls, sending her to the bench. Fordham took advantage by outscoring the 49ers 10-3 the remainder of the period and stretching their lead out to an insurmountable advantage.
The Niners were unable to contain the Rams’ strong shooting effort from behind the 3-point arc the entire game. Fordham ended the contest by making 15-of-31 from deep, more than half of its 26 overall made field goals.
The 49ers will leave the U.S. mainland for the Puerto Rico Clasico during Thanksgiving week, traveling to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the tournament. Charlotte will matchup against Boston College at Noon ET Wednesday and Tulane at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday in the event.