With four minutes left in the game and a five-point lead, the Richmond Spiders looked like a team that was poised to end N.C. State’s season, and with that the collegiate career of senior guard Marissa Kastanek. But, the Wolfpack was able to pull itself back into the contest and fight to see another game in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. State pulled out the victory, 60-55, advancing to the second round of the WNIT.
“Down the stretch, when we had to make a play, we made a play, on defense and on offense and on the glass,” Wolfpack head coach Kellie Harper said. “We made our free throws down the stretch, so [I’m] really, really proud of our kids for finding a way to finish the game.”
Junior center Markeshia Gatling led the Pack in scoring with 14 points. Junior forward Kody Burke followed that total with 12. Both tied for the team lead in rebounds with nine.
Richmond guard Becca Wann carried the Spiders in 36 minutes of play off the bench. After scoring six points in the first period she exploded in the second half and finished the game with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals.
Both sides struggled offensively out of the gate. State found itself with five turnovers in the first six minutes of action and Richmond couldn’t get a shot off until the wining seconds of the shot clock. The Spiders caught fire early from the three-point line, but State responded by attacking the rim.
Later in the period, junior guard Myisha-Goodwin Coleman caught fire from beyond the three-point line. She hit two threes and gave State a four-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
The Pack went into the locker room with a 28-24 edge against the Spiders at halftime.
Wann was able to carry the Spiders into what seemed to be a sure win, State found its answers in the paint. Burke tied the game at 47 with five minutes left in the contest. Gatling was also able to finish key plays in the paint down the stretch. She hit a layup off an assist from Kastanek to tie the game at 49 with more than two minutes remaining in the game.
“I was pretty intense but I knew I couldn’t force everything. I knew Keisha and Kody needed to get the ball because they were so much bigger and they were on a run for that last part, so that was kind of the key to it.”
Goodwin-Coleman’s two free throws after being fouled on a layup attempt gave the Pack the four-point bump it needed to carry the momentum into a win with more than one minute left.
The Wolfpack was able to hold the Spiders 34.5 percent from the field in the second half. Richmond shot 53 percent in its matchup with the Pack last season.
“You know this team is going to shoot a lot of threes,” Harper said. “That’s what they do. What we wanted to do is keep their best shooters from getting good looks.”
State will play James Madison on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Va.
