CHICAGO — With 15:11 left in the second half, N.C. State appeared to have Tulsa on its heels when sophomore Khadija Whittington rolled in a layup to close the Golden Hurricane’s double-digit lead to 35-44.

And then Tulsa senior Megan Moody sank another three pointer.

The Wolfpack never came closer to dodging the Hurricane, as the No. 5 seed lost 71-61 Saturday at All-State Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to the No. 12 seed Tulsa.

“I don’t know if it was the NCAAs or what, but the team’s mindset just wasn’t right,” coach Kay Yow said. “And I’ll take responsibility for that.”

Tulsa pulled out to an early 7-0 lead, which Yow addressed during the game’s first timeout at the 15:29 mark.

“We just got off to such a bad start,” Yow said. “Marquetta Dickens had three fouls and four turnovers in six minutes. [Whittington] never got on track and those two players have played some incredible games for us this year.”

Moody led Tulsa with 20 points on 35 minutes. Junior guard Ashley Key spent much of her own 35 minutes on the court guarding Moody.

“She was a very good and skilled player,” Key said. “She knows how to read screens and come off the ball. She was just hitting all of her shots out there.”

The game was the last for five seniors, Tiffany McCollins, Billie McDowell, Monica Pope, Tiffany Stansbury and Rachel Stockdale. But Yow said she was disappointed in her team’s final showing of the season.

“It’s tough to believe we played the second toughest schedule in the country this year,” she said. “Then we come to the NCAA and have such a bad showing.”

For Key, who led the team in minutes in the game, the loss will be a springboard into the 2007 season.

“We’re going to have to have a different mindset from the jump, starting with off-season workouts,” she said. “We’ll have to work hard and bring in the freshmen, and I know I’ll be working with some people over the summer, and I’m sure some of my teammates will be as well.”

The game marked the end of a career for McDowell, however.

“It didn’t end the way I wanted it to end, but I feel truly blessed to have been a part of the Wolfpack,” McDowell said. “I have no regrets. I would do it all again.”