Congratulations to NC State’s Women’s Basketball team and Head Coach Kellie Harper! The Wolfpack Women crushed North Carolina yesterday by an 88-72 margin.
Amber White scored 23 points to help North Carolina State beat No. 13 North Carolina 88-72 on Monday night.
Bonae Holston added 13 points and 16 rebounds as the Wolfpack (12-15, 3-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) finally broke through for a big victory after a series of crushing home losses this season. It was N.C. State’s second straight win overall — and the second straight year the Wolfpack split the season series with its nearby rival after losing 19 of the previous 22 meetings.
It was a strong bounceback performance for White and Brittany Strachan, who combined to shoot 2 for 23 in last month’s 83-76 loss in Chapel Hill. White went 7 for 13 and had six assists, while Strachan had 13 points and hit three 3-pointers.
She’la White scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Tar Heels (22-5, 8-4), who have lost two straight.
N.C. State had experienced more than its share of heartache at Reynolds Coliseum this year. First came a two-point loss to Clemson in January in which Holston missed a shot for the lead with about 10 seconds left and Marissa Kastanek missed the front end of a one-and-one with a chance to tie.
About two weeks later, N.C. State blew a 20-point second-half lead on then-unbeaten Duke and missed two shots for the win on a frantic final play in a 65-64 loss. And earlier this month, the Wolfpack lost to Virginia in four overtimes on a last-second shot.
Perhaps all those troubles will make this win even sweeter for second-year coach Kellie Harper.
I know the women have struggled this year…but, it hasn’t changed my opinion of Kellie Harper in any way.
As the above quote explains, the women have experienced an inordinate amount of heartbreak this year. Sometimes, years like those happen; and, you like for that to happen in seasons where not much was originally expected. Go ahead and get the bad karma and pain out of the way.
I’ve often noticed that the second year of many transformational coaching changes are much rougher than the first year. Ever hear of the sophomore slump?
Think back to Dick Sheridan’s only losing and bowl-less season – his second year in 1987. There is just something about many transitions that lose a bulk of experienced players from the coaches first year; but the second year is way too early to have re-built a program.
Make no mistakes, Coach Harper is re-building a program and doing a great job at it.
