Pack hangs on for win over Clemson

GREENSBORO -- There were no double-digit deficits to overcome on Thursday night as the N.C. State women’s basketball team seized an early lead over Clemson and held on in the second half for a 59-54 victory at Greensboro Coliseum.

In three games during the regular season, State rallied for improbable victories - down by as many as 11 points - but there were no need for heroics as the sixth-seeded Pack advanced to the quarterfinal round Friday where it faces third-seeded Virginia.

State needed gritty, cut-the-lane-off defense.

The Pack (18-12) did just enough to hold off the Tigers (13-18), inching to victory with a slow, steady trickle of offense created by a pesky late-game defense - a hand in the face, a strip of the ball, a box out on the block.

That’s what earned first-year Kellie Harper her first ACC Tournament victory. It’s been a hard lesson learned by a team that has lost six games by six or less points this season - a combined 23 points.

With Thursday’s score tied at 47-47 with five minutes remaining, State sophomore forward Bonae Holston secured a rebound and followed that with a layup. Back down court,she boxed out again and snagged a rebound that set-up a 3-pointer from the right corner by freshman Marissa Kastanek.

That gave the Pack a 54-47 lead and it was able to pull out an sweat-soaked victory.

Holston, the team’s leading scorer, finished with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Kastanek, the conference’s freshman of the year, added 12 points.

State has now won six of its past eight games, a late-season trend the Pack has developed over the past five years in the months of February and March. Last season, the Pack started the ACC schedule 0-4, but finished 6-4 and advanced in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

In 2007, the team won eight of nine entering the post-season. It was during that season that the Pack made its last run into the ACC Tournament finals, knocking off an undefeated Duke in the semifinals before falling to North Carolina in the championship game.

If State is to keep advancing in this tournament, it must continue to create offense with its defense. The Pack is forcing 23.1 turnovers per game in conference play this season, which ranks third in the league.

On Thursday, they forced 19 turnovers and held the Tigers to 35 percent from the field (21-for-60).

State owns a 10-5 record over Clemson in the ACC Tournament, securing its last post-season victory over the Tigers in 2008. The teams have met in every even year since 2002.