Lady Wolfpack whips Miami

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Posted 6:10AM on Friday, January 21, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. - Billie McDowell had 23 points and reserve Monica Pope keyed a second-half rally with her first four points, helping North Carolina State beat Miami 73-59 Thursday night in coach Kay Yow's return from a two-game absence. Yow sat out those to start a new dietary program after a recurrence of breast cancer. First diagnosed with the disease in 1987, she found out in November that it had returned, and her change in eating habits is the only treatment Yow's had since having the tumor removed last month. Her players wore pink laces in their right shoes pink is the symbol for breast cancer awareness for the third straight game, and Yow received a rousing ovation when she was introduced before the matchup with the Hurricanes (8-9, 0-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). McDowell and Pope made sure Yow returned as a winner. Miami took a 42-34 lead early in the second half, and McDowell started the comeback for the Wolfpack (14-4, 3-2) with a pair of free throws and a difficult jumper in traffic. Later, she scored four consecutive points to cut the deficit to one. Khadija Whittington gave N.C. State the lead with two free throws before Imani Dhahabu tied it by making 1-of-2 at the line. Pope, in the game only because starting point guard Kendra Bell left with a knee injury, drove for a short jumper after a nice screen by Tiffany Stansbury to put the Wolfpack ahead for good, then she followed up with two free throws. Rachel Stockdale swished a 3-pointer to force a time-out by the Hurricanes, and McDowell completed the 9-0 run with two free throws. Those made it 56-47, and Miami managed to get within six points only once after that. In the final minute, McDowell helped thwart a rally by following up her own miss and then converting two free throws for an 11-point margin. For the game, N.C. State shot 23-of-29 at the line; the Hurricanes were only 6-for-11. Whittington finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack. Miami's Tamara James, the leading scorer in the ACC at 23.7 points a game coming in, had 11 on 4-of-17 shooting. Albrey Grimsley led the Hurricanes with 15 points.