Feb. 17, 2009

Gartrell Buries Late Game Shots For OT Victory
The longer the game went on, the better Nikitta Gartrell became as she sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer and came back with another, this time the game winner, with 6.3 seconds left in the extra session for a miraculous 65-63 victory over Wake Forest Tuesday from Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

Looking for its first three-game winning streak since late December, NC State (12-14, 4-7 ACC) scrapped and clawed all night long and some how came out on top. Gartrell led all scorers with a career-high 22 points.

Shayla Fields added 15 points and Sharnise Beal tossed in 14. Tia Bell had six more blocks today after tying a school record with eight during Sunday’s win over Virginia.

What the game lacked in flow was more than made up in effort as both teams dug deep after playing its third game in the last five days. And throw in the fact that the same two teams squared of less than a week ago in Raleigh, a 59-51 Pack victory, each team was very familiar with what the other team was trying to do on both ends of the playing surface.

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