Clemson's Nikki Dixon drives to the basket in the Lady Tigers' come-from-behind overtime win at Virginia Tech on Friday. Photo by Rex Brown
By Will Vandervort
BLACKSBURG, VA — Virginia Tech did everything it could to stop Clemson freshman Nikki Dixon on Friday night at Cassell Coliseum, even giving her a gash that required the first two stitches of her career to her forehead. But even that did not slow down the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week.
Clemson's Lindsey Mason (31) and Kelly Gramlich (5) try to block the shot of Georgia Tech's Tyaunna Marshall in Sunday's loss at Littlejohn Coliseum. Photo by Rex Brown
By William Qualkinbush
CLEMSON — Patience is a virtue.
The cliché is used to indicate the importance of a person allowing things to go wrong around him or her without letting an emotional reaction take place. If patience is indeed a virtue, it is one that Clemson women’s basketball coach Itoro Coleman has mastered all too well this season.
Clemson's Nikki Dixon launches one of her three three-pointers in Sunday's loss to Georgia Tech. Dixon led Clemson with 18 points. Photo by Rex Brown
By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON — When Chancie Dunn let a three-pointer from the top of the key go with 2:38 to play Sunday afternoon, it appeared Clemson’s Lady Tigers were on their way to pulling off their second victory over a top-25 team in as many weeks.
However, Dunn’s attempt rimmed in and out, and Georgia Tech’s Tyaunna Marshall secured the rebound. Twenty-one seconds later, Tech’s Sasha Goodlett made a layup and following a steal, Marshall hit a 15-foot jump shot to end Clemson’s upset bid as the Yellow Jackets pulled away for a 63-54 victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Clemson women’s basketball team has not struggled on the defensive end of the floor this season. In fact, Head Coach Itoro Coleman has applauded her team’s effort on several occasions.
But the team has yet to establish a hierarchy of scoring, often getting major contributions from one or two players but relatively unable to get consistent production from a variety of sources.
Clemson's Nikki Dixon scored 17 points in the Lady Tigers' loss to NC State last Thursday night. Photo by Rex Brown
By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON — There were moments in Clemson’s game against NC State on Thursday night that showed why the Lady Tigers were able to take down a nationally ranked North Carolina team on the road last week, and there were moments that explained why they lost 62-46 at home to an unranked NC State team.
Clemson point guard Chelsea Lindsay scored eight points and was 6-6 from the foul line in the Lady Tigers 52-47 victory over North Carolina last Thursday night in Chapel Hill, NC. Photo by Rex Brown
Lady Tigers knock off No. 21 North Carolina
By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON — Before her team went out and played No. 21 North Carolina last Thursday night, Clemson Head Coach Itoro Coleman told her Lady Tigers to go out and have fun and focus on getting better.
Though winning the game was her goal, the second-year head coach got so caught up in coaching her team up, she too blocked out the score.
Clemson's Quinyotta Pettaway scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the Lady Tigers 52-47 win at No. 21 North Carolina last Thursday in Chapel Hill, NC. Photo by Rex Brown
By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON — It may not have been a come-to-Jesus type meeting, but it was pretty close. Following a couple of disappointing defeats earlier this season, the Clemson women’s basketball team decided enough was enough.
“We had a meeting as a team and as coaches. We laid it all out there,” forward Quinyotta Pettaway said. “We got our emotions out. Even though this team is young, we can’t use that as an excuse. It is time to buckle down and play with heart.”
Road trips to ACC country can force young teams to grow up in a hurry. They can also expose the weaknesses of those teams in punishing fashion.
Fortunately for the Clemson women’s basketball team, Thursday night’s trip to Chapel Hill, NC was a case of the former effect, as the Lady Tigers snapped a 53-game losing streak to ranked opponents with a 52-47 victory over North Carolina.
