By MIKE POTTER : The Herald-Sun
mpotter@heraldsun.com
Mar 2, 2005 : 12:49 am ET

RALEIGH -- Cassie King may have had one of the greatest performances in the history of women's basketball Tuesday afternoon, but it just wouldn't have meant as much if her team hadn't won.

She and her hustling N.C. Central teammates got that done as well, but just barely.

King scored 59 points, breaking the N.C. Central and CIAA Tournament single-game women's records, to lead the Eagles to an 84-79 overtime victory over an almost equally determined Bowie State team in a quarterfinal game at the RBC Center.

The performance came on a day when King, a 6-foot sophomore from Wendell, surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career and set NCCU's single-season scoring record, as well.

The result advanced the Eagles (16-12) to Friday's 3 p.m. semifinal against reigning champion Shaw (27-1).

"I was nervous like in every game, but when the ball pops up, it's gone," said King, who scored 12 of the Eagles' 13 points in overtime and all but seven of their points after halftime. "I just want to win -- rebound and point totals don't mean anything to me."

King also had 13 rebounds, recording her 14th double-double of the season and the 22nd of her career. She played all 45 minutes without a foul or a turnover, shooting 21-of-38 from the floor and 17-of-18 from the free-throw line with two blocked shots. All of her field-goal attempts were from inside the 3-point arc.

King was the only NCCU player in double figures, as Shanté Collins was next on the scoring chart with seven points and six rebounds before fouling out.

"Really what we wanted to do going into the tournament was to understand that this was just another basketball game," NCCU coach Joli Robinson said. "We had to go out and execute our game plan offensively and defensively.

"I had given the team a quote I found before the game: 'When you rule your mind, you rule the world. When you choose your thoughts, you choose your destiny.' "

Fortunately for the Eagles, they chose to get the ball to King -- a lot.

CIAA player of the year Allyson Hardy, who had tied the previous tournament scoring record with a 50-point effort against St. Augustine's last season, led the Bulldogs with 27 points, six rebounds and seven steals before fouling out in OT.

Chanel Turner added 11 points, while Allyson Swailes had 10 points with 10 rebounds and Rachill Robinson 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs (16-12).

"I thought it was a hard-fought game," BSU coach Russell Davis said. "I don't think either team really got into a flow. We got a lead in the second half but just couldn't get that extra basket to seize it."

NCCU outshot the Bulldogs, who had won both previous tournament meetings between the schools, 42.6 percent to 38.0 and forced 35 turnovers to 29 of their own in the physical battle. Bowie won the rebound battle 50-46.

NCCU, which had a bye in Monday's first round after finishing second in the Western Division, lost its regular-season meeting with the Bulldogs 74-57 on Jan. 10 at Jordan Arena. That game dropped the Eagles to 4-9 on the season, but they have been a different team since.

King got her 1000th and 1001st points on an inside move 55 seconds into the game. She was recognized during the first stoppage of play and awarded the game ball.

But no one could know what would follow.

The Eagles led 40-34 at halftime after threatening to break the game open early. King had 22 points at the break for NCCU.

There were three lead changes and three ties before NCCU put together a 14-0 run including seven points from King, who made it 27-15 on a move in the lane with 9:12 left in the half.

NCCU led 40-28 on King's layup with 1:23 left in the period before Bowie scored the final six points of the half, the last two on Clarice Kent's layup with 1.7 seconds left.

Bowie wasted little time closing the gap, tying the score at 40 on a Hardy layup with 17:06 to go. The lead changed twice more before Bowie took a 49-46 advantage on Turner's 3-pointer at 12:59.

The Bulldogs stretched the lead to eight three times, the last at 69-61 on Hardy's layup with 4:30 left, before the Eagles made their final push of regulation.

With the Bulldogs ahead 71-69, King blocked a Swailes shot and then hit the layup at the other end with 41.6 to go to tie the score.

After two changes of possession, the Bulldogs set up for a last shot, but Porschia Holmes came up with a steal in the closing seconds and missed a try from the 3-point line as time expired.

In overtime, it was King vs. Hardy, with the NCCU sophomore giving her team the lead for good at 81-79 with 50.3 left, fewer than five seconds before Natasha Bailey drew Hardy's fifth foul.

After NCCU's Tabitha Hodge made the first of two free throws with 34.9 remaining, Karla Gamble stole the ball and got it to King, who hit her last two free throws with 22.1 left to complete the scoring.

"It's hard right now," Hardy said. "But I had a great four years here. I'm just disappointed I didn't get a ring."