Foul Trouble Decides Lady Wolfpack’s ACC Semifinal Game

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Down late in the game, N.C. State Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore pleaded his team to do the one thing that cost them the game against the Louisville Cardinals: foul.

Wolfpack graduate senior guard Kiara Leslie, senior forward DD Rogers and freshman center Elissa Cunane got into foul trouble in the first. Rogers picked up her second foul late in the first quarter, and sat out the rest of that quarter as well as the second.

“It was really frustrating,” said Rogers. “I feel like I’m hurting my team if I come out that early in the game. But you know, just try and stay positive.”

Leslie sat out the last 4:36 of the second quarter. Once Cunane went to the bench with her second foul late in the second; her, Leslie, and Rogers were all on the bench.

The Cardinals recognized the Wolfpack’s lack of depth, and took the action right to their front door. During the last 5:14 of the second quarter, the Cardinals went on a 22-2 run to head into the locker room with a 44-34 lead.

“You just want to make reads,” the Cardinals back-to-back ACC Player of the Year Asia Durr said. “If a player has two fouls or one foul, picked up a quick first foul, you want to go at her, because she’s probably not going to try to foul; and you have to make that read. That’s what Coach Walz was trying to tell us; if we have the ball on the wing: just take it.”

Moore second-guessed putting Cunane, Leslie and Rogers in with two fouls during the Cardinals’ run, but he never called their number.

“That’s normally what I do,” said Moore. “If you pick up two, then we’re going to try to live to play another day. But again, today, against a really good team like Louisville, probably should have maybe considered gambling a little bit there. But if you’ve got three at halftime, you pick up a quick one in the second half – you’re shut down for a long, long, time.”

The Wolfpack fought hard in the third quarter to retake the lead with 2:36 left, and end the quarter down 59-57. However, they didn’t have enough left in the tank to knock off the third-ranked team in the country and lost 78-68.

After the final horn, the foul count actually favored the Wolfpack 18-14.

“I wouldn’t put the blame of the loss on (Moore),” said Rogers. “Other people could’ve obviously stepped up in that time. He wanted to save us for the full time, and the game, and that’s what he did; and it’s his call. I don’t think he should second-guess himself.”

The Wolfpack (26-5, 12-4 ACC) await Selection Monday on the 18th to find out their first opponent in the NCAA Tournament.