Wolfpack Take Down Tigers At Home

RALEIGH, NC – The fourth-ranked Wolfpack (13-2, 8-2 ACC) took advantage of a dominant first quarter and did not look back on its way to beating the visiting Clemson Tigers (10-8, 5-8 ACC) by an 86-65 score Thursday afternoon inside Reynolds Coliseum.

With the victory, NC State remained a perfect 9-0 at home in 2020-21 and extended its winning streak over the Tigers to 12 games. All 13 members of the Wolfpack squad clocked minutes on Thursday, with four players scoring 10+ points to lead the team to victory.

Kayla Jones put together another well-balanced outing, leading the way with 21 points on 8-of-10 (.800) shooting. The senior forward knocked down three triples, and she also dished out a career-high tying seven assists with zero turnovers. She posted 11 of those 21 points in the first quarter alone.

Jakia Brown-Turner added 13 points, with Camille Hobby (12 points) and Elissa Cunane (11 points) following closely behind.

The Pack continued to show off its ball movement with assists on 21 of its 35 made baskets. There were only two combined turnovers between NC State’s leading play facilitators – Jones (7 assists), Raina Perez (7 assists) and Kai Crutchfield (4 assists).

As a team, NC State shot 51.5 percent (35-of-68) and managed to shoot 50+ percent in three of four quarters. The Pack also took care of the conference’s best offensive rebounding team with an even margin (10 offensive rebounds apiece) in that category.

Delicia Washington scored 24 points for Clemson, with Amari Robinson (11 points) joining her in double figures. NC State limited Tiger senior Kendall Spray, who entered the game second in the league in three pointers per game (3.1) to just 1-of-6 from long range.

The Wolfpack never trailed after scoring the game’s first bucket 37 seconds in. NC State held Clemson scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the game, with the Tigers shooting 0-of-6 and turning the ball over twice in that span of time. In the meantime, the Pack tallied 12 points of its own before giving up a score.

NC State led by 19 points (28-9) after a first quarter during which it held the Tigers to 4-of-15 (.267) from the floor and 0-of-6 from distance. The Pack knocked down 11 shots in that same frame to build up the double-digit lead that it would not relinquish.

Clemson came as close as 13 points on two occasions in the second quarter, but Crutchfield ended the half with back-to-back three pointers to send NC State to the break with the 17-point advantage. After a 7-0 run in the middle of the third quarter, the Wolfpack extended its lead to 25 points and led by 20+ for almost the entirety of the rest of the outing.

NC State will be back in action on Monday, Feb. 15 as it hosts Notre Dame for its annual Play4Kay Game. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. from Kay Yow Court, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.