NC State End Regular Season, Win At Cuse
SYRACUSE, NY – In a game that had 18 lead changes, the 2nd ranked NC State Wolfpack closed out their regular season Sunday, February 28th with a thrilling 68-61 victory over the Syracuse Orange.
The Wolfpack have been outstanding this season in the ACC, as they lead the conference in defensive rebounds per game (31.9), rebound margin (+8.3), field-goal percentage (47%), three-point field-goal percentage (38%), and field-goal percentage defense. (35.6%) They have four players averaging ten points per game, to help pace the conference-leading shooting percentage team.
Both teams struggled shooting early on as the score was tied at six, five minutes into the first quarter before Syracuse went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-6 lead at the 3:34 mark in the first quarter. The Pack outscored the Orange 12-4 in the final three and a half minutes to hold an 18-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
After the game was tied up at 19 with 8:03 remaining in the first half, the lead went back and forth as Syracuse held a 23-22 lead going into the media timeout. Following the timeout, Elissa Cunane knocked down two free throws to give the Wolfpack back the lead. The rest of the second quarter was back and forth as the Orange held a 31-30 lead at the half.
Through the first 20 minutes of the game, Camille Hobby led the Wolfpack with eight points and three rebounds. Kiara Lewis led all scorers with 15 first-half points to lead the Orange. Syracuse had 7 team blocks in the first half, which was the key to keeping the Wolfpack offense from getting easy baskets inside.
The Wolfpack came out strong to start the second half, as they outscored Syracuse 13-5 in the first five and a half minutes of the third quarter to hold a 43-36 lead at the under-five media timeout. Elissa Cunane scored six early points to spark the hot start for NC State.
Led by a 15-2 run, the Wolfpack held a 51-38 lead at the end of the third quarter. Elissa Cunane scored eight of her 12 points in the third quarter, to lead the Wolfpack through three quarters. Kiara Lewis led all scorers with 18 points for the Orange.
As the Wolfpack held a 12-point lead early on in the fourth quarter, Syracuse went on a 13-0 run to take the 54-53 lead with less than six minutes to play. NC State grabbed the lead back with two Elissa Cunane free-throws with five minutes to play. The next few minutes were back and forth, as the Pack held a two-point lead with under two minutes to play.
As the Wolfpack missed a shot with under a minute to play, Jada Boyd ripped down a huge offensive rebound and put it right back up to give the Pack a four-point lead with 40 seconds to play. The Orange were able to cut the lead down to three with 21 seconds remaining, but the Pack closed out the game by knocking down some late-game free-throws.
NC State was led by Elissa Cunane with 17 points and nine rebounds and Jada Boyd with 16 points and ten rebounds. Raina Perez dished out six assists and did not turn the ball over once to run the offense all game. Syracuse was led by Kiara Lewis with 29 points and Tiana Mangakahia with ten points and five assists.
As a team, the Wolfpack only shot 40% from the field but were able to force 14 Syracuse turnovers.
“This was huge for us today. Syracuse is a good team, both the players and the coaching staff, and this win means a lot for us.,” Elissa Cunane said following the win.
“I couldn’t be prouder of them. Finish the regular season with a big win today,” coach Wes Moore said following the game.
The Wolfpack, (17-2, 12-2 ACC) looks forward to the ACC Tournament from March 3rd through the 7th. NC State is set to be the second seed in the tournament and will have the first two rounds free, before the Quarterfinals on Friday, March 5th.