Stone’s Shot Stymies Pack
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Seventh-Seed North Carolina State University (20-12 overall and 9-9 ACC) Wolfpack Women’s Basketball team didn’t expect their season to end so soon.
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Then again, for Princeton, the energy from their men’s team had to have rubbed off on them after their upsetting win over Arizona last night.
Thanks to Princeton Senior Guard, Grace Stone’s 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining, the Wolfpack’s season commenced with a 64-63 loss to the 10th-seeded Tigers (24-5 overall, 12-2 Ivy League),in front of 15,000 people at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus. Grace completed the game with 22 points.
Princeton got on board at 7:17 in the First Quarter, when Senior Guard Julia Cunningham (Watchung, NJ) scored the first basket, as the Tigers held a 2-0 lead. Cunningham finished the game with 14 points, 8 assists and a rebound.
After a 6-0 run by Princeton, the Wolfpack finally got on board, thanks to a jumper by Graduate Transfer Forward MiMi Collins. She was fouled and then converted on a free throw for a three-point play, as Princeton held a 6-3 advantage in 6:06 in the First Quarter.
NC State fought back in the Second Quarter as they held a 41-35 advantage during the conclusion of the First Half.
The game was a tight contest. Thanks to the stout Princeton defense, impeding the ability for the Wolfpack to make plays on the offensive side of the ball, NC State went the final 5:43 without scoring a basket.
NC State was led by Collins coming off the bench with 14 points and five rebounds, Senior Forward Jakia Brown-Turner with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Junior Guard Madison Hayes recording 10 points, two rebounds and an assist. In addition to Stone, Junior Guard Kaitlyn Chen also led Princeton with 22 points.
Princeton will advance and play the host school – the second-seed Utah Utes in the second round at 7PM EST on ESPN2 for the Greenville Regional.