NC State Dominates Wake, Earns 2-Seed

RALEIGH, NC. – The North Carolina State Wolfpack secured the 2-seed in the ACC with the 75-57 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Sunday in the Reynolds Coliseum. 

Both teams were slow to start and struggled offensively. The first two minutes were quiet until Wake Forest’s Malaya Cowles got the Demon Deacons on the board. 

NC State missed all three-pointer attempts and scored only 26% of shots to close the first quarter. Saniya Rivers made the first and only three-pointer of the first half for the Wolfpack after a 0-3 start. 

Wake Forest struggled to get things going offensively and was held to only 16 points in the first half.  

The momentum picked up to start the second half. Elise Williams went on a 9-0 run alone for the Demon Deacons to get the rhythm going.  

The third quarter started to look more like a competition and included more back-and-forth play rather than dominance or runs and droughts like the first half. 

Wake Forest slowly started to close in the deficit and finished the third quarter trailing by one.  

The Demon Deacons took the lead to start the fourth quarter. The Wolfpack responded with an 11-0 run to regain the lead. After the run, NC State slowed the pace down a little after extending its lead. The Pack would then secure the win, 75-57. 

NC State struggled to score during the first half but held Wake Forest. During the second half, the defense started slacking, allowing Wake Forest to get back in the game. 

The Wolfpack also struggled with turnovers, turning over the ball 13 times. 

Saniya Rivers led the Pack with 23 points and four steals, making that her ACC-high after surpassing her record of 22 points against Syracuse on Thursday night. 

The Wolfpack defense made up for slow offense to start the game, but the Wake Forest offense sparked in the second half and resulted in a tight game. 

Moving forward, the Wolfpack needs to work on keeping its intensity, not lack effort or giving up after getting off to a good start.