Lady Wolfpack Hang On, Defeats Duke 55-52
NC state opened the scoring for the night with a Chelsea Nelson midrange jumper to get the Lady Wolfpack out to a 2-0 lead.
“Playing 40 minutes is the name of the game and we didn’t quite do that” “this one will sting, we will use it to get better” – Joanne P. McCallie
Leanna Odom would come right back with a strong drive and layup to even the score at 2.
Williams hit a three pointer over the Duke zone to make the score 5-2. Both teams would go back and forth through the media timeout halfway through the first quarter to bring the score to 11-10 NC State
Coming out of the media timeout, NC State used a 15-3 run to end the quarter with the score 24-15
Nelson would open the second quarter up with a layup to make it 26-15 before a Kyra Lambert fast break layup would give Duke 19.
Both teams would go on an almost three minute drought before Erika Cassell would hit a layup to make it 28-17 going in to the media timeout. Duke would go 0 of their last five and the Lady Wolfpack had a 7-2 run to end the half with the score 35-21.
Coming out of halftime, Coach P’s squad would come out with a chip on their shoulder. A quick 8-0 run cut the lead under double-digits to make it a 35-29 game.
Coach P decided to defer the credit when asked about the 8-0 run, saying that “the [players], they knew it. They knew that was not Duke Basketball. That’s not what we do” “we can’t wait until halftime to figure it out”
NC State would extend the lead back to eight on a Nelson and 1, despite missing her free throw. Duke would use a 5-0 run to get the score within four at 39-35. The third quarter would end with NC State in the lead 43-38.
In the fourth quarter, Brown would help bring the Lady Blue Devils back in to the lead with five consecutive points, including a deep three pointer from the right wing to give Duke the 45-43 lead.
Greenwell jumper that was called a three, but after review, was changed to a two-pointer to make the score 52-51.
Nelson hit a layup to make it 53-52 before a Duke timeout.
Out of the timeout, Duke would get the ball down low to Chidom and her post hook rimmed out. Odom got the offensive rebound, only to see her shot rattle out.
NC State would come up empty on their offensive end and Duke would regain possession before Coach P took the last time out for the Lady Blue Devils with 23 seconds left.
Duke would move the ball around, before settling for a long Brown three-pointer that barely even made it to the rim.
Coach McCallie stated that she “just wanted to see an aggressive play” on the last possession but said that her team simply “ran out of time.”
The rebound would eventually end up in the hands of Wilson and she would knock down her two free throws to extend the lead to 55-52 to seal the deal. Ashley Williams would force a turnover on Duke’s Greenwell to give the Lady Wolfpack the ball back with .07 seconds left.
When asked about the bang-bang play at the end that resulted in a Duke turnover, Williams stated “No, I did not think I fouled her. I saw the sideline and put my foot on it.”
Coach Wes Moore made the comment that “this game was ugly.” The joking coach clarified his position on the win tonight, saying that “it is like they say, it may be an ugly baby, but it is our baby.”
Duke will return home January 19th to host Virginia Tech. Clemson will be heading to town to play NC State in Raleigh January 22nd.
(Photo Cred: Donald Watkins Jr)