kayla jones nc state basketball boston college lawrence davis iii law davis ld3 photography pro europe wnba
Sports

Lady Wolfpack Dominate Fourth Quarter to Complete Comeback

Lawrence Davis III @LawDavis13 @SpecMagSports

CHESTNUT HILL, M.A. – A 16-point fourth-quarter deficit was no match for the fourth-ranked NC State women’s basketball team (6-0, 1-0 ACC) as it used a dominant final period to defeat Boston College (4-2, 0-2 ACC), 75-69, Sunday afternoon inside the Conte Forum.

With the win, the Wolfpack opened league action with a victory for the fifth season in a row, earned its 11th consecutive victory dating back to last season and extended its current streak in its series with the Eagles to eight.

Trailing by 16 points with 6:15 remaining in the game, NC State dialed up a full-court press that ended up forcing six Eagle turnovers down the stretch. The Pack scored 26 of the final 30 points from that moment and held Boston College to just one make from the floor in the final eight minutes of action. NC State, meanwhile, shot 8-of-17 (.471) as a team in the fourth quarter on its way to outscoring the Eagles 28-9 in the final 10 minutes.

Kayla Jones was a huge catalyst in the Wolfpack comeback. The senior forward went on a 9-0 one-woman run from the 4:12 mark to the 2:32 mark that was capped off by a three pointer that brought NC State within one (67-66). She led the Pack in scoring with a career-high 25 points. Elissa Cunane also put together a 20-point game with 23 on the night, and she rounded out her 19th career double-double with a game-leading 15 rebounds.

A slow shooting start saw the Pack stare up at its first halftime deficit of the season, as Boston College took a 32-27 lead into the locker room. The Eagles went on to score 11 of the first 13 points of the second half to build up a 14-point lead (43-29) that they managed to extend up to as much as 16 points (48-32 and 54-38) on two occasions in the third quarter.

NC State remained consistent from the charity stripe in the second half as Boston College racked up fouls in the third quarter. The Wolfpack shot 10-of-13 from the free throw line in that period to draw as close as nine (54-45) during the third quarter and hit 11 of its 14 fourth-quarter free throws.

Makayla Dickens (20), Cameron Swartz (15) and Marnelle Garraud (15) scored in double figures to lead the Boston College threat.

NC State will return to Raleigh to play back-to-back home games before the holiday break. The Wolfpack will first welcome Wake Forest to Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday, Dec. 17 for a 7 p.m. tip-off.