NC State Upset By Tar Heels On The Road

CHAPEL HILL, NC – The fourth-ranked NC State Wolfpack took the short trip down the road to Chapel Hill, NC Sunday afternoon, to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in a road rivalry ACC matchup. The game was a hard-fought battle from the tip, but the Tar Heels were able to pull off the upset 76-69. This is the second loss in three games for the Wolfpack. 

Coming into the contest, the Wolfpack lead the ACC in defensive rebounds per game, (32.5) which ranks third nationally, and field-goal percentage, which ranks eighth nationally (.482). The Wolfpack also leads the league in rebound margin (17th nationally at +9.9) and defensive field-goal percentage (21st nationally at 35%)

 The game began with fast-paced back-and-forth play with the Tar Heels and Wolfpack matching basket for basket as the Wolfpack took a 14-12 lead with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter on a Jakia Brown-Turner three-pointer. The Tar Heels closed the first quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wolfpack surrendered five first-quarter turnovers to fall behind early on.

 Early in the second quarter, NC State held UNC scoreless for over three and a half minutes and went on a 7-0 run to take a 25-21 lead. Alyssa Ustby responded with her third three-pointer of the first half to cut the Wolfpack lead back down to one.

As the Wolfpack went cold and didn’t score for three minutes, the Tar Heels responded with a 7-0 run to take a 28-25 lead with four minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Tar Heels closed the final two minutes strong to extend the lead to seven at the end of the first half.

 Through the first two quarters, the Wolfpack were led by Elissa Cunane with 11 points and five rebounds. The Tar Heels were led by Alyssa Ustby with 13 points and nine rebounds. Despite forcing nine first half Tar Heel turnovers, the Wolfpack’s sluggish shooting (11-33, 33.3%) allowed the Tar Heels to hold the 37-30 first-half lead.

The Wolfpack missed their first five shots of the second half and the Tar Heels took advantage and began the half on a 5-0 run, to force Wolfpack coach Wes Moore to call a timeout.  The Wolfpack responded with a 13-0 run over three minutes to take back the lead with 2:01 remaining in the third quarter.

The final two minutes went back and forth as the Wolfpack held a three-point, 52-49 lead at the end of the third quarter. After not scoring in the first half, Kai Crutchfield scored seven key points in the third as the Wolfpack outscored North Carolina 22-12 in the third quarter.

The Tar Heels came out aggressive to start the fourth quarter, as they outscored NC State 15-6 through the first four minutes of the quarter. Ustby continued her hot shooting in the game as she knocked down her fourth three-pointer in the game. Petra Holensinka found her outside shot, as she knocked down two three-pointers early in the fourth quarter.

North Carolina tried to put the game out of reach, but the Wolfpack were able to cut the lead down to four with 1:52 left in the game. Elissa Cunane fouled out of the contest 16 seconds later. NC State tried to battle back in the final minute and a half, but the effort wasn’t enough.

The Tar Heels were led by Alyssa Ustby with a career-high 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Stephanie Watts with 17 points and nine rebounds. The Wolfpack were led by Elissa Cunane with 14 points and Kayla Jones with 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Wolfpack shot a poor 4-19 (21%) from three-point territory. The defense was able to force 14 turnovers, but the poor perimeter shooting was too much for the Wolfpack. Raina Perez led the team with 13 assists and only two turnovers. 

“It’s a talented team. Knew they were a dangerous team and unfortunately, we didn’t have an answer,” head coach Wes Moore said following the loss. 

 The Wolfpack, (12-,2 7-2 ACC) looks to bounce back, as they host the Clemson Tigers in Raleigh, NC on Thursday, February 11^th.