HIGHLIGHTS: Pack Wins ACC Opener At Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG, VA -- NC State (12-2, 1-0 ACC) celebrated the holiday season with a dominant win on the road. The Wolfpack had trouble capitalizing early but found its stride en route to the win over Virginia Tech (11-3, 0-1 ACC) Thursday afternoon at Cassel Coliseum, 68-51.
“We’re really proud of our kids,” head coach Wes Moore said. “Defensively, we did a really good job. Virginia Tech has a lot of weapons, and they’re very well coached.”
Senior forward Chelsea Nelson led State’s offense with 18 points. Senior center Akela Maize recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Redshirt junior guard Kiara Leslie and sophomore guard Aislinn Konig joined the pair of seniors in double-digit scoring with 14 and 11 points respectively.
Despite only scoring two points, sophomore forward Erika Cassell dominated the front court. The Marietta, Ga. native led all players with 14 rebounds for the game, six of which came in the pivotal second quarter.
“She’s really come along,” Moore said. “She’s getting more and more playing time, and her rebounding is a part of that. I thought she was big.”
The Wolfpack scored 10 seconds into the game, but it struggled to find consistency in the first quarter. State ended the first period 4-of-17 from the floor and without a basket in its last five attempts. Despite the early struggles, the Pack left the break only down by one point.
Chelsea Nelson helped kickstart the Pack’s offense in the second quarter. After starting the team’s scoring with a pair of free throws, she hit on her next three shot attempts from the floor. Aislinn Konig followed with a three to put the Pack ahead by six before the Hokies took a timeout to regroup. NC State extended its lead and left the court at halftime ahead, 30-22.
“We knew that we were scoring in the post,” Nelson said. “As [the Hokies] were starting to collapse on our posts, our wings started to step up and finish.”
State pushed its lead into double digits with a pair of free throws from Nelson with 8:54 left in the third period. The Pack’s lead never fell below that mark for the remainder of the game. NC State led by as much as 20 points and outscored Tech in the second half, 38-29. However, the Hokies’ Michelle Berry hit a buzzer-beating three at the end of regulation to prevent the Pack from ending the game ahead by 20.
The Wolfpack will return home to host No. 3 Louisville on New Year’s Eve. Tipoff from Reynolds Coliseum is set for 2:30 p.m.
“[Today’s win] definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into Louisville with an ACC win under our belts,” Maize said. “Louisville’s a really good team, so it’s going to be a tough game.”
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