Moore Reaches Century Mark as Wolfpack Squeezes Past Orange
NC State (14-5, 3-3 ACC) spent all Sunday in a neck-and-neck battle against Syracuse (14-4, 2-3 ACC). Despite a strong push from the Orange, the Wolfpack prevailed with the hard-fought win at Reynolds Coliseum, 60-56.
The win marked the second straight for Wes Moore’s team after a three-game skid against No. 3 Louisville, Virginia, and No. 17 Duke. The victory also marked Moore’s 100th as NC State’s head coach.
Kaila Ealey, Chelsea Nelson and Akela Maize led the way in scoring with 11 points each. Nelson also notched her eighth double-double of the season, her third in a row, with 12 rebounds. Ealey also led the team in assists with four.
The Pack started the game strong, jumping ahead to a 7-0 lead. However, Syracuse would take its first lead of the game just under the halfway point in the first period. The Orange extended its lead as high as four before State reversed its fortune to end the quarter ahead, 22-17. Nelson and Aislinn Konig accounted for 13 of State’s 22 points in the period.
The Orange turned up the juice in the second period. Despite allowing the Pack to extend its lead to nine, Syracuse ended the quarter on a 14-4 run. NC State shot an abysmal 23.1% percent (3-for-13) from the floor in the second and went to the locker room down by one.
Both teams shot poorly out of halftime. Syracuse made two of its 12 third-quarter shot attempts. Though not faring much better, the Pack was 4-for-13 in the period and managed to retake the lead. NC State went into the final period ahead, 43-40.
After shooting a combined 24% in the third, the Wolfpack and Orange stepped up and improved their shot accuracy in the fourth. Syracuse managed to tie the game with 6:15 remaining in regulation, but it was the last time NC State would relinquish the lead. Despite that, Syracuse kept threatening until the final buzzer.
Maize and DD Rogers came up with critical blocks in the fourth quarter. Rogers’ deflection came with two seconds left as the Orange attempted to cut the Pack’s lead to two. Syracuse attempted a three as time expired, but the futile attempt missed the mark.
The Wolfpack will next travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina Thursday, January 18. Tip-off from Carmichael Arena is set for 7 p.m.