NOTEBOOK: Pack Beats Noles in Quarters, Falls to Cards in Semis
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Three-seed NC State (26-5, 12-4 ACC) entered the 2019 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament as one of four teams bestowed with a double-bye, and despite defeating six-seed Florida State (23-8, 10-6 ACC) in the quarterfinals Friday night, the Wolfpack’s hopes at the conference title were stamped out by second-seeded Louisville (29-2, 14-2 ACC) Saturday afternoon.
QUARTERFINALS — NC State 69, Florida State 62
The Wolfpack began its journey toward the ACC Championship Friday evening against the Seminoles. After falling behind by as much as seven, NC State took the lead in the second quarter and never fully reliquished it, winning inside Greensboro Coliseum, 69-62.
Freshman center Elissa Cunane led the Pack with 22 points while senior forward DD Rogers recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Aislinn Konig and graduate student guard Kiara Leslie joined Cunane and Rogers in double-figures with 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Seminoles and the Wolfpack battled hard early in the first quarter with three ties during the period. But Florida State pulled away to a seven-point lead after a pair of free throws with 1:20 remaining in the period. The Pack managed to fight back to end the period only behind by four.
Leslie scored the first basket of the second quarter to cut the Noles’ lead to two. Sophomore forward Kayla Jones then hit a three with 8:37 left in the period, ending the last Florida State lead of the game. The Seminoles were held to seven points in the entire quarter while the Wolfpack coasted into halftime with the lead, 35-31.
Trailing by four at the break, the Seminoles managed to tie the game with 7:14 left in the third quarter. After that point, the Wolfpack broke the game open with a 13-2 run to end the period as NC State went into the final period ahead by an 11-point margin.
Marred by turnovers, the Wolfpack had its lead shrunk to as low as three points. Florida State capitalized on NC State’s five fourth-quarter turnovers with seven points, outscoring the Wolfpack over the course of the period, 23-19. However, the Pack managed to hang on for the seven-point victory.
SEMIFINALS — Louisville 78, NC State 68
Looking to avenge its 30-point loss on the road nine days prior, NC State needed to overcome one more obstacle before challenging Notre Dame for the ACC Championship: Louisville. However, the Cardinals rallied from a 10-point second-quarter disadvantage to quell the Wolfpack’s assault Saturday afternoon, 78-68.
Cunane led the Wolfapck in scoring yet again with 20 points. Sophomore guard Kai Crutchfield, Rogers, and Leslie all had double-digit scoring with 17, 13, and 10 points respectively.
After two Cardinal free throws out of the first-quarter media timeout, the Pack created separation with an 8-0 run over a span of 1:55. Louisville managed to fight back, ending the quarter with a three-pointer that brought NC State’s lead down to four.
At the 5:34 mark in the second quarter, Konig hit a three-pointer that extended the Wolfpack’s lead to 32-22. Following that moment, Louisville’s offense exploded, igniting the Cardinals to a 22-2 run to end the half. After ahead by 10, NC State went into the locker room at halftime trailing by 10.
Fighting back after the lackluster second period, the Pack rallied back to take the lead with 2:35 left in the third quarter, having outscored the Cardinals in the quarter at that point, 19-8. Louisville managed to re-take the lead shortly thereafter, but NC State kept it close as the quarter ended with the Pack only behind by two points.
Seemingly burnt out after the third-quarter surge, the Pack only scored four points in the fourth quarter to the Cards’ 15 before the media timeout. Unable to fully bounce back, NC State’s chances at the league’s top prize ended as the clock wound down to double-zeroes.