NC State women’s basketball has had a knack for making history lately. Monday night, the No. 4 Wolfpack went into Louisville and came up victorious against the Cardinals for the first time since 2017 with a resounding 74-60 victory. It’s NC State’s second win over a No. 1-ranked opponent this season, which is the first time the Wolfpack has done that in program history. 

Thanks to a dominant defensive effort, four players scoring in double figures, and a dynamite fourth quarter, the Wolfpack now finds itself in control of its own destiny for the ACC regular season crown at 12-1 on the year, 7-1 in ACC play, and in possession of the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cardinals.

Let’s take a look at some key takeaways from the win: 

All hands on deck

NC State knew it would need big performances across the board in this one, and it got them, with four players: Elissa Cunane, Jakia Brown-Turner, Jada Boyd, and Raina Perez scoring in double figures. 

For Cunane, it was her first game in nearly a month, as she missed the first two games following NC State’s COVID pause while she continued to recover from the effects of the virus. But there was little rust and certainly no easing in for Cunane. She played 30 minutes, scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and grabbed six rebounds. 

“It feels so good,” Cunane said. “We were ready for this moment. We knew going on the road to play the No. 1 team was going to be hard, but we knew that we did it before. We just prepared. We knew we had to have energy and go into it like we are doing.”

Cunane showed her trademark ability to score all over the floor, both in the paint and from mid-range, and even knocked down a three, as she continued to open up possibilities for NC State’s offense. 

“We want to work inside out,” said Wes Moore. “A lot of that’s based on Elissa’s talent. But that’s just the way I’ve always felt like you should play the game. We want four guards though that can shoot the 3 and that can take you off the bounce if we spread you out. But we like to get it inside and work it back out. Elissa does give us confidence.”

Brown-Turner, who has scored in double figures in every game this season, also posted 16 points and was particularly effective in the second half, scoring the first five points of the fourth quarter en route to NC State taking command.

“Jakia is a special player,” Moore said. “We’ve been wanting her to expand her game. Last year as a freshman, she didn’t play like a freshman. Especially in the conference tournament. We would not have won that without Jakia. We want her though to continue to improve and continue to score at all three levels, not just at the 3-point line. I think she’s getting there. She didn’t shoot the ball well in the first half. Not many people did, to be honest with you. But in the second half, I thought Jakia down the stretch hit some big shots for us. That’s what we need. She’s a great shooter. We need somebody that can spread the defense a little bit when they are trying to help on Elissa, and create the kind of space we need. Jakia can step out there and do that.”

Boyd was her usual efficient self with 16 points and nine rebounds in just 24 minutes. 

And Perez continues to show she was a fantastic addition for NC State as she keeps coming through in the clutch. Against Louisville, she scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, added three rebounds and three assists and hit three 3-pointers, with none bigger than the one in the fourth quarter that put NC State up by 16. 

She also helped limit Louisville freshman Hailey Van Lith, one of the Cardinals’ best players and her primary defensive assignment, to six points on 3-of-10 shooting. 

“That’s why I came here to NC State; to play in these big games, to compete against the best,” Perez said. “Like Elissa was saying, if you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. They were No. 1, so we did what we had to do. I’m excited to be here.”

Senior Kayla Jones did not join her teammates in double figures but made a massive impact on the game, leading the team in rebounds (three), assists (four) and steals (three).

Defensive dominance

This wasn’t exactly a banner night offensively for the Pack, with NC State shooting just 44% from the field and 6-of-21 from three with 13 turnovers. 

Where the Pack made up for that was with a dominant defensive performance. NC State held Louisville to just 38% shooting from the field and a season-low 60 points, forcing 13 turnovers.

Cardinals guard Dana Evans, who may be the best player in the country, fought to keep her team in the game with 29 points. No one else for Louisville had more than eight. 

NC State’s dominance on the boards played a massive role in this game, with the Pack out rebounding Louisville 44-29 while grabbing 31 on the defensive glass.

“We did a nice job on the defensive end,” Moore said. “They’re such great shooters, you don’t want to give them a second chance. So again, I think part of it’s just urgency and flying around. Doing the little things. We have to do that. We always talk about, in a perfect world, we try to hold people to 30 points a half, 60 points a game. We hit that target right on the dot.”

Pack takes control in fourth quarter

A back-and-forth third quarter saw NC State initially take a 10-point lead with a 12-4 run before bringing a five-point lead into the final frame.  From there, Brown-Turner and Boyd led off the fourth quarter with a personal 7-0 run to push the Wolfpack’s lead back to 12 with seven minutes and change left. 

That set the stage for a dominant finish that saw NC State outscore Louisville 25-16, including a 9-0 run to take an 18-point lead and close out its second road win of the season against a top-ranked team. Louisville did cut the deficit to nine late, but NC State’s lead proved too big to overcome.

Another big achievement

This program has been racking up the accomplishments in the past year, starting with its first ACC title since 1991 last March. 

Since then, the Wolfpack has started this season on a tear and beaten two No. 1 teams on the road. There’s a legitimate case to be made that this team, following its historic accomplishment, is the best team in the country. 

Beating one of these top-tier Louisville teams was one of the last regular-season hurdles the Pack had yet to clear as the program has continued to ascend, and State snapped a six-game losing streak against the Cardinals in the process.

“It’s neat for our program to do some things we haven’t done in a while,” Moore said. “Coach [Kay Yow] built this program, and it was great for so many years. We’re trying to get it back to that level.”

Still, the Pack has goals that extend far beyond the regular season, and this team knows it must have its sights set on them. 

“We’ve got to continue to get better,” Moore said. “The great teams that we’re trying to associate with at this point, they’re going to be better in March than we are right now. We’ve got to make sure that we’re doing the same thing. So that’s my focus, getting better. As a coach, when you lose, you think of so many things you should do better. You look in the mirror, you wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and you can’t go back to sleep thinking about it. What we’ve got to do is make sure those things that we’re trying to do to get us there, we keep grinding for.”

Still, wins like the ones over Louisville and South Carolina have proven this team can play with any opponent in the country. As NC State pursues its ultimate goal of getting back to the Final Four and competing for a national title, the way this season has gone so far, any conversation about the top championship contenders in the country has to include -- and likely start with -- NC State.  

“I know it’s pretty early in the season, but I think if we just keep doing what we’re doing, following the scout, rebounding, pushing, we can go pretty far,” Perez said. “We can go as far as we want. Beating another No. 1 team just motivates us, and I’m excited to see where we can take this.”