The No. 7 NC State women’s basketball team survived one of its toughest road tests to date Thursday night, traveling to Blacksburg, Virginia and taking down Virginia Tech 71-59 for its eighth straight win.
Behind a strong showing at the free-throw line and a double-double from sophomore center Elissa Cunane, the Wolfpack (22-1, 11-1 ACC) handed the Hokies (16-6, 6-5 ACC) their first home loss of the season, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back, holding off a late third-quarter comeback attempt.
NC State survived one of its worst offensive halves of the season by holding Virginia Tech to just 17 first-half points, completely shutting down the Hokies to the tune of not a single quarter with more than 10 points in the first 20 minutes.
In the first half, the Wolfpack held the Hokies to 20% shooting from the field and an even worse 9% from beyond the 3-point arc. NC State head coach Wes Moore game-planned around slowing down Virginia Tech star guard Aisha Sheppard, and the Pack did just that in the first half, holding Sheppard to 3 points on 1-for-6 shooting.
Despite a 1-for-7 first-half performance by Cunane, who scored just four points in the half, the Wolfpack built up a comfortable 28-17 lead at halftime. Eight NC State players scored over the first 20 minutes, led by senior guard Aislinn Konig’s two 3-pointers and freshman wing Jakia Brown-Turner’s six points and four rebounds.
A late third-quarter run by Virginia Tech almost changed the game and NC State’s ACC regular season championship hopes. The Hokies mounted a furious comeback, outscoring the Wolfpack 17-5 for a five-minute stretch, with two free throws from Sheppard bringing Virginia Tech within one with under a minute remaining.
But Cunane answered right back with a layup, and after a Virginia Tech miss, Konig snagged a rebound and found junior guard Kai Crutchfield in transition for a layup and a foul. Crutchfield sunk the and-1 to give NC State a more comfortable six-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Freshman forward Jada Boyd opened up the fourth quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play, giving the Wolfpack a nine-point lead that it would hold for the remainder of the half. After a Virginia Tech 3-pointer at the 8:48 mark, the two teams traded missed shots and went scoreless for the next three minutes before Konig knocked down two free throws.
The Hokies never got back within six, and NC State secured its eighth straight win and ensured its matchup with Louisville in a week would go a long way toward determining the ACC regular season championship.
NC State got to the free-throw line at will all night, attempting 28 shots from the charity stripe. The Wolfpack connected on 23 of its attempts, scoring almost a third of its points from the line. Led by Cunane’s 8-for-10 showing, six different players hit at least two free throws.
Cunane notched her twelfth double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and hauling in 16 rebounds. Konig and Brown-Turner each scored 11 points, and Boyd put up 10 points in just 14 minutes to round out the Pack’s double-digit scorers.
NC State will return to action Thursday, Feb. 13 for its biggest game of the season. The Wolfpack will host No. 5 Louisville inside Reynolds Coliseum, with first place in the ACC and a potential ACC regular season championship on the line. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the ACC Network.
