The NC State women’s basketball team left Reynolds Coliseum victorious in a top-15 matchup between the No. 9 Wolfpack and No. 13 Florida State on Thursday night, dominating the Seminoles 68-51.
Another double-double for sophomore center Elissa Cunane and a career high in points (18) and rebounds (eight) for freshman wing Jakia Brown-Turner carried the Wolfpack (16-1, 5-1 ACC) to its second top-15 win of the season as it thoroughly dominated the Seminoles (15-3, 4-3 ACC)
“Coming off a big road win, I really wanted to make sure we had good focus,” said head coach Wes Moore. “Defensively, great effort. That’s a very talented Florida State team especially their guards’ ability to shoot the 3 and get to the rim … Very pleased to hold a team like that to 51 points.”
It was a defensive battle from the start, as both teams failed to make shots and the defensive intensity was high. At the first media timeout, NC State was down 6-5 but the pace picked up for the rest of the first quarter and the Pack entered the second quarter with an 18-10 lead. Junior forward Kayla Jones led both teams with eight points and NC State was in full control to end the quarter.
The momentum continued when the team came back out as NC State closed out a 13-3 run to take a 27-13 lead. Then, Florida State started to get a hold of the pace of the game, but NC State fed sophomore center Elissa Cunane for 12 first-half points. Cunane and freshman wing Jakia Brown-Turner were the two Wolfpack players in double digits that led the team to a 36-21 halftime lead.
Like a broken record, NC State got the ball inside, dominating points in the paint 24-8 in the first half and when the Pack hits shots, especially from 3, nobody will beat it. NC State shot 51.6% from the floor and 40% from 3.
Senior guard Aislinn Konig and junior guard Kai Crutchfield hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the third quarter before Cunane finished the period with a layup. The Pack took an impressive 52-34 lead to the final quarter.
With NC State holding a commanding 21-point lead, the Seminoles started to chip away, going on an 11-4 run to make it 61-47. However, with the large and loud Wolfpack crowd, NC State grew the lead back to 17 to win 68-51. Not surprisingly, Cunane had a huge night with 20 points and 10 rebounds, a huge part of the 38 to 34 rebound margin in favor of the Pack.
“We have great guards on the outside,” Cunane said. “If [opponents] try to double down on me, we’re gonna kick it out and our shooters were hot tonight. So [Florida State] couldn’t double down on me much.”
Although it was a complete team effort, NC State’s best players were its best players tonight. Brown-Turner’s huge 18-point, 8-rebound night came at the best time, Konig reached 10 points and six assists, and Jones also got to 10 points.
“[Brown-Turner] comes from a great high school program and it prepared her well,” Moore said. “She’s got upperclassmen that have been really good mentors to her and brought her along some and then she’s very talented… It’s nice to have somebody that has ice water in those veins and can knock those down.”
Aside from the offensive performance, Florida State was held to just 51 points despite being the top-scoring team in the ACC coming in. It is also a team that shoots the 3-ball well, but the Seminoles connected on just 4 of 22 deep shots.
In the big picture, this was a massive top-15 win for the Pack, especially after the loss it suffered to North Carolina last week. Not only will it likely climb in the rankings this week, but come tournament time, this one will stand out on the resume.
“You only face a lot of these teams one time,” Moore said. “So for tiebreaker purposes and things like that, they’re really important, especially at home, so glad we were able to get that done.”
NC State will hit the court again in Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. against Wake Forest before heading up to Pittsburgh next Thursday.
Sophomore center Elissa Cunane dribbles past a Florida State defender on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack beat the Seminoles 68-51.
