Sophomore forward Jada Boyd scored a career-high 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds for a double-double as the No. 3 NC State women’s basketball team beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 84-75 in the team’s final game of 2020.
The Wolfpack (9-0, 4-0 ACC) jumped out to a big lead in the first half, taking a 29-point lead into halftime before letting the Yellow Jackets (4-2, 2-1 ACC) creep back into the game in the second half. Ultimately, the halftime lead was too much for the Yellow Jackets to overcome as the Pack improved to 9-0 overall for the third consecutive season.
“Proud of the first half,” said head coach Wes Moore. “The last three games we’ve come out and really executed and played well.”
Despite not playing a game since Dec. 20, the Pack showed no signs of rust to begin the game, shooting 70.6% from the field in the first quarter while holding the Jackets to 35.7% to take a 26-13 lead after the first 10 minutes.
It was more of the same in the second quarter as the Pack went on a 12-0 run at one point and a 6-0 run to end the half, going into halftime up 54-25. NC State ended up shooting 62.9% from the field in the half and outrebounded Georgia Tech 24-13. Boyd, sophomore wing Jakia Brown-Turner and senior forward Kayla Jones were each in double figures after the first 20 minutes.
“I always try to come in confident and shooting well,” Boyd said. “I gotta give great thanks to our staff and our doctors who pushed me and motivated me to get out there and be confident.”
In the second half, the Wolfpack women did their best impression of the NC State men’s basketball team by allowing a comeback after building up a significant lead. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Pack 17-3 to begin the third quarter. After the timeout, it was Boyd who stepped up, scoring six of the team’s next eight points to help stop the bleeding as the quarter ended with the Pack up 69-50.
“I had some confidence during the game, so I felt like ‘Why not take the shot if I have the hot hand and take on the responsibility?’” Boyd said.
Boyd then scored the first four points of the fourth quarter for the Pack, which was up by 23 at that point before the Yellow Jackets outscored the Pack 25-11 the rest of the way.
NC State outrebounded Georgia Tech 42-37 in the game and shot an efficient 53.3% from the field while holding the Yellow Jackets to 36.1%. Jones ended the game with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double and Brown-Turner finished with 19 points of her own. The Pack looked like the No. 3 team in the country with its first-half performance, but Moore wasn’t happy about his team’s second-half performance.
“At halftime, we must have thought it was over,” Moore said. “Hopefully we learn a lesson from it, realize it’s a 40-minute game, and we gotta play all 40 minutes.”
As the No. 3 team in the country, NC State is going to get every team’s best effort in every game. So far, the Pack has remained unblemished, and the team is having fun with all of the success.
“It’s so fun, especially doing it with the people I love,” Boyd said. “I love my coaching staff, I love my team. They make every day fun and make my time worthwhile here.”
NC State’s next game is this Sunday, Jan. 3, against Boston College at Reynolds Coliseum. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network.
