The No. 4 women’s basketball team remained undefeated after mounting a large comeback against Boston College, despite being down 16 points with less than seven minutes left. The Pack held the Eagles scoreless for over four minutes in the fourth quarter and unleashed a 23-2 run to win 75-69 in Massachusetts Sunday afternoon.
NC State (6-0, 1-0 ACC) began conference play at Boston College (4-2, 0-2 ACC) as a top-five team in the country. Its undefeated record was in jeopardy until the final quarter, when the Wolfpack installed a Kevin Keatts-like full-court press that jump-started the comeback.
“As we sometimes say, that was an ugly baby, but it’s our baby,” said head coach Wes Moore. “We’re happy to get out of here with a win.”
The first quarter looked rough from the start, as Boston College led the Pack 11-4 after five minutes. The Eagles showed off their 3-point shooting in this quarter, nailing four shots from beyond the arc. The quarter ended with a 20-14 Boston College lead, with eight of those points coming from second-chance opportunities.
Junior center Elissa Cunane had eight points in the first and was a big factor in the Wolfpack’s eventual comeback.
The second quarter looked slightly better, as the Pack brought the lead to within two halfway through. NC State also nailed its first 3-pointer, executed by senior forward Kayla Jones. Even after hitting two more from deep, the Wolfpack could not catch up fully to the Eagles, who ended the half ahead 32-27.
“It seems like we’re getting off to some slow starts,” Moore said. “We didn’t shoot well, let’s face facts.”
Moore was right: In the first half, the Pack hit just 30% of its shots taken, and only 25% of its 3-pointers, compared to about 43% on 3s from the Eagles. The lack of scoring could be attributed to foul trouble for Cunane, who sat out the majority of the second quarter.
The third quarter started off worse than the first two, as the Eagles gathered an 11-2 run against the Pack in just over two minutes and built a 43-29 lead. Senior guard Kai Crutchfield scored her first and only basket of the game in the third quarter after returning from a lower body injury, and despite Cunane’s return from the bench, the Pack entered the last quarter down 60-47.
Then, Moore tried to utilize a “trapping” technique on defense to try and cause turnovers. Although it worked sometimes, it seemed to open a back door, allowing easy buckets for the Eagles. The Boston College defense held an explosive Pack offense, which averaged around 86 points coming into today, in check.
The fourth quarter saw little offense for the first four minutes, with both teams only scoring five points each. However, Jones found the bucket consistently, going five for five for 11 points and grabbing two steals in the final 10 minutes. Jones ended with 25 points, the most in the game and a career high.
Jones also took an aggressive move to the basket and fouled out BC’s Makayla Dickens, who had 20 points and nailed six 3-pointers. The foul was originally called a charge until another official ruled that Dickens’ feet were in the restricted area, making it a blocking foul instead.
“That was obviously a big play right there, a big turning point in the game,” Moore said.
Boston College’s foul trouble played a large part in the Pack’s comeback; however, NC State’s execution of the press without fouling played a larger role in turning the tide of the game.
The Pack played almost flawlessly in the final minutes of the game, while Boston College did not hit a single field goal in the last 4:44. The Eagles ended with 16 turnovers, and the Pack capitalized on them, scoring 16 points of turnovers.
“We were able to get a few turnovers off the press, and it got us going, got some energy and we started believing we could do it,” Moore said.
Cunane ended the game with her second double-double of the year, and second in a row, with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Despite some foul trouble, she continued to dominate in the paint, and also contributed to causing foul trouble for the Eagles when they tried to counter her.
Next, the Wolfpack will play Wake Forest (4-1, 1-0 ACC) at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.
