In its first Sweet 16 in 11 years, the NC State women’s basketball team put up a strong battle, but came up short, 71-57, against Mississippi State in Kansas City, Missouri.
NC State redshirt junior Kiera Leslie carried the Pack (26-9) for the second straight game, scoring 27 points and racking up six rebounds, but couldn’t keep up against the Bulldogs’ (35-1) Teaira McCowan, who tied the NCAA Tournament record for consecutive made field goals. McCowan dropped 24 points going a perfect 11 for 11 from the field, 2 for 2 from the free-throw line, gathered 15 rebounds and contributed four blocks on the defensive end.
The Wolfpack knew it was coming into the toughest game of its season, but didn’t let it phase it and kept up with Mississippi State in the first half.
The first quarter saw Mississippi State get out to a hot start as it was shooting 86 percent by the first official timeout, while the Wolfpack was at a paltry 25 percent. The Bulldogs had a 17-7 lead within the first six minutes and had the Pack looking lost on offense. With 6-foot-7 Teaira McCowan down low for Mississippi State, the Wolfpack was reluctant to attack the basket and kept forcing bad shots. The Pack didn’t give up though, and used its defense to go on an 8-2 run to see itself down only four at the end of the quarter.
As someone who rarely takes anything but 3’s, sophomore Aislinn Konig played a much more aggressive style this game as she took advantage of her size and repeatedly scored in the paint. She hit a runner to begin the second quarter and the Wolfpack followed it up with a 3 by Leslie to give NC State it’s first lead of the game, 20-19.
Unfortunately for the Pack, it was unable to contain McCowan and Mississippi State went on a 15-4 run after this to take it’s second 10-point lead of the game. The Pack showed its resilience yet again though and closed the half on a 7-2 run, bookended by two jumpers from junior Nae-Nae Cole that put the Pack within four as the second quarter came to a close.
The third quarter is when the disparity became apparent, as NC State got outscored 21-10. The Wolfpack was lackluster on defense and couldn’t match the energy that the Bulldogs came out with. The quarter ended with the Pack finding itself down 17, and it could never get back within single digits.
The Wolfpack actually outscored the Bulldogs in the fourth, 16-11, but it was in vain as it never got closer than 14 points.
After being picked to finish 10th in the ACC, the Wolfpack managed its first back-to-back tournament appearances since 2006-07 and was one of four ACC teams to make it to the Sweet 16.
Even though it wasn’t the outcome the Wolfpack hoped for, the Pack exceeded expectations this year and the future looks very bright. Konig and sophomore Kaila Ealey made big strides in their ability to lead the team on the floor, and Leslie will be returning as well to give NC State one of the best backcourts in the ACC.
