The NC State’s women’s basketball team beat Pittsburgh Thursday night, 77-66, behind senior forward Chelsea Nelson’s career-high 30 points.
The Wolfpack (22-6, 11-4 ACC) out-rebounded Pittsburgh 37-21 in what was a dominant showing on the glass for NC State. The Pack also used its free-throw advantage to put Pittsburgh away. The Wolfpack went 28 for 33 from the free-throw line and limited the Panthers (10-18, 2-13 ACC) to just 53.8 percent shooting from the line.
NC State was particularly dominant on the offensive glass, corralling 13 offensive rebounds while limiting the Panthers to just two.
After a high-scoring, back-and-forth first quarter that saw the Panthers take a 23-22 lead, the Wolfpack outscored Pitt 24-11 in the second quarter to take a 46-34 lead into halftime.
The Wolfpack never looked back from there, leading the rest of the way. After taking the lead with 8:57 left in the second quarter, NC State held it for the final 28:57 of the game.
Nelson led the way for the Wolfpack, scoring 30 points on 10-for-13 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and two steals. Freshman guard Kaila Ealey was second on the team in scoring, racking up 15 points in addition to five rebounds and four assists.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kiara Leslie had an excellent all-around game for the Pack as well. Leslie scored 11 points, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and dished out a team-high seven assists.
Ealey and Nelson both had double-digit attempts at the free-throw line. Ealey hit nine of her 12 free-throw attempts, scoring 60 percent of her points from the charity stripe. Nelson went to the free-throw line 10 times, knocking down nine of them.
NC State was able to force Pitt into 16 turnovers, a major key for a Wolfpack defense that allowed the Panthers to shoot 52.9 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from the 3-point line.
Forward Yacine Diop led the Panthers in scoring and rebounding with 20 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field and four rebounds. Guard Jasmine Whitley and center Kalista Walters rounded out the double-digit scorers for Pitt with 15 points apiece.
Rebounding was a huge issue for a Pitt team that was completely dominated by the Wolfpack on the boards. Not a single player had more than four rebounds for the Panthers.
With its win over Pitt, NC State stays stagnant in fourth place in the ACC standings, tied with Florida State, which holds the second tiebreaker over the Wolfpack.
After dropping three of its first four games in ACC play, the Pack has now won 10 of its last 11 and will be looking to pull off a huge upset in South Bend against No. 5 Notre Dame Sunday in the Purcell Pavilion.
