The No. 22 NC State women’s basketball team was defeated by No. 4 Notre Dame 86-67 to end the regular season Sunday in South Bend, Indiana. Throughout the entire game, NC State was never able to even win a quarter to gain some momentum against the powerful Fighting Irish.
Even before the game, the Wolfpack (22-7, 11-5 ACC) knew it was going to be a tough match against the Fighting Irish (27-2, 15-1 ACC). The Irish have been notorious this season with protecting the home court, having not lost a single home game.
During the first quarter, the Wolfpack was hot on Notre Dame’s heels, only trailing by one point at the end of the opening frame. The beginning was a slow start relative to the rest of the first quarter, running down two minutes on the clock before the first basket was made by redshirt sophomore guard Kaila Ealey to give the Pack a 3-0 lead. The fourth quarter was also a close affair, with the Pack being outscored by only two points.
The proximity in points in the first and fourth quarters make it evident that the second and third quarters were detrimental to the Pack’s success. The middle of the game is what put the Pack far behind on the scoreboard, with Notre Dame outscoring State 49-33 in the middle frames.
Even though it was a tough loss, it was by no means a bad loss for the Pack. In previous seasons, Notre Dame has been a powerhouse amongst women’s basketball. The Irish always have an impressive winning record. During the 2015-2016 season, the Irish were 16-0 in the conference and ranked third in the nation when they played the Pack. Last season, with Notre Dame ranked second, the Wolfpack did defeat the Irish by eight points in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack’s shooting percentages Sunday were steady for the team. The Pack shot around 43 percent in field goals and 83 percent from the foul line. The Irish had a slightly higher field-goal percentage but had a lower foul-shot percentage. The only big difference in shooting was at the 3-point line. The Wolfpack shot 30 percent while the Irish shot nearly 47 percent. A 17-percent difference that created a large dent in the Pack’s chances.
The Irish’s offense was solidified by Jackie Young and Arike Ogunbowale, with the two scoring half of the Irish’s 86 points. Young scored 22 points and Ogunbowale had 21 points for a combined attack of 43 points.
Wolfpack senior forward Chelsea Nelson and Ealey led the offense against the Irish, scoring 15 and 18 points, respectively.
The Wolfpack’s defense was overwhelmed by the Irish as the Pack was out-rebounded in both defensive and offensive rebounds. Nelson did have seven rebounds, the most in the game.
With the regular season over, the Wolfpack moves onto the ACC Tournament this week in Greensboro. The Pack holds the five seed and will begin play Thursday morning.
