The No. 17 NC State women’s basketball defeated Belmont 77-62 at Reynolds Coliseum Wednesday night through a balanced scoring attack that saw five players score in double figures.
The Wolfpack (1-0) struggled throughout the first half of the game, trying to catch up to the Bruins’ (0-1) 3-point shooting, ending the first half down seven points, 36-29. The second half saw a more collected Pack that outscored the Bruins by 22 points.
“Really proud of our effort in the second half,” head coach Wes Moore said. “We could have hung our heads down seven at halftime, weren’t really shooting the ball very well, kind of struggling, looking like we had the jitters a little bit.”
The Wolfpack was off to a rough start against Belmont, with two quick turnovers, allowing the Bruins to open the game with a 3-point basket.
Belmont hit seven 3-pointers throughout the first half compared to the Wolfpack’s three baskets from beyond the arc, preventing the Pack from taking the lead.
In the first quarter, the Bruins kept a tight zone defense on the Pack, limiting NC State’s mobility to take uncontested shots. Sophomore Kayla Jones led the Pack with seven points in the first half.
The Wolfpack ended the first quarter with a 10-5 run, five of the 10 points coming from Jones, but still trailed the Bruins 19-16.
In the beginning of the second quarter, Belmont came out quick with a 3-point jump shot.
Junior Aislinn Konig returned the favor with a 3-point basket from the corner marking her first of three 3-pointers on the night, with the other two being in the second half.
Redshirt junior Grace Hunter then drove the ball, drawing the defense in, only to kick it out to sophomore Kai Crutchfield to sink another 3-point shot and bring the Pack close to the Bruins, 30-27.
The Pack’s shooting was very low in the first half sat 50 percent from the free throw line, 34.4 percent from the field and 23.1 percent on 3-point shots.
Belmont led 36-29 at the end of the first half.
The second half of the game was more in the Pack’s control as both the third and fourth periods began with Hunter stealing the ball on Belmont’s first possession. In the fourth period, Hunter went all the way to make a lay-up too.
Hunter led the Pack in scoring by the end of the night with 16 points followed by Crutchfield with 15 points.
Freshman Elissa Cunane had a much improved game from her debut against Anderson University. Cunane managed a spin move by the basket to bring the Pack close to closing the gap, 45-42.
“Definitely throughout the game I started to feel more comfortable and kicking out in the first half our shots weren’t falling as well,” Cunane said. “But second half they were knocking it down, so I knew if I get it inside and I saw the double team it was going in.”
Graduate Kiera Leslie made two consecutive baskets in the third quarter to bring the Pack within one, 47-46.
The Wolfpack then took the lead for the first time since the beginning of the first quarter, 49-47, off a Cunane layup. The Pack prevented the Bruins from ever taking the lead again.
With one second left in the third quarter, Cunane became the first member of the Pack to make both her foul shots and gave the Wolfpack a 55-52 lead.
The third quarter was notable as the Pack scored 26 points while using no substitutions.
The fourth quarter was a strong ending for the Pack not only offensively with 22 points, but also defensively, as the Bruins only scored 10 points.
Crutchfield scored seven points within three minutes during the fourth period.
“Kai came in and did a great job for us knocking down shots,” Moore said. “The last few minutes especially I thought she did an excellent job.”
Leslie blocked a Belmont shot, which Hunter got the rebound of and drove it through the defense for a lay-up to put the Pack up 73-56.
The Pack out-rebounded the Bruins by 16 rebounds overall, 13 defensively and three offensively.
“Coach always says defense wins championships,” Crutchfield said. “So when we get stops it pumps up the energy and when we get a turnover that turns into two points that really helps us out.”
The Pack was on a 14-0 run when Belmont called for a timeout, effectively using all of its timeouts.
The Pack continued its offensive game to increase its scoring run to 18-0. The Bruins finally scored a 3-point basket with only two and a half minutes left, but it wasn’t enough as they still found themselves down, 77-59.
The Wolfpack returns to the court against Kent State this Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum at 2 p.m.
