The NC State women’s basketball team was defeated by Duke, 69-56, Sunday afternoon in Durham. At halftime, the Wolfpack was down 36-25 and Duke never gave the Pack a chance to recover.

The Wolfpack (12-4, 1-3 ACC) had a slow start against the No. 17 Blue Devils (13-4, 1-2 ACC), only scoring five points in the first quarter. The Pack tried to make up the difference in the second quarter with 20 points, but faced an 11-point deficit at the break.

The Wolfpack notably struggled with layups, as the team only managed to make six of 16 attempts. On top of the missed layups, the Pack also racked up 13 turnovers, compared to the Blue Devils’ 18 turnovers. The smaller number of turnovers is proof of the Pack’s growing strides, but there are still improvements to be made.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack had some ground to gain as the team was down 55-40. Along with the point deficit, senior Akela Maize faced foul trouble with four personal fouls.

Compared to its game against Louisville, the Wolfpack once again took its pride in rebounds, out-rebounding Duke with a total of 37 boards compared to the Devil’s 34.

Surprisingly, only the starters from the Pack scored throughout the game. Senior Chelsea Nelson and redshirt junior Kiara Leslie tied with the most points at 15.

Duke’s points were more spread out among different players, but two Blue Devils players fronted their team. Duke’s Lexie Brown scored 34 points and Haley Gorecki scored 13 points.

Overall, the Wolfpack had a solid performance apart from its shooting. No player from the Wolfpack made more than half of their field goal attempts. Sophomore Aislinn Konig, redshirt sophomore Kaila Ealey and Leslie all missed 10 shots.

The Wolfpack returns to Reynolds Coliseum this Wednesday to play Georgia Tech at 7 p.m.