The NC State women’s basketball team defeated Syracuse 60-56 in Reynolds Coliseum Sunday for head coach Wes Moore’s 100th career win with the Wolfpack.
The Wolfpack (14-5, 3-3 ACC) had a tough time handling the Orange (14-4, 2-3 ACC) throughout a game that contained 12 lead changes and seven ties. NC State managed to overcome its obstacles for its third ACC win of the season.
“Really proud of our team today. One turnover against their press,” Moore said. “The whole team did a really good job on the boards, I thought that was critical and I thought they handled the strengths of Syracuse and did a pretty good job of trying to slow them down.”
The Pack had a fast start to the game, putting the Orange down 7-0 early. Senior center Akela Maize was key to a few offensive plays in the first couple of minutes.
Unfortunately, Maize quickly picked up two fouls and was taken out for the rest of the first half of the game to limit her foul trouble. As the game went on, turnovers increased, as well as missed shots. This allowed Syracuse to snatch the lead, 10-8.
Returning from a timeout, junior guard DD Rogers scored a basket to tie things up but missed the foul shot that would have given the Wolfpack the lead.
Coming back down the court, senior forward Chelsea Nelson was able to set up a screen, leaving a wide open 3-point shot for sophomore guard Aislinn Konig. Nelson scored the next six points for the Wolfpack to increase the lead 20-17.
Although the lead was lost halfway through, the Wolfpack continued to fight back. Its efforts were rewarded as Ealey drove to the basket, drawing a foul and making both her shots which increased the Pack’s lead 22-17.
Redshirt sophomore Kaila Ealey has been a strong and reliable guard for the Pack the whole season, and that continued today as she displayed confidence when handling the ball both down the court and around the perimeter.
“Ealey I thought showed some toughness. It’s hard, they do a great job, they really get up in you and make it hard for you to get the ball inbounds,” Moore said. “She came over to me one time, said ‘they’re doubling me,’ I said ‘I know, you can do it.’ I just have a lot of confidence in her ability to get open.”
Ealey echoed coach Moore’s statement.
“Coach Moore tells me I’m quick enough to get by two people. He never looks at it as a problem, he looks at it like ‘okay, still get open’,” Ealey said. “I think I just had the confidence in my speed to get by two people and be able to break the press.”
The Pack shot 70 percent from the free-throw line, a part of the game that was imperative to its win.
The second quarter was a chance for the Pack to rack up some more point. Ealey was able to find the hole in the Orange’s defense and was able to take advantage of an open lay-up before Syracuse could recover.
Ealey’s layup, which pushed the Wolfpack ahead, 28-19, would be the last basket for the Pack in the following four minutes, giving ample time for Syracuse to catch up, ending the first half in Syracuse’s favor 33-32.
The Pack was able to take back the lead at the end of the third quarter and headed into the final quarter with a 43-40 advantage.
Halfway through the final quarter, the Pack not only solidified its defense but also went on a game-clinching run, scoring eight points in a row in a two-minute span to take a 55-47 lead.
After a Syracuse bucket cut the lead to 55-49, Rogers threw a Hail-Mary pass to Ealey from the Syracuse baseline for a clean layup and a 57-49 lead.
The Wolfpack then had a five-second violation on the inbounds pass, leading to Syracuse taking over possession and Maize picking up her fifth foul. What had just been an eight point game quickly turned into a close four point game with one minute left.
With just under ten seconds left, Syracuse had a possession to cut the lead to two, but Rogers blocked an Orange shot with two seconds left, securing the Pack’s 60-56 victory.
“I felt like I gave myself enough space on that,” Rogers said. “I know they tell me all the time I’m not a shot blocker. But I really felt that one.”
The Wolfpack goes on the road to play UNC-Chapel Hill Thursday.
Head coach Wes Moore points to players individually telling them what needs to be done to close the gap during the 83-70 loss to UNC Jan. 29 in Carmichael Arena.
