NC State women’s basketball defeated Maine 84-46 Saturday night at Reynolds Coliseum to remain undefeated.
The No. 10 Wolfpack (11-0) had an efficient game against the Black Bears (7-3), dominating throughout the first three quarters of the game. The fourth quarter gave the Black Bears more opportunity for open shots, but it was too late for them to dig themselves out of the hole they were in from the Pack’s strong shooting.
“Really proud of how we came out,” head coach Wes Moore said. “We’ve been on a roll and winning, playing well. So you gotta make sure you stay focused and they did that. They came out ready to play, they even started the third quarter. You worry about that, you have a let down but they kept executing and focused on both ends of the floor.”
The Wolfpack had a quick start in the first quarter, opening up a 7-0 lead. Redshirt junior Grace Hunter passed the ball inside to sophomore Kayla Jones on a fast break which forced a timeout by the Black Bears that gave them a little rhythm to counterattack the Pack and make it 13-7. It didn’t last for long, as freshman Elissa Cunane shut the Black Bears down with four consecutive points and holding them to seven points.
“We saw what they did to the other teams,” Cunane said. “We also saw how the other teams came back in the second half and we were aware of that. We played strong, played our game and didn’t let up.”
The Black Bears were forced to take an early timeout in the second quarter to deal with the force of Cunane under the basket. Maine was then met with the Pack’s 3-point shooters, Jones and junior Aislinn Konig.
The Wolfpack was shooting nearly 70 percent in field goals by the end of the first half. Behind the arc was also a hotspot for the Wolfpack, having a shooting percentage of 64 percent. The foul line was a bit of a struggle for the Pack to knock down some easy points.
In the first half, the Wolfpack had seven made 3-point baskets. Five of those were in the second quarter.
“Offensively, we of course shot the heck out of the ball,” Moore said. “That’s always nice when the ball’s going in, helps you with energy on the other end as well. Defensively, I thought we got to them. They have a lot of great shooters and we knew we had to really get out to them and I thought we did a good job of that.”
Konig led with three 3-point baskets, two of them in the second quarter. Both graduate Kiara Leslie and Jones sunk two 3-pointers each.
The Black Bears shooting was another story, having as many shot opportunities as the Wolfpack, the Black Bears only managed to have a shooting percentage of 21 and an even lower record on the 3-point line.
The Pack dominated the backboards with 25 rebounds, double the amount of the Black Bears, and were consistent amongst the two quarters.
“Attacking, that was our main focus offensively going into the game,” Cunane said. “To attack their zone and it worked out well for us. We attacked and then we got open shots because they were crowding inside.”
Jones added onto Cunane’s statement.
“And crashing the boards since it was a smaller team,” Jones said.
With a buzzer-beater shot made by Hunter, the Wolfpack ended the first half up 50-17, essentially putting the game away.
The third quarter kept the same intensity and control. A basket from Jones put the Pack up 50 points. Jones led the Pack in points with 14, followed closely by teammates Cunane and Konig with 11 points a piece.
The fourth quarter was not as smooth for the Wolfpack, but the team managed to keep the Black Bears in check, keeping them to 13 points. The final 10 minutes of the game was a good opportunity for the Pack to put in some inexperienced players. Freshman Jada Rice made both of her free throws and freshman Esra Mcgoldrick put up two baskets.
“I told the team when you play like that it’s fun, for everybody,” Moore said. “I know it’s fun for them out there on the court. It’s fun to watch, I enjoyed it.”
The Wolfpack heads out to Tennessee to play against Chattanooga this Friday at 7 p.m.
Freshman center Elissa Cunane secures a loose ball against Maine on Saturday, Dec. 15 at Reynolds Coliseum. Cunane recorded 11 points on 4-4 shooting along with eight rebounds and four turnovers as the Wolfpack won 84-46.
