A strong season for the NC State women’s basketball team is going to last at least another day. The team defeated No. 14 Boston College 76-60 in the second round of the ACC Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum Thursday night.
Junior guard Miah Spencer led the Wolfpack (20-10 10-6 ACC) to victory with 17 points on 6 of 7 from the field and four assists. She was joined in double figures by junior forward Jennifer Mathurin with 15 and redshirt junior guard Dominique Wilson with 14. The Eagles (15-16 2-14 ACC), whose season is over after tonight’s game, were led by senior guard Nicole Boudreau, who put up 16 points, and junior guard Kelly Hughes, who had 14.
The Pack had a very strong game offensively, shooting 44.3 percent from the field, and 44.4 percent on 3-pointers. Mathurin led the team in this regard, shooting an incredible 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. The team also played solid defense, holding the Eagles to 41 percent and forcing 15 turnovers. It was a good night on the boards for the Wolfpack, as it outrebounded Boston College 36-30. The Pack made those turnovers count, displaying a strong transition game to score 23 points off turnovers.
The Pack roared out of the gate tonight, outscoring Boston College 25-7 in the first quarter, including a whopping 18-3 lead almost six minutes in. The team showed off its fast paced offense early tonight, getting layups from Wilson and Spencer in the first minute of the game.
The Wolfpack’s dominance carried over into the second, with the team outscoring Boston College 17-11 for a 42-18 lead at halftime. The team made sure to keep the pressure on going into the break, ripping off a 10-3 run over the quarter’s final six minutes, closing things out on a jumper from Wilson for the 24-point halftime lead.
The team was not nearly as dominant in the third, only outscoring the Eagles 25-24; however, it did not need to be at this point, it simply needed to maintain its lead. The Pack seemed to let off the gas a bit in the fourth as it was outscored 18-9, the only quarter of the game the Eagles got the better of. However, NC State was never really in danger, and cruised to its 14-point victory.
Friday night’s third-round game against the No. 3 Syracuse Orange tips off at 8 p.m. at Greensboro Coliseum as the team seeks a berth in Saturday’s semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
Sophomore forward Chelsea Nelson fights for the interior, going into the paint. Nelson had six points and lead the team with three steals against Boston College during game 7 of the Women's ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack came away with a 76-60 win over the Eagles in front of a crowd of 3300 on March 3rd, 2016 at Greensboro Coliseum.
