In the regular season finale, the NC State women’s basketball team scored 26 points in the fourth quarter to top the Clemson Tigers on the road, 71-57.
The Wolfpack (19-10, 10-6 ACC) shot 7 of 10 from the field and hit 11-of-13 free throws in the fourth quarter and limited Clemson (4-25, 0-16 ACC) just 11 points in the final quarter.
NC State struggled to start the game, as Clemson went on a pair of 6-0 runs to take a 12-4 lead with 4:39 remaining in the first quarter. The Pack shot just 2 of 8 from the field in that span. However, it finally got something going as junior guard Ashley Williams made a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run that cut the Tigers’ lead to one at the end of the first quarter.
The Wolfpack took its first lead of the game with 7:37 left in the half off another deep ball from Williams. The teams battled back and forth for the rest of the half, with the Pack taking its largest lead of the game at 23-19 with 3:48 left in the half. Clemson finished on an 8-5 run to tie the game at 28 heading into the intermission.
At the half, senior center Carlee Schuhmacher led the team with 10 points on 3 of 4 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line. For Clemson, freshman guard Aliyah Collier led all scorers with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Both teams struggled from distance, as the Pack shot 18.2 percent and Clemson shot 16.7 percent.
Clemson came out firing to start the second half, going on a 6-2 run in 3:22. However, the teams once again locked in a stalemate, as the Tigers led 46-45 going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a completely different story. Spencer hit both free throws to give the Pack its first lead of the half 10 seconds into the fourth quarter. Clemson shortly regained the lead, but NC State countered with a 12-2 run to take a 59-50 lead with 3:23 left in the game.
The teams went back and forth until the Tigers were forced to start foul with 41 seconds left, allowing the Wolfpack to close out the game on a 6-0 run.
For the Pack, junior guard Miah Spencer led the team with 20 points and four assists and was joined in double figures by redshirt junior guard Dominique Wilson with 14 points, as well as Schuhmacher and sophomore forward Chelsea Nelson, who had 10 apiece.
Clemson’s Collier and sophomore guard Nelly Perry combined for 41 points on 14-of-33 shooting, while the rest of the team combined for just 16 points on 6 of 22 from the field.
The Wolfpack earned the No. 6 seed in the ACC Tournament along with a first-round bye. The Pack will resume play Thursday in Greensboro against the winner of the Boston College-Virginia Tech game.
