The NC State women’s basketball team cruised into its first victory at the renovated Reynolds Coliseum against Wofford, 80-40, Saturday in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (1-0) took the lead early and never looked back as it doubled Wofford’s (0-1) score in season opener. The Terriers scored just 10 points in the first half.
The Pack opened a bit sloppy, tallying four turnovers with only two assists in the first six minutes. However, the Pack was able to combat the miscues and start strong offensively with a 9-0 run.
“It was so quick,” junior forward Chelson Nelson said as she described scoring the first points in the newly-renovated Reynolds Coliseum. “Even when I was running down the court I was like, ‘woah that was quick.’”
The Pack continued to dominate in the first quarter. The swarming defense of the Pack did not allow a single field goal as it led 16-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Wofford made its first field goal with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter. The Terriers struggled early, shooting 3 of 27 from the field and tallied eight turnovers in the first half.
Redshirt freshman guard Kaila Ealey led the Pack with seven points, two assists and no turnovers at the half coming off the bench. Wolfpack controlled the game leading, 37-10 at the half. The Pack continued to play well at the beginning of the second half, shooting 7 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from behind the arc.
The Wolfpack was able to hold on its lead to 63-31 at the end of the third. The Pack shot 63 percent from the field and 67 percent from behind the arc in the third. Head coach Wes Moore did not let up on the girls though, still coaching them with high intensity.
The Pack went into a four-guard lineup in the middle of the third. Leading this lineup was freshman guard Aislinn Konig, who caught fire in the third, scoring five consecutive points off the bench, giving her 11 total points.
“[Moore] wants to try new things with our lineup,” Nelson said. “We have bigger guards this year and coach [Moore] just wants to try that out.”
The Terriers were able to find a groove as they scored 21 points in the third shooting 56 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Chloe Wanink led the team with 10 points and a steal at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was nothing shy of the previous quarters. The Pack shot 50 percent from both the field and behind the arc in the fourth. The reserves saw more minutes than the starters and most were ready when their numbers were called.
“It was a good opportunity to get a lot of people in there,” Moore said. “Good way to break in Reynolds Coliseum.”
The Terriers just couldn’t find their groove tonight, shooting only 25 percent from the field in the game. The team tallied 14 turnovers with eight assists. The only person that scored double digits was Wanink with 10.
The Wolfpack controlled the paint tonight by tallying 32 points in the paint and won the rebound battle by 20. The Pack won the game but still struggled with ball security, tallying 16 turnovers.
“We do want to play up tempo and run,” Moore said. “But we had a few too many turnovers in the second half.”
Konig led the team in points with 13 and Nelson tallied the second double-double of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“Ace [Konig], she has a great maturity about her,” Moore said. “She does have the size and presence of a guard, but she still has a lot to learn defensively.”
The Pack looks to keep the intensity for its next game against Hampton on Wednesday at Reynolds Coliseum.
Redshirt freshman guard Kaila Ealey drives the ball past the Wofford guard, senior Maria Corella, in the Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday. Ealey scored total of nine points with four rebounds and two assist in her 19 minutes of play. The Wolfpack ended their opening game against Terriers with victory of 80-40.
