The NC State women’s basketball team continued its strong start to conference play Thursday night, beating No. 22 Duke 65-62 on the road for its fourth-straight win. However, the Pack was unable to continue the winning streak and fell, 92-90, to ACC-leading Louisville at home Sunday — where it held the lead for the majority of the game.
Junior guard Dominique Wilson continues to impress for the Wolfpack (13-6 4-2 ACC), putting up 19 over the Blue Devils (13-6 2-3 ACC) and a career-high 31 points against the Cardinals (14-5 6-0 ACC). Joining her was junior forward Jennifer Mathurin, who grabbed 15 points against Duke and 19 against Louisville.
The Wolfpack shot the ball well in both games, converting a respectable 38.6 percent against Duke and a ridiculous 52.3 percent against Louisville. The team was not great defensively in either game, as the Blue Devils shot 49 percent against the Pack, and the Cardinals hit 50.8 percent of their shots. NC State played a very strong transition game, as it got 30 points off turnovers against Duke and 17 against Louisville.
The victory over the Blue Devils was the Wolfpack’s first win at Duke in almost 20 years (including men’s games); its last road victory over the Blue Devils was an 80-74 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium Feb. 2, 1996.
NC State got off to a strong start in its win over Duke. Mathurin hit an early three to give the Pack a 6-4 lead, and the team did not trail for the rest of the half. All of the Pack’s first 16 points of the game were scored by Wilson and Mathurin, the team’s two leading scorers onfthe night.
Duke came out strong to start the third quarter, and the Blue Devils’ 19 third-quarter points compared to 13 for the Wolfpack were enough for a 49-47 Duke lead going into the fourth.
But State did not back down in the final frame, as it outscored Duke 18-13 in the fourth quarter to grab the win. Junior guard Ashley Williams came up clutch for the Pack in the third quarter, as she hit a three-pointer to make it 50-49 Wolfpack early in the final quarter.
Williams also gave the Pack its final lead that it did not relinquish, as her three put State up 56-55 with four minutes and change to play and was the third lead change of the quarter. With State up 63-62 with five seconds left, Wilson hit two free throws to make it 65-62. Duke went for a three at the buzzer to try and win, but it was no good as the Wolfpack grabbed a hard-fought win for its fourth in a row.
Against Louisville, the Wolfpack led for more than half the game, including all but three seconds of the second half. It was the Pack’s first loss of the season when leading at halftime.
The Wolfpack quickly found itself behind the eight ball in this one as it trailed 17-7 a little less than four minutes in, but the team went on a 15-3 run for the rest of the first quarter and led 22-20 after the opening frame. After falling behind by one with about 7:30 left in the second quarter, State finished the half with a 26-11 run for a 50-36 lead at the half.
State led for all but three seconds of the second half. The team looked to be in good shape, up 76-66 with a little more than four minutes to go, but that was news to the Cardinals. After Wilson hit two free throws to put the Wolfpack up 90-85 with 25 seconds left, Louisville mounted a furious rally as it scored the game’s final seven points. The Cardinals got a three shortly after Wilson’s free throws to cut the lead to two, and on its next possession, State turned the ball over and sent Louisville to the line, where it tied the game.
The game seemed destined for overtime, but Louisville again went to the line with three seconds left and made both free throws to cap off its stunning comeback and hand NC State its second conference loss.
The Wolfpack heads to Blacksburg, Virginia, to take on Virginia Tech Thursday at 7 p.m.
