Led by five players in double-digit scoring, the Pack trounced Clemson Sunday afternoon on Kay Yow Court at Reynolds Coliseum.
Redshirt sophomore guard Len’Nique Brown, sophomore guard Krystal Barrett, junior guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman, junior forward Breezy Williams and redshirt junior forward Lakeesa Daniel all scored 10 or more points.
“I felt like we shared the ball well,” head coach Kellie Harper said. “The thing I told our team in the locker room, ‘this was a very good team win.’”
Goodwin-Coleman and Williams finished tied for the team lead with 12 points, playing an essential role in the Pack’s 79-45 victory.
“We made some adjustments early in the first half, and I thought our players handled it really well,” Harper said. “We did what we needed to do to get a win.”
State’s game plan was evident from tip-off: get the ball inside. The Pack excelled, outscoring the Tigers, 36-10, in the paint.
Senior guard Marissa Kastanek drilled a three from the corner in the opening minute, giving the team a 3-0 lead it never looked back from. State never trailed in the game and led by as many as 39 points.
The Pack opened up a 6-0 lead before the Tigers attempted to mount a comeback. Clemson kept the score close throughout most of the first half, but State mounted a scoring run to end the first 20 minutes of play, leading by 13 points.
An adjustment to a press defense led to the Pack running away with the score, outscoring the Tigers by 21 points in the second half.
“Coach had us pushing the ball up, just to try and get us in a groove, and just get the offense running,” Brown said. “When we move the ball more and penetrate, it makes the offense look much better.”
The team led not only in the final score, but in just about every other statistical category: points off turnovers, second chance points, fast break and bench scoring.
“The word that I put on the board for our team, for this game, was ‘focus,’” Harper said. “I thought if we maintained our focus we would finish strong.”
Of the five scorers in double digits, Goodwin-Coleman, Williams and Daniel’s contributions were off the bench. State led 38-12 in bench scoring.
State shot 40.3 percent from the field, while Clemson shot 26.4 percent. The team also out-rebounded the Tigers 51-37.
The Pack (12-12, 4-8 ACC) will be back in action Thursday when it takes on Florida State (19-4, 9-3 ACC) in Tallahassee.
“When you have a lot of different people play well and do positive things for your team, it’s only going to make us a better team moving forward,” Harper said.
