N.C. State (25-6 overall, 11-5 ACC) used a 25-1 second half run to defeat Syracuse, 79-63, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 ACC Tournament on Friday. The No. 14 Wolfpack, which trailed 48-39 with 15:45 remaining, won for the sixth time in its 12 ACC victories after trailing by at least nine points.
State was led by senior center Markeisha Gatling, who finished with 28 points, including 18 in the second half, along with nine rebounds. However, the Raleigh-native injured her left knee with 8:19 remaining in the game and limped off the court.
Senior forward Kody Burke, recipient of the Kay Yow Scholar Athlete of the Year Award earlier in the day, finished with 21 points and a career-best 16 rebounds. Freshman guard Miah Spencer added 10 points and senior guard Breezy Williams came off the bench to score nine points, including two critical three-pointers during N.C. State’s decisive run.
“I just couldn’t be prouder of this group of kids,” first-year N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said. “They’ve done it all year long. It is not good for the head coach and the heart, but it sure is nice when you have a happy ending.”
State trailed the Orange 38-31 at halftime and with 15:35 remaining, Syracuse held a nine-point lead. The Pack then scored 25 of the game’s next 26 points, with 14 coming from Gatling, over the next seven minutes to take 15-point advantage with 7:45 left in the game.
“[I] have to give N.C. State a ton of credit for just not laying down at halftime,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “That’s why they had the season they had. They played hard and did a good job.”
Gatling was injured towards the end of the burst that saw State pull away. Moore said Gatling was examined in the locker room and will receive further evaluations to determine the extent of her injury.
“The X-rays and everything they’ve done so far have been good,” Moore said. “I know they’re going to do an MRI just to be safe. Hopefully, whether it be [Saturday] or in a couple of weeks when we play again, we’ll get her back out there.”
In Gatling’s absence, Burke played a more interior role for the Pack. Syracuse closed the deficit to nine points with 3:45 remaining but never seriously threatened.
Burke, a three-time Academic All-American, said she feels the Pack can pick up the slack if necessary.
“I am so confident in my team,” Burke said. “There was a long stretch where [Gatling] was not in there and we had people step to the plate. As long as we play defense, I feel like our offense will come.”
Next up for the Wolfpack is No. 1 Notre Dame (30-0 overall, 16-0 ACC), which defeated Florida State (20-11 overall, 7-9 ACC) Friday afternoon to advance to the semifinal round. The last time the Pack met up with the Fighting Irish, State lost at home by 24 points in Sunday’s regular season finale.
The Fighting Irish will be a daunting task for the Wolfpack. However, the last time N.C. State played an unbeaten team in the conference tournament was in 2007, when former head coach Kay Yow’s squad upset No. 1 Duke, 70-65, in the semifinals, also played in Greensboro.
Tip off between N.C. State and Notre Dame is scheduled for 5 p.m., with No. 10 Duke (26-5 overall, 12-4 ACC) and No. 13 North Carolina (24-8 overall, 10-6 ACC) facing off in the second semifinal game at 7:30 p.m.
