The N.C. State women’s basketball team garnered a statement win Thursday, dominating No. 17 Florida State in an 80-57 victory in Reynolds Coliseum. The victory marked the No. 20 Wolfpack’s second win over a top 20 opponent this season.
With Thursday’s win over the Seminoles (14-3, 2-2 ACC), State (16-2, 3-1 ACC) notched its 11th straight home victory and earned its best start to a season since the 1981-82 season. The Pack now leads the all-time series between the schools by a margin of 27-13.
State was the first team this season to score more than 70 points against the Seminoles. FSU’s defense was ranked 11th in the nation entering the contest.
Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore said Thursday’s win was the team’s most complete of the season and was crucial in a “brutal” Atlantic Coast Conference.
“There’s a big difference between being 3-1 and 2-2,” Moore said.
Redshirt junior Len’Nique Brown kicked things off for the Pack with two threes in the first four minutes of action. With those shots, Brown eclipsed 500 points in her career at State. Brown finished the game with eight points and four assists.
Florida State’s defense was determined to slow down the Pack’s leading scorer, senior center Markeisha Gatling. The Seminoles brought a double team nearly every time Gatling touched the ball, but the six-foot, five-inch center still managed to put in five early points before being benched early with two fouls.
However, State did not falter with the loss of their star center. Redshirt senior center Lakeesa Daniel did an excellent job of filling in off the bench, netting 12 points and snagging four rebounds in 10 minutes of game time in the first half.
“She was on fire,” senior forward Kody Burke said.
Burke also made waves in tonight’s contest, scoring 16 points to help the Northridge, Calif. native rise to the No. 18 spot in all-time scoring in State’s history.
With the boost from Daniel off the bench, the Pack rocketed to a 29-19 lead with 3:38 left in the first half. State carried the momentum through the rest of the half, taking an 11-point lead into halftime. Coming into Thursday’s game, State was a perfect 14-0 in games where it led at the midway point.
Florida State started the second half in a full court press, snatching two quick steals. However, State adjusted quickly, never letting its lead fall below eight points.
Daniel saw even more playing time in the second half, as Gatling sat with foul trouble less than four minutes into the second period. Daniel eventually picked up her fourth foul, but not before matching her career-best scoring performance with 13 points.
Despite her foul trouble, Gatling still managed to lead the team with 20 points in only 23 minutes of action. The senior also improved on her already ACC-best .676 field goal percentage with a perfect 8-8 shooting performance.
Just four minutes into the second half, senior guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman sank her 50th three this season. The bucket was the third of Goodwin-Coleman’s four triples in the contest.
The Seminoles’ strong interior defense forced State to take shots from long range. The Pack shot exceedingly well from beyond the arc, sinking nine of its 22 three-point attempts. Moore said a strong outside presence is important to the team’s offense.
“It brings us balance and keeps defenses honest,” Moore said. “It makes a big difference when the defense has to respect the perimeter and can’t sag and help on [Gatling].”
State maintained its momentum throughout the remainder of the second half, building its lead to 23 and holding it until the final buzzer.
