BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The No. 1-seeded NC State women’s basketball team defeated No. 5-seeded Notre Dame 66-63 to advance to the program’s second-ever Elite Eight on Saturday, March 26 inside Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Graduate guard Raina Perez was the hero for the Wolfpack, stealing the ball from Notre Dame’s Dara Mabrey with 18 seconds in regulation, taking it down the court for the score. NC State hadn’t led at all in the second half until that point and hadn’t led since two minutes into the second quarter.

“What can you say about Raina? I mean, you know, Beyoncé is big, but Raina blows her away,” said head coach Wes Moore. “I mean, come on. Two years in a row, last year she hits the jumper to win the ACC Tournament, now this year she gets a pick there when it looked pretty — it looked like it was going to be pretty hard. Unbelievable.”

In fact, the Wolfpack only led for 5:04 of regulation, compared to the Fighting Irish’s 31:41 lead time. Every time the Pack would get within a bucket or two, Notre Dame, led by Olivia Miles, struck back and extended the lead. Miles finished the game with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists.

And yet, NC State is heading to its first Elite Eight since 1998.

“We’ve had some games this season, we’ve been down in the first half and even towards the end of the game,” said senior center Elissa Cunane. “We knew what we were capable of, and we just had confidence in each other. And we all just kept on reminding each other, take it one step at a time, get one stop, and then push it and focus on the little things.”

Graduate guard Kai Crutchfield was also phenomenal for the Wolfpack, putting on an offensive and defensive show. “Clutchfield” finished with 14 points and four steals, keeping the Pack within striking distance before Perez’s game-winner.

Toward the beginning of the fourth quarter, Crutchfield picked up a steal and took it down to the other end, scoring a beautiful layup and getting fouled in the process, later completing the and-one play to spark the Wolfpack bench.

“It was huge,” Cunane said. “When she got the and-one, you saw the energy from the bench and just us. We knew we could actually do it. I think her defensive ability, I’m sitting back watching her work, watching her get the steals and taking it. I think what Kai has been able to do for this program defensively, offensively and as a leader is just exceptional.”

While there weren’t as many NC State fans in Total Mortgage as there were in the Wolfpack’s Round of 32 game against Kansas State, Crutchfield’s and-one caused the NC State faithful to erupt into “Wolf-Pack” chants.

Crutchfield came up big all day, playing all 40 minutes in the contest, being the catalyst for the Wolfpack’s turnaround. Seven of Crutchfield’s 14 points and three of her four steals came in the fourth quarter.

“That’s how she got her name, ‘Clutchfield,’ whatever,” Moore said. “Just seems like, when you really need her to, she steps up and hits the big shot or makes the big play. I’m so happy for her to stick around for the fifth year. Not many people can handle me for five years. So for her to stick around like she did, her and [graduate forward Kayla Jones] and then, of course, Raina to opt to come back, also, I’m just so happy for those kids because this is why they came back. This is why they came back. For them to be rewarded is just unbelievable.”

Cunane also had a great game for the Wolfpack, finishing up with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. Cunane ended one of Notre Dame’s many second-quarter runs and was able to get six of her seven shots to fall at the line.

The win sends NC State to its second-ever Elite Eight and gets the Wolfpack over the Sweet 16 hump. Last season, the Wolfpack had its season cut short in the Sweet 16 by Indiana. It’s a statement win for the program and shows that the Wolfpack is pushing all of its chips in for a Final Four run.

“You said it, Coach said it, as seniors and as a fifth-year senior, we were determined to get over that hump,” Crutchfield said. “We wanted it more, and we did the best we could, and we came out on top.”

However, it wasn’t pretty for the Wolfpack. NC State got off to a rough start in the first quarter, shooting just 35% from the field and starting off 1 for 7 from that range. Still, the Pack led by four points after the first, but Notre Dame struck back in the second.

The Fighting Irish outscored the Pack 26-14 in the second quarter, with Miles scoring eight of her points in the period. Notre Dame went on an early 6-0 run to set the tone in the quarter and shot 55.6% from the field and 45.5% from deep in the first half to take an eight-point lead into halftime.

NC State got within four points early in the third, signaling that its trademark third-quarter domination was on the way. Instead, Maya Dodson, Maddy Westbeld and Sonia Citron combined for 13 third-quarter points and the Fighting Irish took a five-point lead into the final period.

With the spotlight on, NC State delivered big following Crutchfield’s and-one. Jones was able to return to the court after leaving the game earlier with an injury, juxtaposing last year’s Sweet 16 game in which Jones was unable to play due to injury.

Even still, it looked like all was lost when the Fighting Irish, who handed the Pack one of its three regular-season losses, went up by eight points with 6:41 left in regulation.

The rest is history, as Crutchfield, Cunane, Perez and the team’s defensive efforts worked in unison to do the impossible and deliver the Wolfpack to a victory and the Elite Eight.

“We didn’t want to go home,” Perez said. “We didn’t want the same results as last year. So we stuck together and reminded each other: ‘Hey, we’ve got to get this one. We’ve got to get some stops and score on the other end.’ Just reminded each other that we didn’t want to go home and we needed to win this game.”

Next up, NC State will take on the winner of the Sweet 16 game between No. 2-seeded UConn and No. 3-seeded Indiana. The Bridgeport region championship game takes place on Monday, March 28. That game tips at 7 p.m.

“I’m just so happy for these young ladies,” Moore said. “Elissa has been here four years, Kai and Raina came back for a fifth year of basketball, and they came back for this reason, okay. They wanted to rewrite this chapter from a year ago, and this is a great start. We’re excited about that.”