It’s a familiar tune: the No. 3 NC State women’s basketball team finds itself in a hole, then has to dig its way out. This time, the Pack found itself in a hole, but was unable to dig itself all the way out as it was upset by the No. 20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 69-66 for the team’s first ACC loss.
The Wolfpack (19-3, 10-1 ACC) trailed by four at halftime and as many as 12 in the fourth quarter before staging another comeback attempt, getting as close as two, but was unable to tie or take the lead in the waning minutes as it fell to the Fighting Irish (17-4, 8-2 ACC).
“Again, got off to a slow start,” said head coach Wes Moore. “First half was not too pretty and yet we were only down four, but then we came out in the third period and gave up 20 points and dug a bigger hole. Had some opportunities down the stretch to get back in it.”
After the Pack went up 6-2 to start the game thanks to two 3-pointers by graduate guard Kai Crutchfield, the Fighting Irish went on an 8-0 run to take the lead and held a 17-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Fighting Irish would stay in front throughout the second quarter, leading by as many as eight and taking a 32-28 lead into halftime.
The Irish then went on a 10-2 run to open up the second half and take a 42-30 lead, their largest of the game. The Pack got as close as six in the third quarter, but the Irish went back up by 11 and took a 52-43 lead into the fourth.
The Irish went back up by 12 with 7:34 left in the fourth quarter, to which the Pack responded with an 8-2 run to cut the lead to six, but the Irish went back up by 10 with just over five minutes left.
That’s when the Pack started to make a serious push, going on another 10-2 run to cut the lead to 65-63 with under two minutes left. The Irish went back up by six with less than a minute left after two successful trips to the free throw line, but an and-1 by senior center Elissa Cunane cut the lead to three and made it a one-possession game with 43 seconds left.
Needing a stop on the next Notre Dame possession, the Pack got it and had the ball with 14 seconds left. The Pack got down the floor and gave the ball to sophomore guard Diamond Johnson, who had the hot hand in the fourth quarter, but she missed a tying 3-point attempt with five seconds left. Johnson got the ball back after an offensive rebound by Crutchfield, but came up short again on a last-second 3-point attempt as the Pack fell 69-66.
The Pack had a timeout at the end of game, but Moore decided not to use it, instead letting his team play on with the ball in transition.
“I thought we got two pretty decent looks, to be honest,” Moore said. “We had the timeout, could have used it, but I liked the fact that we were able to push it and not let them set their defense up. We had two looks at a 3 that would have tied it, just didn’t knock it down.”
Johnson led the Pack with 16 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter. Cunane also had 13, and junior wing Jakia Brown-Turner finished with 11.
NC State shot 39.7% from the field compared to 36.8% from Notre Dame, but perhaps the difference in the game was the fact that the Irish outrebounded the Pack 45-38. Another difference in the game was the play of Notre Dame’s Maya Dodson, who finished with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Going forward for the Pack, it needs to be able to consistently play complete games in order to have a chance at a championship. That has been a recurring theme since last year’s NCAA Tournament, and it cost the team against Notre Dame.
“We just gotta quit digging a hole,” Moore said. “I don’t understand it. At home against Carolina and at home against Duke, we came out and really played extremely well. The last few games we’ve been on our heels to start the game and letting people be the aggressor, so we gotta figure that out.”
Next up, NC State returns home to host Florida State on Thursday, Feb. 3. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
