NC State women’s basketball returned home to Reynolds Coliseum to take on the USF Bulls on Sunday, Dec. 11. Although the red-and-white played without starting senior forward Jada Boyd and lost starting junior guard Diamond Johnson to an ankle injury midway through the second quarter, the No. 8 Pack came away with a 65-57 win over USF.
The visiting Bulls (8-3) came out with high energy, draining a shot from beyond the arc on the first possession of the game as they sought their second consecutive win against a ranked opponent. The Wolfpack (9-1) had no problem matching that energy. Johnson responded with a deep 3-point shot of her own on the next possession.
The two teams went on to exchange baskets until USF pulled away to go on a 10-0 run with just under three and a half minutes left in the opening quarter. A layup from Johnson with under a minute to go helped to stifle the Bulls.
Johnson didn’t stop there, however, going on a solo 6-0 run to open the second quarter. A few minutes later, she hit a 3-pointer to bring her point total to 14 before she suffered an ankle injury going up for a fast break layup. Johnson did not return to the game after being helped off of the court, but still led the Pack in scoring despite playing just 16 minutes.
Sophomore guard Saniya Rivers took over as point guard with Johnson sidelined. Rivers dished out three assists and tallied nine points in 34 minutes. In addition to Rivers, multiple members of the Pack stepped up offensively in Johnson’s absence. On the defensive end, NC State held USF to just eight points in the second quarter to close out the half with a nine-point lead, 34-25.
The red-and-white struggled to grow its lead in the third quarter as the Bulls shot 47.1% from the field, a notable increase from their 20.0% clip in the second. The Wolfpack’s strong first-half defense weakened considerably as USF had no problem driving into the lane for a couple easy baskets.
The Pack outscored 17-16 in the third but maintained its lead, 50-42, but the offense felt the absence of its starting point guard.
The Bulls cut the lead to just six points at the start of the fourth quarter. However, smart plays and timely baskets allowed NC State to extend its lead as the clock wound down despite USF’s determination to continue to make aggressive scoring plays up until the final buzzer.
Scoring wise, the teams were equally matched in the fourth quarter as each squad put up 15 points. The red-and-white rode the eight-point lead it had coming into the quarter all the way to victory. The Pack extended its winning streak to five games with the result.
The Wolfpack will remain at home for the remainder of the calendar year as the team will play its next three games at Reynolds Coliseum. The red-and-white’s next test will come on Thursday, Dec. 15 when it hosts the Davidson Wildcats. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
