NC State women’s basketball made the trip to Atlanta to clash with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday, Feb. 2. An intense battle ensued, but critical mistakes from the Pack late in the game ultimately allowed Georgia Tech to secure the victory, 68-62.

The majority of the contest was characterized by lengthy runs from both teams, and for a while it was unclear who would have the final say. The No. 15 Wolfpack (16-6, 6-5 ACC) managed to put itself up 14-6 midway through the first quarter thanks to an 8-2 run. However, the Yellow Jackets (12-10, 3-8 ACC) ended the quarter on a 15-2 run of their own to take the lead and establish the fact that this game wouldn’t be an easy win for the red-and-white, even though the team was coming off an impressive victory over one of the top teams in the ACC.

Throughout the game, it became increasingly clear that NC State was struggling to keep up morale without the support of the fans that flock to Reynolds Coliseum for every home game. Poor decision-making, specifically shot selection, plagued the Wolfpack offense for a great deal of the contest as even veteran players neglected to make the extra pass for the higher-percentage shot. On the defensive end, laziness and late reactions from the Pack allowed Georgia Tech to cash in on multiple and-1 layups and hit easy jumpers in the lane.

NC State opened the second quarter with a promising 12-0 run but proceeded to sit back as the Yellow Jackets closed out the half on a 10-3 run to tie the game at 33 points apiece.

In the third quarter, both teams played with much more consistency as they began to trade baskets rather than 10-point runs. Junior guard Diamond Johnson racked up eight points in the period, including back-to-back 3-pointers. Heading into the final quarter, Georgia Tech led 50-49.

Despite Johnson’s efforts to keep her team in the game, all of the careless errors the red-and-white had been committing throughout the contest culminated in a slow and painful death for the Wolfpack as the final minutes of the game ticked off the clock.

With just under three minutes remaining, the Yellow Jackets were up 62-60 and it was anyone’s game. But NC State proved unable to handle the pressure, turning the ball over four times in the last two minutes. Credit for these turnovers can’t even be given to Georgia Tech’s defense as the Wolfpack committed an offensive foul, stepped out of bounds and just couldn’t catch the ball cleanly. When the red-and-white was able to maintain possession of the ball, the team’s attempts to score were somewhat pathetic, including an air-ball from junior guard Madison Hayes.

This loss could potentially be a major blow to the Pack, which is still trying to recover from an unfortunate start to conference play and move up in the ACC standings in order to secure a spot in the top four and the chance to host the first and second round games of the NCAA Tournament.

The red-and-white will look to bounce back on Monday, Feb. 6 when it hosts the Virginia Tech Hokies for the 18th annual Play4Kay game. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.