NC State women’s basketball lost to the Virginia Tech Hokies 73-61 in front of a sold-out crowd in Reynolds Coliseum. The game was an emotional one as it marked the 18th annual Play4Kay Game to honor the legacy of the late head coach Kay Yow, who impacted many.
The No. 22 Wolfpack (16-7, 6-6 ACC) had to play catch-up the entire night with the No. 12 Hokies (19-4, 9-4 ACC). This marks the second straight loss after a massive win over Notre Dame on Sunday, Jan. 29. Despite the outcome, head coach Wes Moore spoke very highly of the significance of Yow and this game.
“It’s great that how she lived her life is still continuing in her legacy,” Moore said. “She’s an NC State legend and one in the state of NC, and it’s so special to play in these games.”
Junior guard Diamond Johnson led the way for the Pack. She finished the game with 16 points — including four 3s — and gave NC State a great counterpunch to the play of Virginia Tech’s guards, who were a constant threat throughout the game.
Johnson was instrumental in helping the Pack overcome an early 15-4 deficit with a pair of 3-pointers. This seemed to help give the team a boost as the Pack went on a 14-7 run to end the first quarter, and senior center Camille Hobby also did her part as she scored four of her own in the first. Despite tightening the score, it was obvious that NC State needed to find a solution for Hokies center Elizabeth Kitley, who established her presence in the paint early on.
The beginning of the second quarter saw Virginia Tech capitalize on NC State’s mistakes and push the lead to eight. The Pack had an opportunity to grab momentum when graduate forward Mimi Collins got the ball out in the open-court, but she was blocked at the rim, marking the first of many missed opportunities for the red-and-white.
The Pack eventually got within four as Hobby grabbed a rebound and cashed in a clutch layup with 5:39 left in the half. Soon after, however, NC State experienced difficulty in shot selection and missed several key opportunities, allowing the Hokies to go on a 9-2 run to finish the half and take a 39-28 advantage at the break.
Following halftime, the Pack’s offense seemed to wake up a little, opening on a 7-4 run, which included yet another 3-pointer from Johnson. However, the Hokies soon responded, this time at the hands of guard Georgia Amoore. She cashed in 10 points in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Pack soon found itself down 10 after the damage done by Amoore. However, the red-and-white showed life thanks to Collins, who made an and-one layup that sparked an 8-0 run and forced Virginia Tech to make several mistakes. This was capped off by a clutch and-one layup by graduate center River Baldwin. With Reynolds rocking, the Hokie lead was cut to just two and it appeared that the tide had truly begun to shift. However, Virginia Tech responded yet again by going on an 8-0 run of its own to finish the quarter.
Heading into the fourth, NC State truly needed to make defensive adjustments if it had any chance to win the game. It appeared the Pack had a chance to get back in it, especially with sophomore guard Saniya Rivers draining a 3 to bring the game within seven. However, the Hokies didn’t let NC State get any closer as Amoore fired back with two more 3s to push the lead back out to double digits. A late two-minute scoring drought then prevented any chance of a late push from the Pack to end the game.
After the game, a visibly upset Moore commented on the status of the team. He seemed to put a lot of the blame on an absence of fundamentals.
“A very frustrating night — we’ve had two poor practices leading up to this, and we played how we practiced,” Moore said. “We got outrebounded, and I always say rebounding is the most important stat to the game. You give them extra shots. It comes down to hustle and chasing balls down. We just didn’t get that done”.
The Pack looks to return to the win column on Thursday, Feb. 9 when the team travels to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest. The game is set to begin at 8 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the ACC Network.
