After leading at halftime and the majority of the game, NC State (12-7, 3-3 ACC) couldn’t keep the lead and lost to North Carolina (17-3, 4-2 ACC) for the second time this season, 67-63.
NC State started off with a quick five points, but went on a five minute scoring drought. Fortunately for them, the Tar Heels struggled from the field early as well, shooting just 2-of-18 from the field during that span.
“It was a rival game, so we were both anxious and there was a lot of intensity,” redshirt senior guard Len’Nique Brown-Hoskin said. “We needed to calm down, and finally we did towards the end of the half.”
Both teams had their ups and downs with shooting, as the Pack ended the half shooting just 9-of-27 from the field and the Tar Heels put up 8-of-39. Each team made three field goals from beyond the arc.
NC State led for the entirety of the half. However, after a slow start, North Carolina ended the final six minutes of thehalf on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 26-21.
“I was disappointed we didn’t have a bigger lead because of how slow they started out offensively,” head coach Was Moore said. “Unfortunately, we joined them, as both of us struggled to put the ball in the hoop early on.”
Redshirt senior guard Len’Nique Brown-Hoskin led all scorers with eight points and three rebounds. Sophomore guard Dominique Wilson followed right behind with seven points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Pack opened the half hot, as it went on a 7-0 run in a 1:19 span just before the first media timeout to extend the lead to 35-25. However, the Tar Heels countered with a full court press, forcing three consecutive turnovers on inbound attempts. They only garnered four points in those turnovers, but it cut NC State’s lead to just six and caused a great shift in momentum that plagued the Pack for the remainder of the game.
“There’s no doubt that it killed our momentum,” Coach Moore said. “It went from a double digit lead to just six. But that’s the way it works, you can’t afford lapses like that against a good team, and it came back to bite us.
Slowly but surely, North Carolina closed the gap. The Tar Heels took their first lead with a three pointer from sophomore guard Jessica Washington to put them up 39-38 with 12:35 remaining. However, NC State stayed competitive and was able to quickly regain the lead with a three pointer from sophomore forward Jennifer Mathurin and two sets of free throws from sophomore guard Miah Spencer.
From that point on, the game remained close. It featured five lead changes and three ties in the final 12:35. No team led by more than six points during that span.
However, once North Carolina took the lead with three minutes left, it was able to stay atop from there. Despite multiple strong efforts from the Pack, including a clutch three pointer from Mathurin with 15 seconds left and a feisty three point play from Brown-Hoskin with seven seconds left, it simply couldn’t finish the game.
Brown-Hoskin led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-18 from the field and added six rebounds and three assists. Mathurin totaled 14 points on 5-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, and added six rebounds. Despite fouling out near the end of the game, Wilson put up a double-double, totaling 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Rebounds played a big factor in the loss, as North Carolina outrebounded NC State 51-35, including 20 offensive rebounds to just three for the Wolfpack. In result, the Tar Heels garnered 14 second chance points while the Pack had zero.
“They were switching everything, and they were already there to get the rebound,” Mathurin said. “We had trouble boxing them out because they were in such great position, and that led to all the second chance points that just ended up killing us.”
Foul trouble plagued NC State all game. Sophomore guard Miah Spencer, who had been averaging over seventeen points per game, was limited to only ten minutes in the first half and totaled just four points on the game. In addition to Wilson, Junior forward Carlee Schuhmacher and freshman forward Chelsea Nelson fouled out near the end of the game. They combined for just six points.
“This was a heartbreaking loss,” Coach Moore said. “When you lead at home for 33 minutes, you have to find a way to get it done. But I am proud of the way our kids competed. We needed a signature win, but we were unable to finish it up.”
The Pack looks to bounce back in a road contest against Syracuse on Sunday, January 25 at 3 p.m.
The Wolfpack returned to Reynolds Coliseum Thursday, Jan. 22 looking to make the 2-game series even with rival North Carolina after losing 72-56 to the No. 12 team in Chapel Hill on Jan. 4. Strong performances by redshirt senior guard Len'Nique Brown-Hoskin (21 points), redshirt sophomore guard Dominique Wilson (15 points, 10 rebounds), and sophomore forward Jennifer Mathurin (14 points, 6 rebounds) kept the Pack ahead for almost 33 minutes of regulation time. However, a late scoring surge, aided with multiple offensive rebounds allowed the Heels to come away with a 67-63 win. NC State will face off with No. 23 Syracuse in New York on Jan. 25.
