Walking into the locker room for halftime Monday night, the women’s basketball team (17-7, 6-3) left few questions as to whether or not it was on a mission with a 41-19 lead against Florida State (17-6, 6-2).
N.C. State, which shot 50 percent in the opening half, put together a 22-6 run in the final 8:37 of the half that put Florida State in a hole it could never dig itself out of.
According to coach Kay Yow, the half was the best half the Wolfpack had put together all season.
“They were down to business from the very beginning,” Yow said. “It is a real pleasure to see them perform that way. I think they really got a mindset of playing great defense, and we are executing on the offensive end.”
Offensively in the first half senior center Gillian Goring, led State. Goring scored 13 of her team-high 19 points in the first half, along with grabbing eight of her team-high 12 rebounds in the opening half.
Goring, who had a career-high 20 points on Jan. 28 against Boston College, attributed her improving play to Yow, who is battling breast cancer.
“It’s just coming into practice and working hard no matter what — giving your blood, sweat and everything for coach Yow,” Goring said. “I just want to keep my promise to her.”
Yow added the 28 minutes Goring played despite being ill was a testament to her character.
“I don’t think we could have been as successful without her because FSU has some big girls inside, and we had to be able to match that,” Yow said. “She just gave a great effort. For us to do what we want to do, we need her to be able to play those minutes.”
Defensively State held Florida State to 36.7 percent shooting including 27.3 percent in the first half, and caused 17 turnovers in route to the win.
Yow said the team’s defense was crucial to the victory because of a few periods of time during the second half where the Wolfpack “couldn’t seem to buy a bucket.”
“We played very aggressive defense without committing a lot of fouls,” Yow said. “I think that is a real key against this type of competition to be able to put a great amount of pressure on the ball but not commit a lot of fouls while doing it.”
Taking a step back, Yow said the team’s victory against Florida State was huge for the outcome of the entire season and the team’s postseason aspirations.
With the victory, State improved its chances of catching the third-place Seminoles in the conference standings, who have only lost one other conference game the entire season — against Duke.
Yow said Florida State’s remaining schedule made the win even more significant, as the Seminoles play Duke, North Carolina and Maryland only once in conference play, all in Tallahassee — with the Duke game already behind the Seminoles.
The Wolfpack have already lost against both North Carolina and Maryland in away games this season and to Duke at home. State will play only North Carolina again this season in a home game on Feb. 16.
“With the unevenness of the way teams play, this was a big game for us to win in a head-to-head competition because that is a team we are battling for in the ACC standings,” Yow said.