An alley-oop pass from Billie McDowell to Khadijah Whittington gave N.C. State all it needed to defeat 12th seeded Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament Thursday.
The fifth seeded Wolfpack (18-10) outscored the Tigers (8-21), who hadn’t won a game since Jan. 15, 21-9 in the final 10 minutes of the game-helping propel the Pack to a 67-53 victory at Greensboro Coliseum.
Coach Kay Yow, who collected her 33rd victory in the ACC Tournament, said the alley-oop sparked her team.
“Anytime you are running something, and you execute it and it really works-particularly your first option– that it gives a lot of confidence to the team,” Yow said. “They get really excited about it…it gave us an immediate lift.”
After shooting 24 percent in the first half, the Pack only trailed the Tigers 24-23 going into halftime.
Clemson coach Cristy McKinney said her team’s defense contributed to giving State a difficult time putting the ball in the hoop.
“Our defense helped them shoot 24 percent,” McKinney said. “I thought we really challenged a lot of shots. We felt like we should have been up more. We felt like we lost some good opportunity to be up more.”
However, it was a tale of two halves as State shot 60 percent in the second half and 3-of-4 from the three-point line.
Ashley Key, who scored nine of her 11 points in the second half, said the team’s defensive intensity was the reason the Pack were still close after the first 20 minutes, especially after shooting so poorly in the first half.
“Although we weren’t hitting our shots and we were making fouls, I think it was our defensive effort that kept us in the game and allowed us to stay in it,” Key said.
“Because we knew if we kept going at it, our shots would fall. As long as we kept our defense there, that would help us get back in the game.”
Aside from holding the Tigers to less than 38 percent shooting in the second half, Marquetta Dickens had her best offensive performance of the season.
Dickens posted a season-high with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting with one three-pointer and five free throws. She added six rebounds.
“I tried to take the open shots,” Dickens said. “I’ve been working on my shot and just the small things about it. The coaches, they see something wrong and they tell me. I’ve been just really focusing on that.”
The win solidified the Pack’s tournament resume, according to Key. She said the team has more to worry about now though.
“We still have the mind frame game by game. We know that the NCAA tournament is out there. But these games will help us prepare a little bit more for the NCAA tournament,” Key said.
“I mean, we would like to get the ACC tournament first before we get to the NCAA’s.”
State’s next game is Friday against Florida State at 4 p.m. The Seminoles defeated the Pack earlier in the season 75-61. Yow said the No. 4 team in the ACC presents a lot of problems to opposing teams.
“Florida State has a really good team,” Yow said. “I really think they are one of the best teams in the conference. They really work well together. They complement each other. I think it takes a really great defensive team to really have a chance to beat them.”