The NC State women’s basketball team earned a revenge victory over archrival UNC-Chapel Hill, 80-60, in the team’s final home game of the season Thursday night in Reynolds Coliseum.
It was senior night for the Wolfpack (21-7, 11-4 ACC) and the seniors came to play, combining for 59 of the team’s 80 points with Dominique Wilson leading the way with 19 points. State played aggressively and shot lights out from distance, going 13 of 27 from beyond the arc. The Pack dominated all other facets of the game, tallying 22 second-chance points, 16 points off turnovers and 14 fast-break points.
“I thought we came out with a lot of energy and focus,” head coach Wes Moore said. “It was a great way to send out our seniors. Those four have been unbelievable ambassadors for not only our program, but for NC State. Obviously on the court, where you can easily see if, but in the classroom and the community.”
The Pack started off hot, scoring on five of the first six possessions to hold a 14-8 at the first media timeout. State heated up even more, closing out the quarter on a 16-5 run to hold a dominant 30-14 lead after just one quarter. The Wolfpack shot 10 of 17 from the field on the quarter, while the Heels (14-14, 3-12 ACC) shot merely 4 of 20.
“I’m glad we came out here and put our foot on the pedal,” senior Miah Spencer said. “We didn’t let up at all during the game. We came out here and we played together. We had fun.”
NC State kept it going into the second quarter, hitting three 3-pointers to expand the lead, 41-21, at the halfway mark. The Tar Heels slowly chipped away at the lead in the remainder of the half, but the Pack fired back to lead 54-33 at the half.
The seniors dominated in what will be their final regular season home game of their collegiate careers, as they tallied 45 of the 54 Wolfpack points in the first half. Additionally, three of the four seniors were in double-figures scoring, with Ashley Williams leading the charge at 15 points on 5 of 8 from 3-point range.
“I just came out a little more aggressive in seeking my shot,” Williams said. “My teammates did a really good job of finding me in transition. I just took open looks.”
State’s high level of play never wavered as the second half began, starting the half on an 11-6 run halfway through the third quarter. From there, the Pack went on a 6-0 run, but the Heels fired back with a 10-0 run to get the momentum swinging their direction for the first time of the game and cut the gap to 69-49 at the end of the third quarter. After shooting at 50 percent or higher in each of the previous two quarters, the Pack converted just 33 percent of its shots in the third.
However, the Tar Heels’ momentum was short-lived, as the Wolfpack coasted its way through the rest of the game with five reserve players seeing time and the seniors getting a standing ovation as they exited the court.
UNC junior Jamie Cherry led all scorers with 25 points. In addition to Wilson, Williams and senior Jennifer Mathurin scored in double figures, as Williams tallied 18 on 6 of 10 from 3-point range and Mathurin tacked on 13 points and four rebounds. Spencer came up just short of double-digit scoring after playing only 20 minutes due to foul trouble, registering nine points and a game-high nine assists.
“They’ve been a pure joy to be around and to coach,” Moore said. “All of them have been unbelievable. Hopefully, we can build off this and continue a little bit of a run for those four kids.”
NC State travels to Charlottesville, Virginia to take on the Cavaliers in the final game of the regular season Sunday at 2 p.m.
Senior forward Jennifer Mathurin flexes and screams in celebration of a quick layup that went in, drawing the foul for the and-1. Mathurin had 13 points and four rebounds during the 80-60 rout of UNC on Feb 23, in Reynolds Coliseum.
