GREENSBORO – One of the most successful seasons in NC State women’s basketball history came to an end Saturday, as the third-seeded Wolfpack fell 79-61 to two-seeded Iowa in the Sweet 16 inside of the Greensboro Coliseum.
Cold shooting throughout the game doomed the Wolfpack (28-6), which shot just 34.8 percent from the field and 22.2 from beyond the arc. The Pack also didn’t have much of an answer for Hawkeyes (29-6) center Megan Gustafson, as the nation’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder finished the game with 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting and 12 rebounds.
Iowa as a team shot well throughout, shooting better than 50 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from deep.
“They played a great game. Very well-coached. Very fundamental,” Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore said. “Gustafson, obviously, is an awesome player and then I felt like the rest of the team really had a great game around her. So, when they are hitting 3s and she does what she does on the block, it’s a tough matchup.”
For the Pack, graduate guard Kiara Leslie ended her career with a near double-double, scoring a team-leading 16 points to go along with nine boards. Wolfpack freshman center Elissa Cunane did post a double-double for the Pack, scoring 14 and collecting 11 boards in her game-long battle with Gustafson. It was a tough matchup for the Pack freshman, going up against an incredibly skilled veteran.
“I think [Gustafson] kept her composure very well on the court,” Cunane said. “She just scored a lot around the basket, but she also had the outside shot. So, I think just her style of play, and she was directing her players, and leadership on the court is something I can learn from.”
Cunane did a great job of keeping Gustafson under wraps in the opening quarter, as the Hawkeyes’ center had just four points and three rebounds. Cunane limited Gustafson to just one field-goal attempt in the opening 10 minutes, and even blocked a shot from Iowa’s star.
However, as well as Cunane did against Gustafson, the first quarter went Iowa’s way, as the Hawkeyes took a 16-11 lead into the first break after a chippy opening frame. NC State jumped ahead to a 9-8 lead after a Cunane layup, but the Hawkeyes battled back with an 8-0 run to take a hold of the game.
Iowa came out in the second quarter firing, opening up the frame on a 10-3 run to force a timeout from Moore. It didn’t do much to stop the Hawkeyes, as they opened up a 37-24 lead heading into the locker room.
NC state struggled throughout the first half to get the ball to fall, shooting just 9 for 27 compared to the Hawkeyes’ 13 for 29. Gustafson began to overpower the Pack as the half went along, ending the opening 20 minutes with 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting and six rebounds.
“I was really disappointed in the first half,” Moore said. “If we were nervous or just what, but we weren’t ourselves. There’s been very few times I have been disappointed, especially with all they have been through.
For the Pack, Leslie and senior forward DD Rogers each had six points to lead a low-scoring 24-point half.
Whatever Moore said to the Wolfpack during halftime clearly worked early on, as NC State came out in the second frame looking like a new team. After exchanging a couple of baskets to start the third quarter, the Pack went on a quick 8-2 run to cut Iowa’s lead to just seven and force a timeout.
“I was very disappointed in the first half. I don’t know exactly what happened, that really didn’t look like our team,” Moore said. “But second half, we made a nice run and then we came down about four or five times in a row and had some decent looks, and the ball just didn’t go in.”
After scoring just four points in the opening half, Cunane found her groove to start of the second. The freshman center scored six points in the first three minutes of the third quarter alone, using fantastic post moves to beat Gustafson.
Following a nearly four-minute scoring drought that featured 0-for-7 shooting, the Hawkeyes caught fire late in the third quarter, making six straight shots to settle things down and end the frame. The Wolfpack ended up out-scoring Iowa by just one point in a third period that started out so well, as the Hawkeyes took a 56-44 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Iowa flexed its power in the final quarter, clamping down on NC State and dominating the last 10 minutes to seal the victory. A 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter really put the game to bed, as the Hawkeyes opened up a 20-point lead after a Gustafson jumper.
Despite the loss, the Wolfpack’s season was an overwhelming success. NC State finished the year with just six losses and made it to its second straight Sweet 16. Even more impressive for the Pack was how well it held up despite a slew of injuries, as NC State lost four players to season-ending knee injuries throughout the course of the season.
“We just stuck together and played for one another every night,” Leslie said. “I think that’s what helped us get this far and throughout the season.”
The Pack is set up well for the future, but will have to take on next year without Leslie and Rogers, who played both played their final game in a Wolfpack jersey Saturday. An emotional Moore expressed his gratitude for how much Leslie and Rogers have helped the program.
“There’s times before a game, introductions or whatever, I’m almost moved to tears because as good of players as they are, they are just as good of people,” Moore said. “We’re excited about where we’re headed and we owe that to [Leslie and Rogers]. Hopefully, we can build on what they have helped happen here.”
Graduate guard Kiara Leslie takes a shot inside the paint against Iowa on Saturday, March 30, 2019 in the Greensboro Coliseum. Leslie shot 6-18 from the field and totaled 16 points in the 79-61 loss to the Hawkeyes.
