NC State women’s basketball defeated Syracuse 77-73 for its first ranked win of the year. The No. 12 Wolfpack faced the No. 16 Orange without junior forward Erika Cassell who has torn her ACL and is out for the year.

Despite only six players seeing the court for over 20 minutes, NC State (22-2, 9-2 ACC) took down the Orange (18-6, 7-4 ACC) in its best win of the season. NC State is now down to nine healthy players as Cassell, redshirt junior guard Grace Hunter, redshirt senior guard Armani Hawkins, and graduate guard Kaila Ealey have been lost to knee injuries.

Graduate guard Kiara Leslie stepped up her play, leading all scorers with 30 points. Three Wolfpack payers recorded double-doubles; Leslie had 30 points and 10 rebounds, senior forward DD Rogers recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman center Elissa Cunane tallied 22 points and 12 rebounds in her first start of the season.

Through one quarter, the Pack led 19-16 off strong performances by Kiara Leslie and DD Rogers but turnovers hampered the team. The Wolfpack had five turnovers in the game’s opening stanza compared to two for the Orange.

While the Wolfpack forced the ball inside, the Orange stayed in the game with red-hot three-point shooting and full-court pressure, turning NC State over nine times in the first half en route to a 37-35 halftime lead.

Fortunes changed in the second half, as NC State shot 6 for 13 from 3 in the second half. Still, the turnover margin remained in Syracuse’s favor. Though the Orange had eight takeaways, those extra chances resulted in only seven points.

The Orange stayed even with the Wolfpack through the fourth quarter, but going an ice-cold 1 for 10 from 3-point land doomed Syracuse’s chances for the upset. The Orange had no answer for State’s inside-outside Leslie and Cunane duo.

Next up, the Wolfpack return to Reynolds Coliseum to take on No. 6 Notre Dame in the 14th annual ‘Play4Kay’ game.