The No. 4 NC State women’s basketball team vanquished the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by a score of 66-47 in Winston-Salem on Thursday, Feb 18. The big win breaks a recent skid for the Pack in which it lost two out of its last four games, including two out of its last three on the road.

The Demon Deacons (11-9, 8-8 ACC) were looking for an early advantage over the Wolfpack (14-2, 9-2 ACC), as they briefly took a 9-8 lead before senior forward Kayla Jones dropped in a layup to retake the lead for NC State. Wake Forest would stay within striking distance for much of the first half, even tying it up at 18 and then 24 apiece in the second quarter.

It would be safe to assume that NC State had enough at that point, as it proceeded to rain hellfire upon the Demon Deacons in a 36-12 run over the course of a quarter and a half. This offensive deluge was led by Jones, as well as junior center Elissa Cunane and sophomore wing Jakia Brown-Turner. This three-pronged Pack attack notched nine, 13 and nine points, respectively, during the run.

Brown-Turner exploits were not limited to this particular period, as she finished the game with a team-high 21 points, knocking down nine of 14 shots from the field.  On the flip side, Cunane scored the vast majority of her 15 total points in this stretch, but also grabbed 10 rebounds to secure a double-double for the game.

The NC State victory was also sealed by solid shot defense, as Wake Forest only shot 31% from the field and 23.1% from beyond the arc.  Despite a valiant 18-point effort from forward Ivana Raca, the Demon Deacons fell short of victory. 

The Pack will return to Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 21 to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. The game will be aired on ESPN2 at noon.