The No. 2 NC State women’s basketball team grinded out a 68-61 win against the Syracuse Orange behind late-game heroics from sophomore forward Jada Boyd and junior center Elissa Cunane inside the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York on Sunday, Feb. 28.

Boyd, the Pack’s Sixth Player of the Year, finished the game with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds while also snatching three steals. Cunane led the team in scoring, giving the Pack (17-2, 12-2 ACC) 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists, hitting 5 of 11 shots and all seven of her free-throw attempts. Both players were major factors in handing Syracuse (12-7, 9-7 ACC) its first home loss of the season.

“[Boyd]’s just a tough matchup,” said head coach Wes Moore. “She’s our most athletic kid, so with her size and her athleticism, she can get up to the rim and make some plays and grab some important rebounds…If we’re gonna be great, if we’re gonna take it to the next level, we got to have Jada Boyd playing at a high level….We need her to have her mojo, have her energy and play like she did today…she did a great job.”

The Wolfpack had a difficult time in stopping Syracuse’s Kiara Lewis, who finished the game with a staggering 29 points. Adversely, NC State had just 15 points from its pair of starting guards, having difficulty adjusting to the Carrier Dome that Syracuse was 8-0 in before today’s game.

“Great win,” Moore said. “Syracuse undefeated at home this year…they got a lot of vast talent. It wasn’t very pretty. We didn’t shoot it great, but we just hung in there and [I’m] proud of that…[the Orange] play that zone, they make it tough on you, but then halfway through the shot clock, they’ll switch to man…they make it miserable, I’d probably rather have a root canal than come up here and play against this team.”

While NC State’s senior tandem of guard Kai Crutchfield and forward Kayla Jones had rough days, other members of the Wolfpack were able to help fill out the edges. Graduate guard Raina Perez had 11 points and six assists in the game while sophomore center Camille Hobby filled in nicely for Cunane in the first half, ending the game with eight points.

“I think it’s very important,” Moore said of Hobby’s contributions. “[Cunane] picked up one foul in the backcourt and could’ve almost picked up another one…so I took her out with about two minutes left in the half…so [Hobby] obviously keeps us fresh. Camille’s a scoring threat, she knocked down a big 3 today when she went in and things were kind of iffy there. She hit a big 3 for us. So there’s no doubt it’s a great luxury…it’s great having that.”

Both teams got out to a rough start in the first quarter, with neither team shooting the ball well and the two opponents’ starting lineups combined for just 16 points. The Pack was bailed out in the first period with Hobby and Boyd combining for 10 points off the bench, giving the team an 18-15 lead over the Orange after the first quarter.

The second quarter was another sluggish affair for the Pack after shooting just 25% from the field in the quarter and being 1 of 7 from downtown at the halfway mark. On the other hand, Lewis scored 10 points in the period, which gave Syracuse the edge heading into the break.

At the half, NC State’s starting lineup of Perez, Crutchfield, Jones, sophomore wing Jakia Brown-Turner and Cunane had just 16 combined points on 6-of-22 shooting from the floor and hadn’t hit a 3-pointer on five attempts. The Pack finished the day shooting just 1 of 9 from deep, a stark contrast from the team’s game against Pitt in which it tied a program record for 3s made. Being able to win while playing two completely opposite game plans in the span of just two games is huge for the team as it approaches the ACC Tournament.

“You have good days, you have bad days shooting the ball,” Moore said. “What we talk about all the time is on a bad day…we were able to win the rebound battle, we were able to handle the press pretty well considering how good they are at it…so we did the little things and found a way to win.”

After the rough first half, the Wolfpack was able to get into rhythm in the third quarter, outscoring Syracuse 21-7. Cunane was able to score eight points in the quarter, while Perez put up three assists and the sophomore duo of Boyd and Brown-Turner played well-rounded basketball across that span.

Despite playing such a great third quarter, the Pack let up a 16-2 run in the fourth quarter that eventually resulted in Syracuse taking the lead 54-53 with around five minutes left in the game. However, Cunane and Boyd led the way for the Pack to end the ‘Cuse run, with Cunane getting a huge three-point play around the two-minute mark. Meanwhile, when Boyd checked in late, the Pack went on a 7-0 scoring run, with four of those points coming from the sophomore en route to her 16-point day.

Those heroics were capped off by Boyd’s game-clinching layup, putting the Pack up by four points with 40 seconds left in the game. NC State was able to hold on to get the win 68-61, ending the regular season on a five-game winning streak.

“It means a lot,” Boyd said. “Especially after the little slump that I’ve been in. Just coming out and playing hard, it feels really good.”

Next up, the Wolfpack will head to Greensboro in preparation for the 2021 ACC Tournament as reigning champions. The Pack’s opponent and first game time is to be determined.

“Yeah, I would say angry and just focused; we’re determined,” Cunane said. “We’re not at the end of March, April, so we’re not where we want to be yet. We still have games left to be played so we can’t settle with whatever our ranking, whatever our seed is. We have to go out there day in and day out and play every team…every team is going to give us their best so we have to be ready to battle.”