Graduate guard Raina Perez missed just a single shot, a first-quarter free throw, in No. 2 NC State women’s basketball’s 82-55 win over the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday, Dec. 19.
The Wolfpack (11-2, 2-0 ACC) needed a bounce-back win after its OT loss against Georgia and the Cavaliers (3-8, 0-1 ACC) were unfortunate enough to be in the sights of a hungry NC State.
“I was worried about us having a little bit of a hangover today,” said head coach Wes Moore. “Heck, I had a hangover today from the loss the other night. Heartbreaking. … Started out a little bit slow, but I thought they did a nice job of having energy. I thought practice yesterday, they had some energy and I thought it carried over to the game. Again, really proud of what they’ve done with the schedule we’ve played. They’ve done a pretty awesome job of navigating a really tough schedule.”
Perez went a perfect 6 for 6 from the floor and 3 for 3 from the beyond arc in her 16-point performance. Apart from scoring, Perez added four rebounds, three assists and a steal, while committing just one turnover.
“She’s the point guard, so she’ll initiate all of our plays, and for her to have low turnovers, it keeps us going,” said senior center Elissa Cunane. “I think her having a good game just builds her confidence and keeps us going because we can score at all levels.”
The graduate guard was able to consistently knock down shots despite very persistent on and off-ball defense from Virginia’s own No. 2, Taylor Valladay. For most of the game, Valladay pressed Perez as she brought the ball up the court and tried to stop the inbound pass from ever getting to her.
The Pack led narrowly after the first quarter but opened up an 11-point lead in the second thanks to graduate guard Raina Perez and junior center Camille Hobby. Perez did the bulk of her second-quarter damage from beyond the arc, scoring six of her eight points in the period on two 3s.
Hobby came into the game for the first time at the start of the quarter and was an instant spark on offense and defense, grabbing eight points, one block, one rebound, one steal and forcing a jump ball. The center added some more points after the break and ended the game with 10 points, one of three Wolfpack players to notch double digits against the Cavs.
“I just love Camille,” Moore said. “To be honest in the transfer era, transfer portal era, we’re in, [it’s] sometimes rare for a player to stick around, keep working hard. Obviously Elissa is a great player, Camille’s a great player. … We’re blessed to have her and we’re gonna keep getting her minutes, getting her out there and obviously next year, she’ll play an even bigger role.”
After a pretty quiet first half, Cunane decided it was her turn for an eight-point quarter in the third, helping the Wolfpack extend its lead to 18 by the start of the fourth. Cunane continued her dominance to start the fourth and ended with 17 points and six rebounds.
“I think in the first half, we were kind of doing some pick and roll action and guards were just getting wide open shots off that,” Cunane said. “If they’re open, they’re going to take it. In the second half, I think they guarded the guards better. So they were just dumping it down low, but they couldn’t stop us. They did choose which one they wanted to guard.”
The Wolfpack now has some time off around Christmas, returning to the court on Dec. 30 to face Clemson on the road.
“We’re excited to be on break, but we knew that we needed to get this game done first and that was our main focus,” Cunane said. “So to come in here, have a good defensive battle and then come out with a dub for ACC play. It makes us excited to come back and just dive back in and get into full fledged play.”
