GREENSBORO — The No. 10 NC State women’s basketball team came away victorious in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament despite an abysmal first quarter. Here are some key numbers from the Wolfpack’s 57-48 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
1 — Lead change in the game. Despite an exciting, back-and-forth affair that went all the way down to the wire, the lead was only exchanged once. After a 23-23 deadlock at halftime, NC State scored the first point of the third quarter and never relinquished its first lead of the game.
10 — Players head coach Wes Moore used in the win. Just a few days after saying he was comfortable playing nine or 10 players, Moore was forced to go deep with his starters getting into early foul trouble, and the Pack’s fringe players rewarded him by coming up big.
14 — Points NC State trailed by early in the second quarter before a furious comeback leveled things up at the break. Seven points from senior guard Aislinn Konig and four from freshman center Camille Hobby orchestrated the comeback as NC State closed out the quarter on a 16-2 run.
10 — Points scored in the third quarter by sophomore center Elissa Cunane. Playing just minutes outside of her hometown, the 6-foot-5 star took over in the third quarter, scoring two old-fashioned, 3-point plays as the Wolfpack took its first lead of the game and never looked back.
19 — NC State’s 3-point shooting percentage. Despite bouncing back a bit after a horrid 0-for-8 start in the first quarter, the Wolfpack was never able to consistently hit from deep. Konig knocked down 2 of 6 from beyond the arc, and redshirt senior guard Grace Hunter and freshman wing Jakia Brown-Turner each hit one as NC State shot 4 for 21 on deep balls.
16 — Points scored off turnovers by the Wolfpack. NC State’s swarming defense forced 14 turnovers and made Georgia Tech pay for each and every one, constantly finding an open outlet pass for a layup after a steal or deflection.
29:44 — Time elapsed between points for Georgia Tech’s joint-second leading scorer Lorela Cubaj. The 6-foot-four Italian forward put up nine points in the Yellow Jackets’ dominant first quarter, but the Pack’s frontcourt managed to bottle her up for most of the rest of the game.
15 — Points scored by Georgia Tech leading scorer Francesca Pan. The 6-foot guard caused the Wolfpack migraines all night long the last time the two teams played, scoring 30 points. On Friday, however, she only gave NC State some minor headaches, as the Wolfpack held her to under 50% shooting and limited her offensive impact.
