The NC State women’s basketball team continued its hot streak, winning its fourth game in a row against Maryland Eastern Shore, 77-58, Monday at Reynolds Coliseum.
Wolfpack (4-0) junior forward Chelsea Nelson led the way with an outstanding performance, tallying 19 points and 10 rebounds as she shot 75 percent from the field.
“Chelsea has a high motor,” head coach Wes Moore said. “With Chelsea you rarely have to worry about her getting out and playing hard, I’m happy that she was able to have a good game.”
Early in the first quarter, Nelson showed great intensity as she dove for two loose balls and got up and scored on each play. Nelson ended the quarter 10 points and seven rebounds. The Wolfpack posted a double-digit lead at the end of the first, 19-7. The Hawks (2-2) could not find their groove, shooting just 2 of 14 in the first.
In the second quarter, the Hawks put up 14 points and won the rebound battle 13-9, but were unable to stop the Pack, as the Hawks trailed at half 37-21. Senior guard Mariah McCoy went 3 of 4 from behind the arc in the second to give her nine points in the half.
Redshirt freshman Kaila Ealey is getting comfortable post-ACL injury, as she entered the game in the second quarter and put up six points and shot 3 of 3 from the field in seven minutes. The Pack shot 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from behind the arc.
“She got a gift, even coming off an ACL injury,” Moore said. “She still got some great speed and quickness and can make plays on defense, she gets a lot of her points getting to the rim and we need more of that.”
The Hawks opened the third quarter firing from the field shooting 70 percent. Sophomore guard Ciani Byrom led the Hawks in the opening run, shooting 3 of 4 from the field and tallying seven of the team’s 16 points to open the quarter.
Nelson came back in the third quarter and kept her hot streak, scoring seven of the Pack’s 15 points to start the quarter. The Pack also opened the quarter on the mark from the field shooting 60 percent.
The Hawks scored more points than the Wolfpack in the third, but were unable to even the score, as the Pack led at the end of the third 57-42.
The fourth quarter was filled with vast amounts of hustle and determination from both teams. In the middle of the fourth quarter, there was an official timeout because Nelson and sophomore guard Keyera Eaton got into a small scuffle after diving efforts from both players for a loose ball.
After a tightly contested fourth quarter, the Wolfpack was able to walk away with the win.
The game was much closer than the final score indicated, as both teams shot 50 percent from the free-throw line as well as slightly above 30 percent from behind the arc. The Hawks outrebounded the Pack 41-39, but despite winning the rebound battle, the Hawks were unable to score fast break points on the night.
“Honestly we really actually didn’t play as well as we should have,” Nelson said. “Defensively we need to do a better job, instead of getting beat on the ball and rebounding and boxing out.”
McCoy played an outstanding game for the Hawks, scoring 24 points, shooting 6 of 8 from behind the arc and shooting 56 percent from the field.
Ealey, coming off the bench, and Nelson played an outstanding game, as they led the way to the win. Ealey finished with 12 points, two rebounds and three steals. Nelson totaled 19 points, 10 rebounds and one block on the night.
“It feels great,” Ealey said. “When I sat out I watched Miah [Spencer] and [Dominique Wilson], just learning from them and not taking the game for granted anymore, and trying to do my best every night and give a lot of effort.”
As the schedule continues, the Pack heads to the U.S. Virgin Islands as it takes on Kansas State to start the Paradise Jam on Thursday.
Senior guard Miah Spencer defends a Maryland Eastern Shore player during the game on Monday in Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack held the lead throughout the entire game and defeated Maryland Eastern Shore by a score of 77-58.
