In a tightly contested game with less than eight minutes to go in the first half, N.C. State needed a spark. And after a dazzling passing display, Marquetta Dickens sent laser to Tiffany Stansbury, whose lay-up ignited an eight-to-one Wolfpack run.
The lay-up put State ahead 23-19, a lead that bloomed into a 73-60 win over Wake Forest Thursday night in Reynolds Coliseum.
The win broke a three-game losing streak for State (14-9, 4-6) and a stretch of six losses in the span of nine games after moving up in the ACC standings and garnering national recognition in the polls.
“It feels really good to get things back on track here. I thought the team gave a great effort tonight,” coach Kay Yow said.
State held Wake Forest (10-12, 2-8) to a shooting percentage of 29 percent in the first half and just 32 percent for the game. The Demon Deacons had been shooting just more than 39 percent for the year, but credit, in part, the State defensive effort for the sudden drop.
“Part of it was they defended pretty well I thought, and part of it was we had some open looks that we just didn’t make,” Wake Forest coach Mike Petersen said. “Some of the credit must go to N.C. State though; they are a very good defensive team. Some of it’s on us though; if you’re going to be an athlete and compete at this level — the best league in the country — you’ve got to deliver and tonight, we didn’t deliver.”
The foul-plagued game caught up with Wake Forest quickly, as State was already in the bonus with more than 11 minutes remaining, which led to a total of 20 first-half free throws for the Pack — 13 of which they converted.
Following the Pack’s eight-to-one run, the Deacs responded and brought the deficit to just four points again, but State closed the half by scoring the last five points and putting the game out of reach for the cold-shooting Demon Deacons.
“I thought we played pretty well for 32 of the 40 minutes,” Petersen said. “There was a four-minute stretch in the end of the first half when they went on their run, and then we were not ready to go.”
State’s 12-point half-time advantage ballooned into a 20-point lead, which was keyed by four forced turnovers and empty possessions by Wake Forest on eight of their first nine trips down the court to start the half.
“The problem is, in this league, 32 out of 40 minutes — I’m not really good at math — but that sounds like about 80 percent,” Petersen said. “At Wake Forest, that’ll get you a ‘C’ every time. ‘C’s’ don’t win in this league, especially on the road. You better get a ‘B+’ or ‘A’ if you want to win on the road.”
The 20-point margin was eventually cut down to 10 with five minutes to go, but Wake’s effort wasn’t enough to pull out a win.
State finished the game with a shooting percentage of 50 percent, which included 12 of the 19 shots it took in the first half.
“We have people who can score, but we have to get the shot where we can score,” Yow said. “I thought they did a better job of that tonight.”
