The replay: Wolfpack women, Duke men win; Canes back on ice; NC Central football news
While some teams and leagues continue to be at a standstill due to the unpredictable and omnipresent threat of COVID-19, most are trying their best to keep things going as smoothly, and as safely, as possible.
The past week in Triangle sports saw a major showdown in women’s basketball, the Hurricanes got back on the ice (finally) on Friday and Saturday after nearly a week off, high school basketball entered conference play in earnest, we saw mixed results for the men’s basketball programs, and two in-state FCS schools are finally going to play each other on the gridiron.
WOLFPACK MAKES A STATEMENT
UNC had the unblemished record, but NC State is higher in the national polls. The Wolfpack women’s basketball team hosted the Tar Heels on Thursday night in a matchup of Top 25 teams, and NC State held serve at home in dominant fashion, walking away with a convincing 72-45 win over the Heels.
Elissa Cunane finished with a team-high 19 points and a team-best 13 rebounds in the Wolfpack’s home win over its previously undefeated rival.
It was lopsided from the start. N.C. State (13-2, 4-0) was the aggressor, jumping out to a 10-0 lead as the Heels struggled to hit a basket. Carolina didn’t score until the 4:48 mark of the first quarter.
It didn’t matter. The Wolfpack was too good out the gate, leading 24-7 after the first quarter and up 17 at halftime.
NC CENTRAL TO FACE CAMPBELL
North Carolina Central University and Campbell University are separated by less than 50 miles, but their football teams have never squared off against one another in a countable game.
That changes this fall, after the schools announced a two-year football agreement Friday. NCCU will visit Campbell on Oct. 1, 2022, in Buies Creek, while the Eagles will host the Fighting Camels in Durham on Sept. 30, 2023. Both schools compete in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision.
NCCU finished the 2021 season as the MEAC runner-up with a 4-1 conference record and completed the season with a winning record (6-5) for the first time since 2017.
Campbell is coming off a 3-8 campaign, including a 2-5 record against Big South Conference opponents.
HURRICANES BACK ON THE ICE
With a game earlier this week postponed due to COVID-19, the Hurricanes had six days off after their 7-4, come-from-behind win over the Blue Jackets on New Year’s Day.
Since then, none of the Canes entered NHL protocols, and the team was at full strength against the Flames on Friday, and the Panthers on Saturday. Those games marked the first for the team against so-called “upper-tier” teams in the league since their road swing through Western Canada in early December.
UNC STRUGGLES; DUKE HANGS ON; PACK FINALLY WINS
In men’s basketball, Duke clearly showed rust in its first game back after a pause for the holidays — and for COVID protocols.
Duke was playing its first game in 13 days, Georgia Tech its second in 15. Neither team could find the basket with a map — they combined to miss 44 shots in the first half.
Georgia Tech hung tough the whole way, getting within six late. Duke ground out a 69-57 win on defense and at the free-throw line.
The guys from Chapel Hill weren’t so lucky. In South Bend, the Tar Heels’ rally fell short as UNC lost to Notre Dame, 78-73. Following the game, forward Armando Bacot labeled the loss “embarrassing.” To wit: Carolina allowed a season-high 13 3-pointers. The previous high was 11 3-pointers in a win at College of Charleston.
It was UNC’s first road loss of the season.
Meanwhile, in Blacksburg, Virginia, NC State clawed its way to its first ACC win of the season, a 68-63 triumph over Virginia Tech behind yet another double-double by Dereon Seabron (21 points, 10 boards).
This story was originally published January 9, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "The replay: Wolfpack women, Duke men win; Canes back on ice; NC Central football news."
