NC State women’s basketball rolls to 24-point win over Duke. Wolfpack now 7-0 in ACC
N.C. State hosted a ranked rival for the second consecutive home game.
Just like last time, the Wolfpack dominated early and took care of business.
No. 4 N.C. State blew out No. 16 Duke, 84-60. While it may have been cold and wet outside, there was plenty of heat inside Reynolds thanks to the Pack (16-2, 7-0).
Loaded with talent up and down the roster, there is no question N.C. State is one of the top teams in the country. There have been times, though, when the Wolfpack gets off to slow starts, or has lapses. When it starts the game locked in, good luck beating them.
“I thought it was a great team win,” coach Wes Moore said. “Thought we came out with some energy and defended well, rebounded well. Obviously, offensively, scoring the ball pretty well also.”
Its last time out against Virginia, N.C. State trailed by four after the opening quarter. The Wolfpack won by 23. After the game, head coach Wes Moore mentioned he wasn’t fond of the team appearing to have an on/off switch.
Message received.
N.C. State led by 10 after the first quarter. It held the Blue Devils (11-4, 2-3) to nine points in the first quarter. Duke’s season-low in the opening quarter is seven against South Carolina, the No. 1 team in the country. If they keep it up, the Wolfpack is likely on a crash course for a rematch with the Gamecocks.
In its last two home games against North Carolina and the Blue Devils, N.C. State has outscored their rivals 46-16 in the first quarter. Both games were billed as bigtime showdowns between Triangle rivals. Both games turned out to be duds after the first eight minutes of action.
The Pack didn’t shoot that well out the gate (38 percent in the first), but forced six turnovers and baited Duke to settle for one missed jump shot after another. State’s senior starters - Elissa Cunane, Kai Crutchfield, Kayla Jones and Raina Perez - combined for 14 of the 19 in the opening quarter.
“Bringing energy in the first quarter kind of tells you how the game is going to be,” Cunane said. “If we don’t have energy in the first quarter it’s going to be hard fought. If we do have energy we’re usually getting after it on defense and that’s powering our offense.”
Cunane, who came into the game averaging 13.6 points, really got rolling in the second quarter, at one point scoring seven straight. The team picked up on her sudden burst and rolled to a 20-point halftime lead. It was the first time since Dec. 30 (at Virginia Tech) that Duke trailed by double-digits at the half.
Even when the Blue Devils got shots to fall, including a pair of triples from freshman Shayeann Day-Wilson, they still trailed by double-digits. Duke also had no answer for the N.C. State offense, particularly Cunane, who finished with 23..
Just when the Blue Devils started feeling good about themselves - after a long 3 from Vannessa De Jesus - Diamond Johnson answered with her first 3 of the game to push the lead back to 21.
Putting on another balanced attack, three different players scored in double figures for the Wolfpack, while six players had at least seven points. While they didn’t shoot the volume of 3s, N.C. State, the leading 3-point team in the country, shot 47 percent from deep.
“Basically we just take care of the little things,” Jada Boyd (10 points, 7 rebounds) said about the balance of the team. “And playing hard when your number is called and taking advantage of the opportunity when it comes.”
N.C. State has now won 15 straight games against league opponents, dating back to the 2021 ACC tournament. That ties the span done previously during the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons. The team has won 12 straight regular-season league games. Twelve of those have been by 19 points or more. This is the second time under Moore the Pack jumped out to a 7-0 start in conference play. N.C. State is 4-2 versus ranked opponents this season. The next ranked team on the schedule is No. 3 Louisville, who travel to Raleigh on Thursday.
There are three currently ranked teams remaining on the schedule. State will get two of those opponents (Louisville and Georgia Tech) at home.
“Great day,” Moore said. “Proud of them and hopefully it’s something we can continue to build on.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2022 at 5:43 PM with the headline "NC State women’s basketball rolls to 24-point win over Duke. Wolfpack now 7-0 in ACC."
