Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford HS) pumps in 23 Pack points and 12 rebounds, but the Duke Blue Devils spoil Play4Kay contest:”Cunane Train” rolls on with her 13th Double-Double of the season

**********N.C. State Wolfpack sophomore Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford High School) shot lights out from the field, as she tallied 23 points on the night. The center went 8-of-10 from the field, with her first miss coming in the fourth quarter, and she also went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Cunane added 12 rebounds to maintain her league lead in double-doubles with her 13th of the season.************

++++++++++Another interesting note is that Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford High School), who is having a stellar sophomore season for the N.C. State Wolfpack women, and Elizabeth Kitley, from Northwest Guilford High School, who is a very strong candidate for the ACC Women’s Freshman of the Year; well Elissa and Liz share one more important part of their basketball game…They both are having outstanding years for their ACC schools, Elissa for State and Liz for Virginia Tech and here is the quiz…What else do share along with all of that talent and power in the post???

Elissa Cunane, from N.C. State and Northern Guilford HS, and Liz Kitley, from Virginia Tech and Northwest Guilford HS, both wear #33…CLICK HERE to see Elissa Cunane going strong in the lane, wearing her #33 and we had Liz Kitley, in her #33, in our previous post about the VA Tech post player, earlier tonight…..Great stuff on these two Guilford County Schools products….

from www.gopack.com:

#8 Wolfpack Falls to Blue Devils in #Play4Kay Game
NC State raised over $350,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund

RALEIGH – The eighth-ranked NC State women’s basketball team (23-4, 12-4 ACC) came up just short to Duke (17-10, 11-5 ACC) Monday evening during its annual Play4Kay Game, falling 70-65 to the visiting Blue Devils inside Reynolds Coliseum.

Monday’s contest was the 15th edition of NC State’s annual Play4Kay Game that celebrates the life of legendary head coach Kay Yow and honors all who have battled cancer. Through the support of Wolfpack Nation, the university community and multiple local businesses, NC State’s game this season resulted in $356,701.5 in total donations to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Duke never trailed in what was its sixth-straight victory on the season. The game snapped the Blue Devils’ three-game losing streak against the Wolfpack, and it was Duke’s first win inside Reynolds Coliseum since Jan. 3, 2013.

The Pack trailed by as many as 11 points (16-27) in the second quarter but scored 14 of the last 18 of the first half to trail by just one (30-31) at halftime. After scoring the first six points of the second half, Duke managed to hang on to a five+ point lead for the majority of the third quarter. The Blue Devils rebuilt a brief double-digit advantage of 10 points (62-52) with 3:18 remaining in the game, but NC State continued fighting. A three pointer by Jakia Brown-Turner brought the Pack within three (63-66) with 43 seconds remaining in the game, but Duke’s Haley Gorecki made a bucket late in the Blue Devils’ next possession to regain a two-possession lead that NC State would not crack into again.

Wolfpack sophomore Elissa Cunane shot lights out from the field as she tallied 23 points on the night. The center went 8-of-10 from the field, with her first miss coming in the fourth quarter, and she also went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Cunane added 12 rebounds to maintain her league lead in double-doubles with her 13th of the season.

NC State freshman Jada Boyd scored 10 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, finishing just one point shy of her best mark in conference play (16 points at Notre Dame).

Gorecki led a well-balanced Duke scoring attack with a game-leading 24 points, 13 of which were scored in the fourth quarter alone. She was joined in double figures by Onome Akinbode-James (12 points), Kyra Lambert (11 points) and Leaonna Odom (10 points).

Postgame Notes
• Monday’s game was NC State’s fourth-straight sellout, marking the most games that the Wolfpack has sold out in a single season in program history.
• Duke owned a dominating 23-2 advantage in points off of turnovers, capitalizing on 16 Wolfpack turnovers.
• NC State shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field, marking its fifth time in seven games with a field-goal percentage of over 40. The Pack also knocked down six three pointers in the game, its most since hitting eight at Duke on Feb. 2.
• The Pack assisted on 16 of its 24 made field goals. Senior guard Aislinn Konig set a new career high as she dished out seven on the night.

NC State will play its final home game of the regular season on Thursday, Feb. 27 as it hosts Syracuse for Senior Day. Tip-off against the Orange is set for 8 p.m. from Reynolds Coliseum, and the contest will be televised nationally on the ACC Network.