#9 NC State Defeats Wake Forest 59-45
RALEIGH – The No. 9 Wolfpack women’s basketball team (17-1, 6-1 ACC) pulled away from Wake Forest (11-7, 4-3 ACC) in the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon, defeating the visiting Demon Deacons by a final score of 59-45 on Kay Yow Court at Valvano Arena inside Reynolds Coliseum.
The victory was NC State’s fifth in a row over Wake Forest and its third straight when playing the Demon Deacons in Raleigh.
Three players scored in double figures in what was a total team effort for the Wolfpack. Kayla Jones notched her fourth double-double of the season and of her career to lead NC State in scoring. Her 15 points tied as a career high, and she snagged 11 rebounds on the afternoon. Jakia Brown-Turner hit double digits for the fifth time in conference play with 11 points, and Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford High School) added 10 points/8 rebounds.
Despite tallying its lowest shooting percentage of the season (.323), NC State managed to hold Wake Forest to an even lower clip from the field (.254). The Wolfpack won the battle of the boards by a 49-45 mark and collected 16 off of the offensive glass for 13 second-chance points. The Pack also dominated the transition game with 12 fast-break points to the Demon Deacons’ three.
Wake Forest’s Ivana Raca (16 points) led all players on the court and was the only Demon Deacon to score 10 or more on the day.
NC State led by as much as 10 (31-21) in the second quarter after scoring nine unanswered points. Wake Forest went without a field goal for nearly seven minutes but then scored the final five points of the half to trim the Pack’s lead to five (31-26) at the break.
After the Wolfpack hit the first basket of the second half, Wake Forest responded with a 9-0 run of its own to regain its first lead (35-33) since the 6:33 mark of the first quarter. NC State went 0-of-8 from the field for an almost three-minute span before Aislinn Konig snapped the Demon Deacon streak with a jumper to knot the score at 35. The basket started another 9-0 run, this time in favor of the Wolfpack.
NC State held Wake Forest without a make from the field over the final 7:18 of the third quarter. Boyd scored the first four points of the half to put the Pack’s lead into double digits (48-37), where it would remain for the majority of the fourth quarter.
The Wolfpack is set to hit the road on Thursday, Jan. 23 for a matchup against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from the Petersen Events Center, and the contest will be streamed live on ACCNX.