N.C. State Women’s Basketball tops the North Carolina Tar Heels, 82-63, to avenge earlier loss to the the Heels in Chapel Hill:Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford HS) with 17 points/14 rebounds for Wolfpack Women

#4 Wolfpack Beats Tar Heels in 2021 #Play4Kay Game
Brown-Turner and Jones post 20+ point outings in victory

RALEIGH – The fourth-ranked NC State women’s basketball team (15-2, 10-2 ACC) picked up its 10th conference win of the season on Sunday afternoon, defeating the visiting North Carolina Tar Heels (11-9, 6-9 ACC) by a final score of 82-63 inside Reynolds Coliseum during the program’s 16th annual Play4Game Game.

#Play4Kay celebrates the life of legendary head coach Kay Yow and honors all who have battled cancer. Through the generous support of Wolfpack Nation, the university community and multiple local businesses, NC State has raised $272,597.50 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund so far this season. This year’s silent auction is live through Wednesday, Feb. 24, with proceeds going toward that total.

The Wolfpack took control of the game in the middle of the first quarter and maintained its lead for the rest of the game. In total, NC State owned an advantage for 35:30 of the contest’s 40 minutes.

Sophomore Jakia Brown-Turner continued to shine with her second 20+ point performance in a row. She led all players on the floor with a career-high 25, shooting 10-of-16 (.625) from the floor and 4-of-5 (.800) from three-point range.

Kayla Jones also put together 20 points of her own after a monster second half. The senior had just two points (1-of-7 shooting) at the break but went on to go 8-of-10 from the field and score 18 of her 20 in the second half. She neared a double-double with eight rebounds and also added two assists.

**********Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford High School) rounded out the Pack’s double figure scorers. She tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double in a row and her fifth of the season. She was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe after drawing seven fouls on the day.**********

With the score tied at eight with 4:41 left in the first quarter, NC State went on an 14-0 run that spanned just over seven minutes of game action to build up a double-digit lead. UNC went 0-of-13 from the field from that 4:41 mark until the 6:33 mark of the second quarter. The Pack, in the meantime, built up a lead of as many as 16 points (26-10) in the opening half.

The Tar Heels drew within single digits twice in the middle of the third quarter, but the Wolfpack maintained its shooting consistency with a 66.7 (10-of-15) shooting clip in the third quarter and locked down on the defensive side of the ball to eventually win by 19 points. The victory was the Pack’s third 19+ point margin in a row.

The Pack held UNC to 0-of-12 from the three-point line in the first half, and its five threes in the second half were not enough to spur any sort of Tar Heel comeback. NC State outscored UNC 44-30 in the paint and hit seven three pointers of its own in the win.

The Wolfpack will play its final home game of the 2020-21 campaign on Thursday, Feb. 25 as it hosts Pittsburgh for Senior Day. Tip-off against the Panthers is set for 4 p.m. from Reynolds Coliseum, and the contest will be televised on the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks.