Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford High School) led all players on the floor with a season-high 23 points in her third 20+ point game of the year. The Duke Blue Devils had no answer for Cunane, who tallied 10 points in the third quarter alone and scored 18 of her points in the paint.
Final Score:N.C. State 84, Duke 60
CLICK HERE for photo of Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford HS) celebrating the team victory.)
#4 Wolfpack Victorious in Top-25 Showdown with #16 Duke, 84-60
from www.gopack.com
RALEIGH – No. 4 NC State women’s basketball (16-2, 7-0 ACC) continued its run through ACC play with an 84-60 home victory over No. 16 Duke on Sunday night.
Earning the win in Wes Moore’s 1000th career game as a head coach, NC State improved to 7-0 in conference play for the second time in his nine-year tenure with the Wolfpack. NC State has won its last 15 games played against conference opponents, with 12 of those occurring during the past two regular seasons.
Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford High School) led all players on the floor with a season-high 23 points in her third 20+ point game of the year. The Blue Devils had no answer for Cunane, who tallied 10 points in the third quarter alone and scored 18 of her points in the paint.
Jada Boyd and Raina Perez each posted 10 to join her in double figures. Once again, all 13 available Wolfpack players saw action in Sunday’s win, with nine of those players clocking 10+ minutes.
NC State shot the ball well both overall (.466) and from distance (.467), and the Pack scored nearly half of its points (40) in the paint. The team turned the ball over a season-low four times, which tied as a single-game program record (last accomplished against North Carolina on Feb. 21, 2011). NC State outscored Duke 20-5 off turnovers.
The Wolfpack put together a practically perfect first half to lead by 20 points (42-22) after 20 minutes. It marked the biggest halftime advantage for NC State in ACC play this season, and the team opened up a lead as large as 23 points (40-17) in the opening 20 minutes of action after a 9-0 run that spanned a minute and a half late in the second quarter.
NC State set the tone in the first quarter, scoring the first bucket half a minute in and never trailing. In the opening period, the Pack limited Duke to single digits in scoring (nine points), held the Blue Devils to 20 percent shooting (3-of-15) and forced them into six turnovers. NC State, meanwhile, hit four of its first five shots of the game to take the early lead that it never gave up.
Duke managed to increase its shooting percentage in the second half, but NC State responded by shooting 50+ percent in each of the final two quarters to keep control of the game. The Blue Devils came no closer than 15 points in the second half as the Pack cruised to the 24-point win.
Perez and Diamond Johnson tied for the team lead in assists on the night with three apiece, and Madison Hayes let her rebounding ability shine with seven boards (four offensive) in as many minutes of action.
NC State has now held all but one of its seven ACC opponents to 60 points or fewer.
The Wolfpack has earned four wins over AP Top 25 opponents in its first 18 games of the year. NC State has won back-to-back home games against ranked foes, with both results coming against local rivals North Carolina and Duke.
NC State continues its stretch of three-straight home games with another ranked matchup as it hosts No. 3 Louisville on Thursday, Jan. 20. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN Networks.