ACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Elissa Cunane, from Northern Guilford High School, with 11 points, and Cunane completed her sixth double-double of the year with 12 rebounds, as N.C. State tops North Carolina, 66-58…..
from www.gopack.com:
#3 NC State Remains Perfect in ACC Play with Sunday Win at UNC
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The third-ranked NC State women’s basketball team (19-2, 10-0 ACC) secured the regular-season sweep over rival North Carolina (16-4, 6-4 ACC), beating the Tar Heels by a 66-58 score inside Carmichael Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Wolfpack’s perfect 10-0 mark in ACC play ties as the best regular-season conference mark in program history. The win also marked the first time since 2017-18 that either NC State or UNC have won both regular-season meetings between the teams.
Four NC State players scored in double figures, with graduate guard Kai Crutchfield leading the way with 16. She shot 4-of-7 from distance to tie her season and ACC high in three pointers made, knocking down three of those shots in the second half.
Jakia Brown-Turner (13 points), Elissa Cunane, from Northern Guilford High School) (11 points) and Raina Perez (10 points) rounded out the Pack’s main scoring attack. Brown-Turner also led the team with a pair of steals, Cunane completed her sixth double-double of the year with 12 rebounds and Kayla Jones had a game-high six assists and two blocks to go with 11 boards.
After never leading in the opening half, NC State shot nearly 54 percent in the second half and hit seven of its nine threes in the third and fourth quarters to overcome a first-half deficit. On the other side of the ball, the Wolfpack limited UNC to below 30 percent shooting in the game’s final two quarters and only gave up one Tar Heel three pointer in the second half.
The Wolfpack took some time to find its shooting stride at the start. The team managed to cut into a double-figure Tar Heel lead in the second quarter and trailed by just six points (33-27) at the break. NC State then outscored UNC by its widest margin of the game in the third quarter, scoring 23 points to the Tar Heels’ 11 out of halftime.
NC State started the third quarter on a 14-0 run which started what would be a 12-point swing in the game score to put the Wolfpack in front by six (50-44) after three quarters. The team then scored 10 unanswered early in the fourth quarter to open up its biggest lead of the game (60-46). UNC got within five with under a minute and a half remaining, but a final three by Crutchfield at the 1:12 mark sealed the deal.
NC State will quickly turn its attention to its Tuesday night road trip to No. 20 Notre Dame. Tip-off from Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind., is set for 7 p.m. on Feb. 1, and the game will be streamed live on ACCNX.