Friday, March 16
Raleigh
3PM
NC State
25-8
62
vs
35
Elon (NCAA 1st Round)
25-8
1
2
3
4
F
Elon
8
9
13
5
35
NC State
16
11
20
15
62
Photo by: Greg Mintel
NC State Dominates Elon to Advance to Round of 32
3/16/2018 5:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wolfpack never trails in comfortable win over Phoenix
March 16, 2018
TICKETS FOR SUNDAY
RALEIGH – The fourth-seeded NC State women's basketball team (25-8) comfortably cruised to a 62-35 win over 13th-seeded Elon (25-8) in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon inside Reynolds Coliseum.
NC State led for 37:29 of the game's 40 minutes and never once trailed. The Wolfpack was led by Kiara Leslie's game-high 13 points (5-8 FG) while sophomore Aislinn Konig joined her in double figures with 12 points. Senior Chelsea Nelson scored nine points to go with her game-high 12 rebounds and sophomore Erika Cassell scored nine points on 3-4 shooting in just 12 minutes off the bench.
Elon's Shay Burnett led her team with 12 points on 4-10 shooting. She also collected six rebounds to lead the Phoenix.
The Wolfpack shot 22-52 (.423) from the field and went 7-17 (.412) from long range while outrebounding the Phoenix by a 42-36 margin. Elon was limited to 12-51 (.235) shooting from the field, with five of its made field goals coming from beyond the three-point arc (5-16, .313).
Game Notes
-NC State has now won at least one NCAA Tournament game in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1998 and 1999 and is now 21-23 in the NCAA Tournament.
-The Wolfpack held Elon to less than half of its average scoring output of 72.4 points per game en route to stopping its 13-game winning streak.
-Nelson (1158 career points) moved up one spot to 27th on the Wolfpack's career scoring chart.
-Akela Maize swatted four blocks against Elon and is now up to 66 on the season, just seven behind Genia Beasley's single-season record of 73 achieved during the 1978-79 season.
-Konig's two three-pointers have her at 88 on the season, just two shy of Jennifer Howard's single-season program record of 90 made during the 1995-96 season.
"Again, we're not always aesthetically looking good out there on offense, but we're defending, we're rebounding and hitting enough shots to be successful," NC State head coach Wes Moore said in his postgame press conference. "We need to focus. I think Kiara (Leslie) summed it up perfectly. (The upcoming game against Maryland) has got to be just another game. I know that's boring and all, but we've just got to go play basketball."
"We've been pretty successful here at home. The crowd was good today. I hope they all bring back ten of their best friends and we sell this place out Sunday and make it a great atmosphere. We know we're going to have our hands full. I've got a lot of respect for Maryland. Brenda Frese does an amazing job. They've won a national championship, so we'll have a big challenge before us, but it's great to have that opportunity."
With the game tied at 3-3, Leslie went on an individual 8-0 run, hitting two threes and one layup in a span of just 2:01 to make it 11-3 in favor of the Wolfpack. NC State would carry a 16-8 advantage into the break between quarters and would slightly extend that advantage to 10 points (27-17) by the end of the first half.
The Phoenix cut the Wolfpack lead to single digits when Malaya Johnson hit a jumper just 18 seconds into the third quarter to make it 27-19. Two quick baskets by Leslie and Konig extended the NC State lead back out to 12 points, and Elon would come no closer throughout the remainder of the game.
NC State will meet Maryland on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm inside Reynolds Coliseum for the chance to advance to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Mo.
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
TICKETS FOR SUNDAY
RALEIGH – The fourth-seeded NC State women's basketball team (25-8) comfortably cruised to a 62-35 win over 13th-seeded Elon (25-8) in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon inside Reynolds Coliseum.
NC State led for 37:29 of the game's 40 minutes and never once trailed. The Wolfpack was led by Kiara Leslie's game-high 13 points (5-8 FG) while sophomore Aislinn Konig joined her in double figures with 12 points. Senior Chelsea Nelson scored nine points to go with her game-high 12 rebounds and sophomore Erika Cassell scored nine points on 3-4 shooting in just 12 minutes off the bench.
Elon's Shay Burnett led her team with 12 points on 4-10 shooting. She also collected six rebounds to lead the Phoenix.
The Wolfpack shot 22-52 (.423) from the field and went 7-17 (.412) from long range while outrebounding the Phoenix by a 42-36 margin. Elon was limited to 12-51 (.235) shooting from the field, with five of its made field goals coming from beyond the three-point arc (5-16, .313).
Game Notes
-NC State has now won at least one NCAA Tournament game in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1998 and 1999 and is now 21-23 in the NCAA Tournament.
-The Wolfpack held Elon to less than half of its average scoring output of 72.4 points per game en route to stopping its 13-game winning streak.
-Nelson (1158 career points) moved up one spot to 27th on the Wolfpack's career scoring chart.
-Akela Maize swatted four blocks against Elon and is now up to 66 on the season, just seven behind Genia Beasley's single-season record of 73 achieved during the 1978-79 season.
-Konig's two three-pointers have her at 88 on the season, just two shy of Jennifer Howard's single-season program record of 90 made during the 1995-96 season.
"Again, we're not always aesthetically looking good out there on offense, but we're defending, we're rebounding and hitting enough shots to be successful," NC State head coach Wes Moore said in his postgame press conference. "We need to focus. I think Kiara (Leslie) summed it up perfectly. (The upcoming game against Maryland) has got to be just another game. I know that's boring and all, but we've just got to go play basketball."
"We've been pretty successful here at home. The crowd was good today. I hope they all bring back ten of their best friends and we sell this place out Sunday and make it a great atmosphere. We know we're going to have our hands full. I've got a lot of respect for Maryland. Brenda Frese does an amazing job. They've won a national championship, so we'll have a big challenge before us, but it's great to have that opportunity."
With the game tied at 3-3, Leslie went on an individual 8-0 run, hitting two threes and one layup in a span of just 2:01 to make it 11-3 in favor of the Wolfpack. NC State would carry a 16-8 advantage into the break between quarters and would slightly extend that advantage to 10 points (27-17) by the end of the first half.
The Phoenix cut the Wolfpack lead to single digits when Malaya Johnson hit a jumper just 18 seconds into the third quarter to make it 27-19. Two quick baskets by Leslie and Konig extended the NC State lead back out to 12 points, and Elon would come no closer throughout the remainder of the game.
NC State will meet Maryland on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm inside Reynolds Coliseum for the chance to advance to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Mo.
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
Team Stats
ELON
ST
FG%
.235
.423
3FG%
.313
.412
FT%
.375
.647
RB
36
42
TO
17
13
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's BasketballNC State Press Conference vs. Tennessee
Thursday, November 06
Wes Moore Media Availability_Preseason, Tennessee
Friday, October 31
ACC Tipoff Q&A
Tuesday, October 07
Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones on ACCN Set at ACC Tipoff
Tuesday, October 07