NC State
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UNC Asheville
NC State Coasts to 87-55 Win over UNC Asheville
11/15/2017 9:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wolfpack has yet to trail in 120 minutes of basketball this season
RALEIGH – Four members of the NC State women's basketball team scored in double figures as the Wolfpack downed UNC Asheville 87-55 Wednesday evening inside Reynolds Coliseum. The victory gave the Wolfpack its seventh consecutive 3-0 start to a season, and the team has yet to trail for a single second of game action during any of its first three wins.
NC State (3-0) put together a balanced scoring attack, shooting a collective 32-56 (.571) from the field and showing an ability to score from all parts of the court. The team racked up 34 points in the paint and went 10-23 (.435) from behind the arc.
Kiara Leslie led the way with 22 points in her first double-digit scoring performance of the season. The redshirt junior went a perfect 8-8 from the field, a success rate that ranks as the second best single-game shooting performance in program history. (Teresa Carmichael went 11-11 vs. Saint Joe's on March 12, 1985). Senior Akela Maize put up 16 points on her way to another career-high scoring night. Sophomore Aislinn Konig added 13 points, nine of those coming from the perimeter, and sophomore Lucky Rudd scored 12.
Redshirt sophomore Kaila Ealey dished out a career-high seven assists on a night when the Wolfpack continued its three-game streak of positive assist to turnover ratios (19:16). Rudd pulled down a career-high six rebounds to lead the Wolfpack and tie for a game high with UNC Asheville's Bronaza Fitzgerald.
Jessica Wall (5-13 FG) and Khaila Webb (6-12 FG) each scored 15 points for the Bulldogs (0-2). Teammate Ali Trani joined them in double figures with 10 points.
"It was good to have a game where a lot of people could get involved and get an opportunity to get out there and show what they can do," NC State head coach Wes Moore said in his postgame press conference. "UNC Asheville's team went to the NCAA Tournament a year ago but graduated a couple of thousand-point scorers, so, kind of like us, they're probably feeling their way through it a little bit. On the surface, a lot of things look good, but when you look closely at it, we still have a lot of things we need to clean up and get better at defensively. Offensively, (we had) too many turnovers in the second half. Again, (we'll) learn from it, and move on. Here, before too long, we're fixing to jump into the deep end, so hopefully we can prepare for that."
NC State raced out to an early 11-0 lead and never looked back. The Wolfpack took a 47-25 advantage into the halftime break and extended its lead to as many as 35 points on two occasions late in the contest before arriving at the final score of 87-55.
The Wolfpack will conclude its four-game home stand on Friday against South Alabama. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum, with live video coverage provided by ACC Network Extra.
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