Wolfpack Defeats Demon Deacons for Fourth Straight ACC Win

Thursday, January 25

Winston-Salem, NC

7PM

NC State

16-5 (5-3ACC)

Wake Forest

10-11 (2-6ACC)

Team	1	2	3	4	F
NC State	14	22	25	21	82
Wake Forest	16	15	14	23	68

Wolfpack Defeats Demon Deacons for Fourth Straight ACC Win

1/25/2018 9:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score @PackWomensBball

NC State leads for final 21:29 during road victory

January 25, 2018

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The NC State women's basketball team (16-5, 5-3 ACC) picked up its fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference victory on Thursday evening at Wake Forest, defeating the Demon Deacons by a final score of 82-68.

Led by a season-high 20 points from sophomore Aislinn Konig, four total Wolfpack players scored 13+ points in the win. Konig was 5-11 from distance while teammates Kaila Ealey (16 points), Chelsea Nelson (15 points and 10 rebounds), and Kiara Leslie (13 points) also had very strong offensive showings.

The Wolfpack shot 27-57 (.474) from the field in the win and went 9-23 (.391) from distance. Wake Forest shot a solid 26-58 (.448) from the field and was led offensively by 19 points on 8-12 shooting from Alex Sharp and 17 points (4-7 shooting from distance) by Ariel Stephenson.

Some TV time for @cnels_chels after her 9th double-double of the season in the win at Wake Forest! #GoPack #ncaaw pic.twitter.com/quG2vFBBc2
— NC State WBB ???? (@PackWomensBball) January 26, 2018

"I'm just really proud of these kids," NC State head coach Wes Moore said in his postgame radio interview with broadcaster Patrick Kinas. "After starting out 1-3 in the ACC, they've really stepped up defensively and on the boards. The things we can control, as well, like the scouting report. They are doing a good job of taking away the opponents' strengths. It's not always pretty offensively: too many turnovers tonight, but a lot of players contributed to this win and I'm excited about that."

Postgame Notes
-NC State now leads the series between the teams 69-14 and has won two straight games in Winston-Salem.
-The Wolfpack has won 18 of 21 rebounding contests this season after out-rebounding the Demon Deacons 41-31.
-In addition to scoring 16 points and grabbing four rebounds, Ealey dished out six assists and swiped a career-high five steals.
-NC State hit 19 free throws in the win, its second highest total of the season (23 vs. Elon).
-The Wolfpack is now 9-0 when shooting .400 or better from the field.

In a first half that featured eight lead changes and three ties, the Wolfpack shot 13-30 (.433) from the field and 7-10 from the free-throw line en route to earning a 36-31 advantage through 20 minutes of play. NC State amassed a 21-16 rebounding edge and grabbed seven offensive rebounds which led directly to 10 second chance points.

Nelson tied for a half-high with 12 points (4-5 shooting). She was matched by Wake Forest's Sharp, who also scored 12 (5-8 shooting). All eight Wolfpack players who played in the opening half scored at least two points.

The Wolfpack did not once trail during the final 21:29 of the win. NC State took its largest lead of the game (61-45) into the end of the third quarter. The Demon Deacons put up a valiant fight to begin the fourth quarter, scoring 13 of the first 15 points of the period to pull within five points (63-58) with 5:09 to play in the game. A quick 5-0 run by Leslie and Konig extended the Wolfpack's breathing room back to 10 points, and the team hit 10 of 16 free-throw attempts during the final quarter to seal the victory.

NC State concludes its current three-game road trip on Sunday, Jan. 28 at Clemson. Tip-off between the Wolfpack and Tigers is scheduled for 3 p.m. with live television coverage provided by the ACC's Regional Sports Network affiliates (Fox Sports South in Raleigh).

#GoPack | @PackWomensBball