Thursday, December 3
Columbia, SC
7 PM
NC State
at
#1/1 South Carolina
#8 NC State Ready for Top-10 Showdown at Top-Ranked South Carolina
12/2/2020 11:27:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Thursday marks the Pack's first matchup against the nation's No. 1 team since 2007
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | ESPN2
RALEIGH – The eighth-ranked NC State women's basketball team (2-0) is set to face its first road test of the season on Thursday evening as it visits No. 1 South Carolina (3-0). Tip-off between the Wolfpack and the Gamecocks is set for 7 p.m. from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2, and radio broadcasters Patrick Kinas and Ashley Eli will be on the call on WKNC 88.1 FM in Raleigh.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD...
• Be the 947th win in program history (946-471)
• Be head coach Wes Moore's 729th career win (728-231)
• Be Moore's 171st win at NC State (170-62)
• Be the Pack's 10th straight 3-0 start to a season
• Be NC State's third time in program history defeating the nation's top-ranked team (2-17)
• Be the Wolfpack's first time beating the No. 1 team in the country since March 3, 2007 (70-65 ACC Tournament win over Duke was also the last time the Pack faced a top-ranked squad)
NOTING THE WOLFPACK (2-0)
• Ranked eighth by the AP and sixth by USA Today
• Returns nine players and four starters from last season's squad that went 28-4 overall and won the ACC Tournament
• Selected to finish second in the ACC this season behind Louisville
• All-American and First Team All-ACC honoree Elissa Cunane among the Pack's returners after leading NC State in scoring (16.4, 524 total points), rebounding (9.6) field-goal percentage (.547) and blocks (35) in 2019-20
• Ranked in the national top five in field-goal percentage (.577) and scoring offense (100.5), with both of those marks also leading the Atlantic Coast Conference
• Senior guard Kai Crutchfield leading the team in scoring (15.5 points per game), field-goal percentage (.688) and three-point field-goal percentage (.667). Both shooting percentages are top four in the ACC and top 50 in the nation
• Outrebounding opponents by an average of 19 boards per game and outscoring opponents in the paint by an average of 28 points per game
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS (3-0)
• Ranked first by the AP and USA Today
• Been ranked No. 1 in the last 12 AP Polls dating back to last season
• Riding a 29-game winning streak and has not dropped a game since Nov. 28, 2019 (57-71 loss to No. 17 Indiana)
• Went 32-1 overall last season and a perfect 16-0 in league play on its way to winning the SEC regular-season and Tournament crowns in 2020 Naismith Coach of the Year Dawn Staley's 12th season at the helm of the program
• Returning three of top four scorers form 2019-20, led by center Aliyah Boston who averaged 12.5 points (second on the team) and 9.44 rebounds last year
• Outscoring opponents by 32.7 points per game in 2020-21 and shooting 49.7 percent from the field as a team
SERIES HISTORY (NC State leads 19-11)
• Thursday marks the 31st meeting between NC State and South Carolina dating back to 1977. It is the first meeting between the teams since a matchup during 2011-12 non-conference play.
• At the beginning of November, the teams announced a home-and-home agreement. The Wolfpack makes the trip to Columbia this season, and the Gamecocks will return with a trip to Raleigh during 2021-22.
• The last time the teams matched up, NC State left with the 55-53 victory on Dec. 4, 2011 inside Reynolds Coliseum. Bonae Holston hit the game-winning jumper for the Pack with six seconds left.
• The series record is knotted at 6-6 in games played on South Carolina's home court. The Gamecocks have won their last two games played at home against the Pack, with NC State's last victory in Columbia coming during the 2004-05 season.
ELITE MATCHUPS
Thursday's game marks the first time since the 1980-81 season that the Wolfpack and the Gamecocks will meet each other while both ranked in the top 10.
Ten out of the previous 30 matchups between NC State and South Carolina have occurred when both teams were ranked in the national top 25. Four of those games featured a pair of top-10 squads. The Gamecocks have been the higher ranked team in just two previous matchups that both occurred within a span of days of each other at the end of the 1979-80 campaign.
3/10/79 • #9 NC State vs. #15 South Carolina • W, 67-64
1/15/80 • #8 NC State vs. #10 South Carolina • L, 67-78
2/26/80 • #8 NC State at #7 South Carolina • L, 62-76
3/8/80 • #8 NC State vs. #7 South Carolina • L, 55-68
1/6/81 • #7 NC State at #10 South Carolina • W, 78-57
3/6/82 • #10 NC State at #14 South Carolina • L, 70-71
12/11/82 • #12 NC State at #15 South Carolina • L, 76-81 (ot)
2/15/89 • #13 NC State vs. #18 South Carolina • L, 62-67
1/31/90 • #11 NC State vs. #15 South Carolina • W, 90-65
11/24/90 • #8 NC State vs. #22 South Carolina • W, 62-58
MAKING A STATEMENT
NC State is coming off of a 108-70 victory over NC Central during which the team posted its highest field-goal percentage since Nov. 23, 1990. The team shot 41-of-60 from the floor for its second-highest shooting percentage in 46 completed seasons of Wolfpack women's basketball.
The team's performance was its first time exceeding 100 points in a single game in the Coach Moore era. The last time NC State did so was with 102 points in a win over Longwood on Nov. 15, 2012. The Pack's 108 points also marked the most in a contest since the 1996-97 campaign.
NC State showed off its ability to move the ball and score off a variety of shot selections. In addition to its 40 points in the paint, the Pack hit eight threes and shot 44.4 percent from long range. The team assisted on 23 of its 41 made baskets.
COMING UP
NC State vs. Coastal Carolina • Sunday, Dec. 6 • 2 p.m. • ACCNX
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
RALEIGH – The eighth-ranked NC State women's basketball team (2-0) is set to face its first road test of the season on Thursday evening as it visits No. 1 South Carolina (3-0). Tip-off between the Wolfpack and the Gamecocks is set for 7 p.m. from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2, and radio broadcasters Patrick Kinas and Ashley Eli will be on the call on WKNC 88.1 FM in Raleigh.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD...
• Be the 947th win in program history (946-471)
• Be head coach Wes Moore's 729th career win (728-231)
• Be Moore's 171st win at NC State (170-62)
• Be the Pack's 10th straight 3-0 start to a season
• Be NC State's third time in program history defeating the nation's top-ranked team (2-17)
• Be the Wolfpack's first time beating the No. 1 team in the country since March 3, 2007 (70-65 ACC Tournament win over Duke was also the last time the Pack faced a top-ranked squad)
NOTING THE WOLFPACK (2-0)
• Ranked eighth by the AP and sixth by USA Today
• Returns nine players and four starters from last season's squad that went 28-4 overall and won the ACC Tournament
• Selected to finish second in the ACC this season behind Louisville
• All-American and First Team All-ACC honoree Elissa Cunane among the Pack's returners after leading NC State in scoring (16.4, 524 total points), rebounding (9.6) field-goal percentage (.547) and blocks (35) in 2019-20
• Ranked in the national top five in field-goal percentage (.577) and scoring offense (100.5), with both of those marks also leading the Atlantic Coast Conference
• Senior guard Kai Crutchfield leading the team in scoring (15.5 points per game), field-goal percentage (.688) and three-point field-goal percentage (.667). Both shooting percentages are top four in the ACC and top 50 in the nation
• Outrebounding opponents by an average of 19 boards per game and outscoring opponents in the paint by an average of 28 points per game
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS (3-0)
• Ranked first by the AP and USA Today
• Been ranked No. 1 in the last 12 AP Polls dating back to last season
• Riding a 29-game winning streak and has not dropped a game since Nov. 28, 2019 (57-71 loss to No. 17 Indiana)
• Went 32-1 overall last season and a perfect 16-0 in league play on its way to winning the SEC regular-season and Tournament crowns in 2020 Naismith Coach of the Year Dawn Staley's 12th season at the helm of the program
• Returning three of top four scorers form 2019-20, led by center Aliyah Boston who averaged 12.5 points (second on the team) and 9.44 rebounds last year
• Outscoring opponents by 32.7 points per game in 2020-21 and shooting 49.7 percent from the field as a team
SERIES HISTORY (NC State leads 19-11)
• Thursday marks the 31st meeting between NC State and South Carolina dating back to 1977. It is the first meeting between the teams since a matchup during 2011-12 non-conference play.
• At the beginning of November, the teams announced a home-and-home agreement. The Wolfpack makes the trip to Columbia this season, and the Gamecocks will return with a trip to Raleigh during 2021-22.
• The last time the teams matched up, NC State left with the 55-53 victory on Dec. 4, 2011 inside Reynolds Coliseum. Bonae Holston hit the game-winning jumper for the Pack with six seconds left.
• The series record is knotted at 6-6 in games played on South Carolina's home court. The Gamecocks have won their last two games played at home against the Pack, with NC State's last victory in Columbia coming during the 2004-05 season.
ELITE MATCHUPS
Thursday's game marks the first time since the 1980-81 season that the Wolfpack and the Gamecocks will meet each other while both ranked in the top 10.
Ten out of the previous 30 matchups between NC State and South Carolina have occurred when both teams were ranked in the national top 25. Four of those games featured a pair of top-10 squads. The Gamecocks have been the higher ranked team in just two previous matchups that both occurred within a span of days of each other at the end of the 1979-80 campaign.
3/10/79 • #9 NC State vs. #15 South Carolina • W, 67-64
1/15/80 • #8 NC State vs. #10 South Carolina • L, 67-78
2/26/80 • #8 NC State at #7 South Carolina • L, 62-76
3/8/80 • #8 NC State vs. #7 South Carolina • L, 55-68
1/6/81 • #7 NC State at #10 South Carolina • W, 78-57
3/6/82 • #10 NC State at #14 South Carolina • L, 70-71
12/11/82 • #12 NC State at #15 South Carolina • L, 76-81 (ot)
2/15/89 • #13 NC State vs. #18 South Carolina • L, 62-67
1/31/90 • #11 NC State vs. #15 South Carolina • W, 90-65
11/24/90 • #8 NC State vs. #22 South Carolina • W, 62-58
MAKING A STATEMENT
NC State is coming off of a 108-70 victory over NC Central during which the team posted its highest field-goal percentage since Nov. 23, 1990. The team shot 41-of-60 from the floor for its second-highest shooting percentage in 46 completed seasons of Wolfpack women's basketball.
The team's performance was its first time exceeding 100 points in a single game in the Coach Moore era. The last time NC State did so was with 102 points in a win over Longwood on Nov. 15, 2012. The Pack's 108 points also marked the most in a contest since the 1996-97 campaign.
NC State showed off its ability to move the ball and score off a variety of shot selections. In addition to its 40 points in the paint, the Pack hit eight threes and shot 44.4 percent from long range. The team assisted on 23 of its 41 made baskets.
COMING UP
NC State vs. Coastal Carolina • Sunday, Dec. 6 • 2 p.m. • ACCNX
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
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