NC State
Georgia Tech
Third-Ranked Pack Hits the Road for Matchup with Yellow Jackets
12/30/2020 10:33:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NC State looking to win its sixth straight in Atlanta
RALEIGH – No. 3 NC State women's basketball (8-0, 3-0 ACC) steps back into action on Thursday evening as it visits Georgia Tech (4-1, 2-0 ACC). Tip-off between the Wolfpack and the Yellow Jackets is set for 7 p.m. from the McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, and live television coverage will be provided by the ACC's Regional Sports Networks (Fox Sports South in Raleigh).
Due to health and safety recommendations, limited capacity and the allocation of available tickets, there are no public ticket sales for the game.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD...
• Be the 953rd win in program history (952-471)
• Be head coach Wes Moore's 735th career win (734-231)
• Be Moore's 177th win at NC State (176-62)
• Be Moore's 81st ACC win at NC State (80-37)
• Be the Pack's third-straight 9-0 start to a season
NOTING THE WOLFPACK (8-0, 3-0)
• Ranked season-high No. 3 nationally in the Associated Press Top 25 after moving up a spot in Monday's poll
• One of two remaining unbeaten teams in the conference and currently riding the ACC's longest winning streak of 13 games that started last season on Feb. 27, 2020
• Currently ranked first in the conference standings with its 3-0 league record, with Georgia Tech one game back at 2-0 in league play
• No. 8 nationally and first in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (33.6)
• No. 18 in scoring margin (+25.8)
• No. 18 in field-goal percentage defense (.328)
• No. 18 in rebound margin (+12.9)
• No. 24 in field-goal percentage (.480)
• Also leads league in assist-to-turnover ratio (25th nationally - 1.30), assists per game (27th nationally - 17.9) and scoring defense (56.9)
• Three members of the squad with scoring averages in double digits - Elissa Cunane (15.9), Kayla Jones (13.4) and Jakia Brown-Turner (13.1)
• All five regular starters averaging better than 43 percent from the floor and one of two teams in the conference with a pair of players shooting better than 50 percent on the season (five field goals made per game minimum)
• Cunane (.550) and Jones (.569) both ranked in the top seven in the league in field-goal percentage
• Held four opponents to under 28 percent shooting and six of eight opponents to under 40 percent
• Shooting 37.9 percent as a team from distance and put together three-point shooting percentages of 40 percent or better in four outings
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS (4-1, 2-0 ACC)
• Picked to finish fifth in the ACC this season by the league's head coaches and ninth by the Blue Ribbon Panel
• Currently ranked second in the league behind the Pack
• Ranked in the top three in the ACC in both three-point field-goal defense (2nd - .247) and scoring defense (3rd - 59.8)
• Lorela Cubaj averages a double-double with team-leading averages of 15.6 points and 12.6 rebounds. Lotta-Maj Lahtinen (14.6) and Loyal McQueen 11.6) also averaging double figures
• Enters the contest on a three-game winning streak, most recently defeating Notre Dame on the road by an 82-67 final score
SERIES HISTORY (NC State leads 48-24)
• Thursday marks the 73rd meeting between the Wolfpack and the Yellow Jackets. The teams have faced each other at least once a season since they first met on Jan. 12, 1980.
• NC State owns a 21-13 record in road games at Georgia Tech. The Pack has won five in a row in Atlanta, with its last road loss to the Yellow Jackets coming in overtime on Feb. 2, 2012.
• The squads faced off twice last season. In the regular season, Georgia Tech snapped what was a six-game winning streak in the series for the Pack as it took the narrow 65-61 victory inside Reynolds Coliseum. NC State returned the favor in the postseason with a 57-48 win in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, which earned the team a spot in the semifinals for the third-straight year.
LAST TIME OUT
• NC State is coming off of a 31-point win over Miami, which stands as one of its biggest victories over an ACC opponent in the Wes Moore era. In the 78-47 victory, the Wolfpack led by at least 20 points from the end of the first quarter on and opened up a lead of as large as 41 points.
• Four Wolfpack players scored in double figures - Cunane (18 points, 7-of-11 shooting, 3-of-5 three-point shooting), Kai Crutchfield (14 points, three assists, zero turnovers), Jones (10 points) and Brown-Turner (10 points)
• Miami entered the contest ranked best in the league in three-point field-goal defense (.221), but the Pack shot 40 percent for the game from long range. That included a 7-of-10 three-point clip in the first quarter alone.
• NC State limited the Canes to just two baskets and five points total in the second quarter. It held Miami to 27.4 percent (17-of-62) shooting and easily cleaned up on the glass with more rebounds (48) than the Hurricanes had points.
FAMILIAR HEIGHTS
The Wolfpack jumped up one spot to check in at No. 3 in Monday's edition of the Associated Press Top-25 Poll. It marks the 40th week in program history that NC State has been featured in the top five.
NC State opened the year with its best AP preseason ranking (No. 8) since 1990-91, and its current ranking marks its best since Jan. 10, 2000 when it was listed third to cap off six-straight weeks spent in the national top five. The Wolfpack has now spent the last four weeks in the AP Top 5, which marks the longest such streak since that 1999-2000 campaign.
BIG SMILE ROLLING IN ACC PLAY
During her sophomore campaign, Cunane was the only player in the ACC to finish the regular season averaging a double-double. The junior center continues to roll through conference play in her third year of league action.
In the Pack's three conference games, Cunane is averaging:
• 19.3 points per game (sixth in the ACC), with one 20+ point game against Boston College
• 10.7 rebounds per game (second in the ACC), with her 15 rebounds against Boston College marking the most by any ACC player in a conference game this season
• 58.8 percent shooting (fifth in the ACC)
• 1.7 blocks per game (eighth in the ACC)
DISHING IT OUT
Two Wolfpack starters are averaging 3+ assists per game - Raina Perez (35, 4.4 average) and Brown-Turner (28, 3.5 average). Both of those players also take great care of the ball with the conference's top two assist-to-turnover ratios. Perez's 5.8 assist-to-turnover ratio is also ranked eighth in the nation, as she has just six turnovers through eight games and four games this season with zero turnovers.
As a team, NC State has dished out 20 or more assists in four games, which includes a season-high 28 assists in the Pack's win over Coastal Carolina.
TAKING CARE OF ROAD BUSINESS
Through seven completed seasons under head coach Wes Moore, the Wolfpack has earned 52 true road wins (averaging 7.1 per completed season) since the start of the 2013-14 season. In the prior eight seasons from 2005-06 to 2012-13, the Wolfpack earned 32 true road wins (4.0 per season).
COMING UP
NC State vs. Boston College • Sunday, Jan. 3 • 2 p.m. • ACC Network
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
