NC State
1-1,0-0ACC
Wofford
0-2,0-0SoCon
#5 Wolfpack Gets the Job Done Against Wofford in First Game of Preseason WNIT
11/12/2021 9:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH – A well-balanced NC State women's basketball squad (1-1) had four players score in double figures as the fifth-ranked Wolfpack defeated visiting Wofford (0-2) by a 90-57 score in its opening game of the 2021 Preseason WNIT.
Graduate forward Kayla Jones made her first start since suffering an injury in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and led the team in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. She nailed a pair of threes and also dished out three assists. Elissa Cunane (13 points), Jakia Brown-Turner (10 points) and Diamond Johnson (10 points) joined her in double figures, with Johnson's tally coming with a perfect shooting night (4-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-2 from distance) and a team-leading four assists.
All 12 players who saw action on Friday night cracked into the scoring column, which included the first points of transfer Madison Hayes' and freshmen Jessica Timmons, Aziaha James and Sophie Hart's NC State careers.
The Pack scored nearly as many points in a big second half (56) as the Terriers did the entire game. After turning the ball over eight times in the opening half, NC State cut that number down to just two in the last 20 minutes. The team dominated the glass with a 51-25 advantage in rebounds, and Hayes and Hart each hauled in three of the Pack's 18 offensive boards.
The team shot 50 percent (33-of-66) while limiting Wofford to 35 percent (21-of-60). Both teams knocked down 10 threes, but NC State scored 40 points in the paint to add to its attack. The Wolfpack did a great job of sharing the ball with 23 assists on its 33 made buckets and six players scoring at least eight points.
After leading by five at halftime, NC State outscored Wofford 29-14 in the third quarter to build up a 20+ point lead that it would not relinquish. Jones and Cunane led the Pack's early third-quarter attack by scoring NC State's first 14 out of the break, and the team as a whole put together a game-best shooting mark of 68.8 percent (11-of-16) in the period.
A three-point play by Jones after a Wofford foul put NC State up 12 (46-34) at the 6:16 mark of the third quarter, and the Terriers did not get closer again.
The lead allowed for some quality minutes for NC State's underclassmen. Every player that hit the court on Friday night played at least seven and a half minutes in the win.
NC State returns to action in the Preseason WNIT with a Sunday afternoon matchup against Florida. Tip-off from Reynolds Coliseum is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on the ACC Network.
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
