NC State
2-1,0-0ACC
Florida
1-2,0-0SEC
Pack Breezes By Gators, 85-52
11/14/2021 4:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH – Fifth-ranked NC State women's basketball (2-1) got off to a fast start and never slowed down as it cruised to a 85-52 victory over the visiting Florida Gators (1-2) in Sunday's Preseason WNIT action.
NC State shot a blistering 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from three-point range to propel itself to the win, with six different players hitting threes in the outing. Overall, the Pack put together a 52.5 percent clip from the floor (32-of-61) and limited the Gators to 32.2 percent (19-of-59) as a team.
Senior center Elissa Cunane put together her best scoring outing of the season and her first double-double of the year with 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Summerfield, N.C., native shot 7-of-10 and knocked down three of her four free throw attempts, and she also added three assists, a pair of steals and a block.
Kai Crutchfield also impressed with 17 points off a perfect 4-of-4 shooting performance from distance. Crutchfield knocked down three of those treys in the first quarter alone and scored 10 of her 17 in the opening period to help the Wolfpack set the tone early. Defensively, she added four steals to lead the team in that category.
Kayla Jones joined them in double figures with 10 points to go with four assists, and Diamond Johnson added nine points and four assists of her own.
The early stages of the opening quarter featured four ties and five lead changes, but a layup by Johnson at the 3:53 mark put the Wolfpack up for good. NC State outscored Florida 19-3 over the final four and a half minutes of the first period to push its advantage to double digits where it would stay for the remainder of the outing.
In the second quarter, Florida guard Kiara Smith scored seven unanswered to bring her team back within 13 (35-22, 4:59), but NC State responded by hitting three triples in the last three minutes to take a 21-point lead (48-27) at the half. The Wolfpack led by 17 points or more for the entirety of the second half. In the fourth quarter, NC State knocked down all five of its threes, with Jones, Jakia Brown-Turner, Johnson and Jessica Timmons all contributing to that mark.
The Wolfpack once again got to rotate through 12 players, with that group combining for 29 points off the bench.
NC State wraps up its round-robin weekend of 2021 Preseason WNIT action on Monday night as it hosts Towson at 7 p.m. The contest will be aired live on ACCNX.
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