NC State
0-1,0-0ACC
#1/1 South Carolina
1-0,0-0SEC
#5 NC State Falls to #1 South Carolina 66-57 in Home Opener
11/9/2021 8:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH - In one of the most highly-anticipated matchups of the non-conference collegiate women's basketball slate, fifth-ranked NC State came up short to top-ranked South Carolina, 66-57, in its 2021-22 season opener Tuesday night.
The loss snapped a 13-game home winning streak for the Wolfpack and a streak of 40 consecutive victories over non-conference opponents on Kay Yow Court. Prior to the night, NC State had won three in a row over No. 1 opponents (No. 1 Duke in 2006-07, No. 1 South Carolina in 2020-21, No. 1 Louisville in 2020-21).
Graduate guard Raina Perez tallied 18 points behind a 7-of-9 (.778) shooting performance from the floor, with those 18 points marking her highest-scoring game since joining the Wolfpack. She shot a perfect 4-of-4 and scored nine points in the first quarter alone in the performance. Jakia Brown-Turner tied for the team lead in scoring with 18 of her own.
NC State faced a six-point deficit at the half (25-19) but came out firing in the third quarter to cut into the Gamecocks' lead. Brown-Turner scored 10 of her 18 in that period alone to help lead the Pack to within one point on multiple occasions. NC State trailed 37-36 at the 3:43 mark of the third quarter, but South Carolina went on to score 10 of the final 13 points of the period from there.
The Gamecocks continued their momentum into the fourth quarter, tallying eight of the first 10 points to regain a double-digit lead. The Pack, meanwhile, was held scoreless for nearly four minutes at the same time. Kayla Jones went on a 5-0 one-woman run to ignite the Reynolds Coliseum crowd and bring the Pack within eight points (59-51), but that was the closest NC State got down the stretch as South Carolina sealed the deal with free throws.
Sophomore guards Diamond Johnson and Madison Hayes made their debuts for the Wolfpack, with Johnson earning the start.
As a team, NC State shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) with marks of better than 46 percent in the final two quarters of the game. South Carolina went 49 percent (25-of-51) from the floor, but its 61.5 percent mark (8-of-13) in the first quarter gave it an early lead that it never gave up.
Defensively, the Wolfpack forced 12 Gamecock turnovers in the first half alone that included a pair of shot clock violations, but only scored six points off of a total of 14 South Carolina mishandles. NC State also held South Carolina to 3-of-12 (.250) shooting from three-point range.
NC State continues its stretch of season-opening home games this weekend as it hosts the Preseason WNIT in Raleigh. The Wolfpack is set to take on Wofford (Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.), Florida (Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m.) and Towson (Monday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.) over a four-day span of round-robin action.
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