Thursday, February 25
4 PM
NC State
vs
Pittsburgh
#2 NC State Hosts Pitt for Senior Day on Thursday
2/24/2021 11:04:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | STREAMING | TV AFFILIATES
RALEIGH – The fourth-ranked NC State women's basketball team (15-2, 10-2 ACC) is set for its final home contest of the 2020-21 campaign as it hosts Pitt (5-11, 3-10 ACC) on Thursday afternoon. Tip-off from Kay Yow Court inside Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC's Regional Sports Networks.
SENIOR STATUS
On Thursday afternoon, NC State will celebrate the careers of Kai Crutchfield and Kayla Jones. The North Carolina natives continue to make their mark on the Wolfpack women's basketball program. Since they arrived on campus at the start of the 2017-18 season, Crutchfield and Jones have helped the Wolfpack go 97-21 (.822) overall, 56-7 (.889) at home and 47-15 (.758) in conference play in four seasons. The class needs eight victories to tie for the most by a four-year group in program history (105).
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD...
• Be the 960th win in program history (959-473)
• Be head coach Wes Moore's 742nd career win (741-233)
• Be Moore's 184th win at NC State (183-64)
• Be Moore's 88th ACC win at NC State (87-39)
• Mark the Wolfpack's sixth-straight victory over the Panthers
NOTING THE WOLFPACK (15-2, 10-2)
• Ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 for the third week this season and been ranked in the national top five since Dec. 7
• Stands at second in the ACC behind Louisville (20-2, 13-2 ACC)
• No. 2 nationally and first in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (32.4)
• Paces the league in field-goal percentage (11th nationally - .475), rebound margin (19th nationally - +8.6) and field-goal percentage defense (21st nationally - .355)
• Also top-25 nationally in scoring margin (13th - +17.1), rebounds per game (14th - 43.9), scoring offense (16th - 79.9) and assist-to- turnover ratio (24th - 1.23)
• Four members of the squad with scoring averages in double digits - Elissa Cunane (15.7), Jakia Brown-Turner (15.2), Kayla Jones (13.7) and Jada Boyd (10.6)
• Cunane and Brown-Turner both rank in the top 10 in the ACC with their scoring numbers
• Cunane (2nd - .560), Jones (4th - .527) and Brown-Turner (8th - .463) all rank in the top 10 in the league in field-goal percentage, with Cunane's number also ranking 20th in the nation
• Raina Perez (2.72) owns the ACC's top assist-to-turnover ratio and also ranks second in assists per game (5.1)
• Held five of its opponents to under 30 percent shooting and 12 of 17 opponents to under 40 percent
• Averaging 39.4 points in the paint and also a threat from distance with an average of 7.3 made three pointers per contest
• Outscored in the paint on just one occasion and beating out its opponents in that category by an average margin of +14.0
• Put together three-point shooting percentages of 40 percent or better in seven outings
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS (5-11, 3-10)
• Ranked first in the league in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 16.5 per contest
• Last among the 13 active ACC teams in both field-goal percentage and scoring defense
• Picked up series sweep over Clemson and victory over Boston College for its three ACC wins. Its Feb. 16 game against the Eagles was its most recent victory
• 2-4 in road games this season
• Two double-figure scorers on the Panther squad - Jayla Everett (14.9) and Dayshanette Harris (12.4). Everett's average ranks 11th in the ACC this season
SERIES HISTORY (NC State leads, 7-2)
• Thursday marks the 10th meeting between NC State and Pitt.
• The Wolfpack has won five meetings in a row against the Panthers, and NC State is 3-1 when playing against Pitt on its home court.
• Pitt has won just two games in the series between the squads, with its last victory over NC State coming in February of 2015. That Panther win came inside Reynolds Coliseum.
• NC State has won its last two games against Pitt by 29 points and 44 points, averaging out to a +36.5 margin.
• The teams last met on Jan. 23, 2020 in Pittsburgh, and NC State doubled the Panthers' score to come away with the 88-44 victory.
LAST TIME OUT
• NC State won its third-straight game and picked up its 10th conference victory of the season on Sunday afternoon as it defeated rival UNC by an 82-63 score at home. It was the Pack's third game in a row with a victory margin of at least 19 points.
• The Wolfpack took control of the game in the middle of the first quarter when it went on a 14-0 run that spanned just over seven minutes of game action.
• Brown-Turner led the team with a career-high 25 points. Jones put together 20 points of her own, 18 of which she scored in the second half. Cunane tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double in a row and her fifth of the season.
• The Pack shot 10-of-16 (.667) in the third quarter to build up a double-digit lead it did not relinquish during the final period.
• NC State limited UNC to 0-of-16 from the three-point line before the Tar Heels hit their first three pointer of the game with 1:35 left in the third quarter.
FAMILIAR HEIGHTS
NC State jumped up two spots in the latest edition of the Associated Press Top 25 poll to move back to No. 2 in the nation. The ranking tied as its best of the season and once again matched the best AP standing in program history.
Monday's placement marked NC State's third week in the 2020-21 campaign during which it has been ranked No. 2. NC State women's basketball has now spent a total of 11 weeks in program history as the nation's No. 2 team, and this season's rankings mark the first No. 2 designation for the Pack since the 1990-91 season. NC State has never been ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25.
It also marked the 48th week in program history that NC State has been featured in the top five. The current 12-week top-five streak is the longest such streak for NC State since it spent the final 12 weeks of the 1977-78 campaign ranked fifth or better.
WIN STREAKING
After falling to rival UNC on Feb. 7, NC State has bounced back with three-straight victories (vs. Clemson, at Wake Forest, vs. UNC) including the revenge match against the Tar Heels. The three-game winning streak is the second-longest active streak in the ACC right now behind Virginia Tech's five games.
COMING UP
NC State at Syracuse • Sunday, Feb. 28 • 12 p.m.
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
RALEIGH – The fourth-ranked NC State women's basketball team (15-2, 10-2 ACC) is set for its final home contest of the 2020-21 campaign as it hosts Pitt (5-11, 3-10 ACC) on Thursday afternoon. Tip-off from Kay Yow Court inside Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC's Regional Sports Networks.
SENIOR STATUS
On Thursday afternoon, NC State will celebrate the careers of Kai Crutchfield and Kayla Jones. The North Carolina natives continue to make their mark on the Wolfpack women's basketball program. Since they arrived on campus at the start of the 2017-18 season, Crutchfield and Jones have helped the Wolfpack go 97-21 (.822) overall, 56-7 (.889) at home and 47-15 (.758) in conference play in four seasons. The class needs eight victories to tie for the most by a four-year group in program history (105).
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD...
• Be the 960th win in program history (959-473)
• Be head coach Wes Moore's 742nd career win (741-233)
• Be Moore's 184th win at NC State (183-64)
• Be Moore's 88th ACC win at NC State (87-39)
• Mark the Wolfpack's sixth-straight victory over the Panthers
NOTING THE WOLFPACK (15-2, 10-2)
• Ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 for the third week this season and been ranked in the national top five since Dec. 7
• Stands at second in the ACC behind Louisville (20-2, 13-2 ACC)
• No. 2 nationally and first in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (32.4)
• Paces the league in field-goal percentage (11th nationally - .475), rebound margin (19th nationally - +8.6) and field-goal percentage defense (21st nationally - .355)
• Also top-25 nationally in scoring margin (13th - +17.1), rebounds per game (14th - 43.9), scoring offense (16th - 79.9) and assist-to- turnover ratio (24th - 1.23)
• Four members of the squad with scoring averages in double digits - Elissa Cunane (15.7), Jakia Brown-Turner (15.2), Kayla Jones (13.7) and Jada Boyd (10.6)
• Cunane and Brown-Turner both rank in the top 10 in the ACC with their scoring numbers
• Cunane (2nd - .560), Jones (4th - .527) and Brown-Turner (8th - .463) all rank in the top 10 in the league in field-goal percentage, with Cunane's number also ranking 20th in the nation
• Raina Perez (2.72) owns the ACC's top assist-to-turnover ratio and also ranks second in assists per game (5.1)
• Held five of its opponents to under 30 percent shooting and 12 of 17 opponents to under 40 percent
• Averaging 39.4 points in the paint and also a threat from distance with an average of 7.3 made three pointers per contest
• Outscored in the paint on just one occasion and beating out its opponents in that category by an average margin of +14.0
• Put together three-point shooting percentages of 40 percent or better in seven outings
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS (5-11, 3-10)
• Ranked first in the league in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 16.5 per contest
• Last among the 13 active ACC teams in both field-goal percentage and scoring defense
• Picked up series sweep over Clemson and victory over Boston College for its three ACC wins. Its Feb. 16 game against the Eagles was its most recent victory
• 2-4 in road games this season
• Two double-figure scorers on the Panther squad - Jayla Everett (14.9) and Dayshanette Harris (12.4). Everett's average ranks 11th in the ACC this season
SERIES HISTORY (NC State leads, 7-2)
• Thursday marks the 10th meeting between NC State and Pitt.
• The Wolfpack has won five meetings in a row against the Panthers, and NC State is 3-1 when playing against Pitt on its home court.
• Pitt has won just two games in the series between the squads, with its last victory over NC State coming in February of 2015. That Panther win came inside Reynolds Coliseum.
• NC State has won its last two games against Pitt by 29 points and 44 points, averaging out to a +36.5 margin.
• The teams last met on Jan. 23, 2020 in Pittsburgh, and NC State doubled the Panthers' score to come away with the 88-44 victory.
LAST TIME OUT
• NC State won its third-straight game and picked up its 10th conference victory of the season on Sunday afternoon as it defeated rival UNC by an 82-63 score at home. It was the Pack's third game in a row with a victory margin of at least 19 points.
• The Wolfpack took control of the game in the middle of the first quarter when it went on a 14-0 run that spanned just over seven minutes of game action.
• Brown-Turner led the team with a career-high 25 points. Jones put together 20 points of her own, 18 of which she scored in the second half. Cunane tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double in a row and her fifth of the season.
• The Pack shot 10-of-16 (.667) in the third quarter to build up a double-digit lead it did not relinquish during the final period.
• NC State limited UNC to 0-of-16 from the three-point line before the Tar Heels hit their first three pointer of the game with 1:35 left in the third quarter.
FAMILIAR HEIGHTS
NC State jumped up two spots in the latest edition of the Associated Press Top 25 poll to move back to No. 2 in the nation. The ranking tied as its best of the season and once again matched the best AP standing in program history.
Monday's placement marked NC State's third week in the 2020-21 campaign during which it has been ranked No. 2. NC State women's basketball has now spent a total of 11 weeks in program history as the nation's No. 2 team, and this season's rankings mark the first No. 2 designation for the Pack since the 1990-91 season. NC State has never been ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25.
It also marked the 48th week in program history that NC State has been featured in the top five. The current 12-week top-five streak is the longest such streak for NC State since it spent the final 12 weeks of the 1977-78 campaign ranked fifth or better.
WIN STREAKING
After falling to rival UNC on Feb. 7, NC State has bounced back with three-straight victories (vs. Clemson, at Wake Forest, vs. UNC) including the revenge match against the Tar Heels. The three-game winning streak is the second-longest active streak in the ACC right now behind Virginia Tech's five games.
NC State as a team in those three wins:
• Outscoring its opponents by an average 19.7 points
• Limiting its opponents to 23.3 percent from three-point range
• Shooting 94-of-199 (.472) as a team from the floor
• Averaging 15.7 assists and assisted on 47 of its 94 made buckets
NC State's top performers in those three wins:
• Brown-Turner: 19.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 24-43 FG (.558), 7-12 3FG (.583)
• Jones: 19.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 24-36 FG (.667), 3.7 apg
• Cunane: 14.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 16-36 FG (.444)
COMING UP
NC State at Syracuse • Sunday, Feb. 28 • 12 p.m.
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
Players Mentioned
Wing
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballACC Tipoff Q&A
Tuesday, October 07
Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones on ACCN Set at ACC Tipoff
Tuesday, October 07
Coach Moore ACCN Interview at ACC Tipoff
Tuesday, October 07
Zamareya Jones Summer Media Availability
Wednesday, July 23