North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Women’s Hoops Racks Up ACC Honors
3/2/2021 9:32:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GREENSBORO, N.C. – A well-balanced NC State women's basketball squad (17-2) was rewarded with an abundance of high honors from the Atlantic Coast Conference on Tuesday morning. Junior Elissa Cunane, sophomores Jakia Brown-Turner and Jada Boyd, senior Kayla Jones, graduate Raina Perez and head coach Wes Moore were all recognized for their successes during the 2020-21 campaign.
Boyd (ACC Co-Sixth Player of the Year) and Moore (ACC Coach of the Year) were honored with annual awards, and four other members of the Wolfpack squad were placed on the league's all-conference teams.
Cunane and Brown-Turner were unanimous First Team All-ACC honorees. Jones earned a spot on the First Team All-ACC as voted on by the conference's coaches and was a Second Team honoree on the Blue Ribbon Panel's list. Perez was an honorable mention honoree as designated by the Blue Ribbon Panel.
NC State is the only program with three First Team selections by the head coaches and joins Virginia Tech as the only two schools with a pair of unanimous First Team players.
Elissa Cunane • Junior • Center
- Unanimous First Team All-ACC
- Ranked in the top 15 in the ACC in scoring (6th - 15.6), rebounding (7th - 8.0), field-goal percentage (2nd - .557), free throw percentage (3rd - .863) and blocks (14th - 1.0)
- Field-goal percentage also ranks 20th nationally
- Second season in a row as a unanimous First Team All-ACC selection
- Scored in double figures in all but one game this season, including three 20+ point outings and five double-doubles as the true centerpiece of the Pack's four-out, one-in system
- Shot 50+ percent from the floor in a total of 10 outings, including two perfect shooting nights (6-of-6 against NC Central and 9-of-9 at home against Boston College)
- Reached 1,000 career points in the Pack's season opener and is the only active junior in the conference to surpass that mark
- Currently a top 10 finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, a semifinalist for Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year and on late season lists for the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year, the Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy
- In ACC play, averaged: 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 57 percent shooting and 1.7 assists per game
Jakia Brown-Turner • Sophomore • Wing
- Unanimous First Team All-ACC
- Ranked in the top 10 in the ACC in scoring (10th - 14.8) and field-goal percentage (7th - .460)
- Also averaged 40 percent from three-point range and 2.6 assists per game
- Member of the 2020 All-ACC Freshman Team
- Leads NC State with 17 double-figure scoring games this season; scored 10+ points in every outing except two in which she tallied eight and nine points
- Posted first 20+ point game of her career this season and has since posted four total, all against ACC opponents; that includes a career-best performance with 25 points at home against UNC
- Averaging over five points per game more this season than last season (9.4 in 2019-20 to 14.8 in 2020-21)
- Knocked down a career-high four three pointers in three conference games this season
- In ACC play, averaged: 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 47.2 percent shooting, 41.2 percent three-point shooting and 2.1 assists per game
Jada Boyd • Sophomore • Forward
- ACC Co-Sixth Player of the Year
- An incredible spark off the bench for the Pack, as she averages 10.7 points and 6.1 rebounds in just 20.1 minutes of action per game
- Member of the 2020 All-ACC Freshman Team
- Taken ownership of her role as the first player off the bench, as she finished the regular season ranked fourth on the team in scoring and third in rebounding despite averaging the sixth-most minutes
- Scored in double figures in five games off the bench, with a pair of nine-point performances following closely
- Two of her three double-doubles this season came in games that she did not start
- Of her 20 career double-figure scoring outings, 10 have come when Boyd played 20 minutes or less
- Compiled shooting averages of 50+ percent in six outings this season
- Ranked 15th in the ACC in rebounding with her 6.1 average
- Scored career-high 26 points against Georgia Tech on Dec. 31, with that number marking the most points in a single game this season for any member of the Pack; put together an efficient first half in that game with 14 points and six rebounds in just eight minutes
- In ACC play, averaged: 10.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 45.6 percent shooting
Kayla Jones • Senior • Forward
- First Team All-ACC (Head Coaches Poll), Second Team All-ACC (Blue Ribbon Panel)
- Averaged 13.0 points and ranked ninth in the ACC in rebounding with her 7.3 average
- Also averaged 50.8 percent shooting and 2.9 assists per game
- One of two players in the conference to average 13+ points, 7+ rebounds and 2.5+ assists, and the only to do that while average better than 50 percent shooting
- Scored in double figures in 14 games, with her best scoring output coming with a career-high 25 points at Boston College
- Dished out three or more assists in 10 games this season, including three games with a career-high seven
- Flirted with a triple-double on two occasions this season
- In ACC play, averaged: 13.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 49 percent shooting and 3.0 assists per game
Raina Perez • Graduate • Guard
- Honorable Mention All-ACC (Blue Ribbon Panel)
- Averaged 9.5 points per game while compiling a shooting percentage of 46.2 from the floor and 36.1 from distance
- Ranked atop the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.85) and second in assists per game (4.9)
- Assist-to-turnover ratio also ranks 13th nationally
- Turned the ball over just 1.7 times per contest as the Pack's primary ball handler
- Tied single-game NC State record for assists with 13 in the Pack's road game at UNC
- Dished out three or more assists in 15 games and five or more assists in 10 games
- Has five games this season with 3+ assists and zero turnovers
- In ACC play, averaged: 9.2 points, 43.9 percent shooting, 34.8 percent three-point shooting and 5.0 assists per game
Wes Moore • Head Coach • Eighth Season at NC State
- Currently on the late season watch list for 2021 Naismith Coach of the Year
- Guided the Pack to a 17-2 overall record and a 12-2 mark in league play during the 2020-21 regular season
- Authored two victories over the nation's top-ranked teams - No. 1 South Carolina on Dec. 3 and No. 1 Louisville on Feb. 1 - to make his squad the first program in the last 20 years to earn two AP No. 1 wins on the road in a single season
- Led the Pack to a perfect 11-0 mark inside Reynolds Coliseum, joining the 1977-78 team as the only Wolfpack squads to end their years unbeaten at home
- Helped his team match the best AP ranking in program history with three weeks this season at No. 2; NC State has now been ranked in the top five for 13 straight weeks, the longest such streak in one season in program history
- Unanimously named ACC Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season, which marked the first time that the honor had been claimed by NC State
- Winningest active ACC head coach with 743 career victories, which includes a 185-64 (.743) record at NC State
NC State earned the No. 2 seed at the upcoming ACC Tournament and opens postseason play in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday, March 5 at 6 p.m. The Wolfpack will take on the winner of the game between No. 7 seed Virginia Tech and No. 10 seed Miami. Friday's game will be broadcast live on the ACC's Regional Sports Networks.
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