NC State
15-2,6-0ACC
Virginia
3-10,0-3ACC
#4 NC State Moves to 6-0 in ACC With Road Win at Virginia
1/13/2022 9:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 4 NC State women's basketball (15-2, 6-0 ACC) extended its winning streak to five games as it wrapped up a back-to-back stretch of road contests with a 66-43 victory at Virginia (3-10, 0-3 ACC) on Thursday night.
A total of 12 Wolfpack players entered the scoring column in the victory. Elissa Cunane was the only scorer in double figures with 10 points to go with her team-leading 10 rebounds. The double-double was her fourth of the season and 29th of her career, and she accomplished the feat in less than 20 minutes of time on the floor.
Aziaha James followed her with nine points off the bench for her highest scoring mark in ACC play. The freshman guard shot 4-of-7 and knocked down a three in just over 22 minutes of action.
NC State also had three eight-point scorers - Kai Crutchfield, Jada Boyd and Jakia Brown-Turner. Crutchfield put together an impressive stat line, leading the team in assists (3) and steals (2) while not turning the ball over. Boyd (7 rebounds, 4 offensive rebounds) and Brown-Turner (6 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds) made an impact on the boards.
The Wolfpack shot 50+ percent in both the third and fourth quarters to end the night with a field-goal percentage of 40.7 (24-of-59). Virginia, on the other hand, shot below 13 percent in both the third and fourth quarters. NC State also forced Virginia into 21 turnovers on the night and capitalized with 26 points off of those turnovers.
The Wolfpack outscored Virginia 18-5 in the second quarter to bounce back from an early deficit and take a nine-point advantage (29-20) to the half. The team limited the Cavaliers to 1-of-11 shooting (.091) in the second quarter and scored the first 10 points of the period to regain its lead after trailing by four (15-11) after the first quarter.
NC State carried momentum into the second half and scored the first seven points out of the break to push its lead into double digits where it would remain the rest of the outing. The team took advantage of Virginia's continued shooting struggles, holding the Cavaliers to 2-of-16 (.125) in the third quarter while shooting 7-of-14 (.500) itself.
The Pack led by as many as 22 points (49-27) after the first possession of the fourth quarter and never let Virginia get closer than 14 in the game's final period. NC State was able to go deep into its bench in the fourth quarter, with those players shooting 8-of-14 (.571) over the course of the last 10 minutes.
NC State returns to Reynolds Coliseum for a three-game home stint against No. 16 Duke (Sunday, Jan. 16), No. 3 Louisville (Thursday, Jan. 20) and Virginia Tech (Sunday, Jan. 23). Tip-off for Sunday's sold out game against the Blue Devils is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on the ACC Network.
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