NC State
17-8,7-7ACC
Virginia
15-11,4-11ACC
Pack’s Comeback Bid at Virginia Comes Up Short
2/12/2023 2:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – NC State women's basketball (17-8, 7-7 ACC) put itself in position to make a fourth-quarter comeback at Virginia (15-11, 4-11 ACC) but ultimately ran out of time as it fell 71-59 against the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon.
The Pack trailed by 12 (48-36) going into the fourth quarter after getting outscored 20-12 in the third. NC State turned on the full-court press late in the third period, ultimately forcing Virginia into seven turnovers as a direct result of the pressure, but the Cavaliers converted on 15 free throw attempts to make sure the Pack got no closer than seven points in the final period.
NC State was led by senior forward Jada Boyd who posted a season-high scoring performance of 22 points. Jakia Brown-Turner pitched in 11 points as the only other member of the Pack in double figures. Saniya Rivers hauled in a game-best 13 rebounds, the most for an NC State player this season.
The Pack won the offensive rebound battle against one of the best teams in the league in that category and had 18 assists on its 22 buckets but shot just 29.3 percent from the field (22-of-75), its second-lowest shooting mark of the season.
Despite knocking down a pair of second-quarter threes, NC State shot just 28.6 percent (10-of-35) in the first half to lead to a four-point advantage (28-24) for the Cavaliers at the break. Boyd scored seven in the first quarter to draw the Wolfpack even (12-12) after the opening period, but the Cavaliers managed to barely jump ahead for most of the second quarter.
Virginia took advantage of a 9-0 run to build up a double-digit lead midway through the third quarter. Despite a pair of Cavalier bigs fouling out, NC State's recent shooting woes continued and the Pack hit just two shots from the floor in the final five minutes.
The Wolfpack returns home on Thursday, Feb. 16 for its second regular-season matchup with local rival North Carolina. Tip-off between the 22nd-ranked Wolfpack and the 14th-ranked Tar Heels is set for 8 p.m. on the ACC Network. The game is sold out, but fans who are interested in purchasing tickets may do so on StubHub, the official fan-to-fan marketplace of the Wolfpack.
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