N.C. State maintained its undefeated record under first-year head coach Wes Moore by beating Presbyterian 85-45 on Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum.
“Obviously, it was a good day,” Moore said. “We shot the ball well, and that always gives you a good, warm, fuzzy feeling. In their opener, they held [No. 24] Georgia to 45 points with 19 in the first half, so I came in a little apprehensive.”
Senior center Markeisha Gatling and freshman guard Ashley Williams led the Wolfpack (3-0) with 12 points apiece, with senior guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman providing 11 points in State’s 40-point victory. Gatling also led the team on the boards, grabbing six rebounds, followed closely by junior guard Breezy Williams with five.
“We did a good job of not taking them lightly,” Williams said. “We executed on offense, and it really showed when we started hitting our shots.”
Ten different players scored for State in the contest, and none of them scored less than six points. Senior forward Kody Burke dropped in nine points for the Pack, with junior guard Krystal Barrett adding eight points.
“There were a lot of positives on offense,” Moore said. “I’m not excited when we play against the zone because at some point, you’re going to have to knock down some shots, and shooting can be fickle. Fortunately, it was smiling on us in the game.”
After exchanging baskets in the first two minutes, State pulled ahead for good and never relinquished its lead. The Pack jumped on a 21-6 run to end the first half, entering halftime with a comfortable 36-21 lead.
The Pack’s offense kicked into overdrive in the second half, scoring 14 unanswered points to boost its lead to 33 points. State coasted into victory with an 18-6 run during the last six minutes. The Pack scored 49 points in the second half alone, four more than Presbyterian scored in the entire game.
The Pack shot lights out from the three-point arc all night, hitting 14 three-pointers on 30 attempts. Ten of those baskets were made in the 49-point second half. Ashley Williams scored all of her points from beyond the arc, while Goodwin-Coleman followed with three and Moser and Barrett contributed two apiece.
“We want to work inside-out,” Moore said. “Our first option is the one inside, but if a team decides to help on the post, we want two have four people around her that are capable of hitting the three.”
Williams said that Presbyterian’s players concentrated on defending the paint, leaving the Pack’s sharpshooters wide open on the perimeter.
“They didn’t want [Gatling] to beat them,” Williams said. “It was obvious that they were giving away the outside shot as opposed to letting her take over.”
Presbyterian’s offense failed to maintain control of the ball with 21 turnovers that turned into 30 points on the opposite side of the court. State only gave the ball away nine times. Brown led the team with four steals followed by three from Barrett and two from Spencer.
State returns to action at home on Monday night against Morgan State at 7 p.m. The game against the Bears is the fourth of a six-game home stand for the Pack.
