Bryan Murphy
Junior forward Chelsea Nelson reaches for a rebound in the Wolfpack's annual Play4Kay game on Feb. 19. Nelson made 8 of 17 shots from the field and had 18 total points in the 89-77 loss at Reynolds Coliseum.
The 12th annual Play4Kay Game returned to Reynolds Coliseum Sunday afternoon after a one-year hiatus due to renovations. A packed, pinked-out Reynolds saw the No. 15 NC State women’s basketball team face off against Wake Forest in a tradition named for the late, great head coach Kay Yow. This year, the goal is to raise $500,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
The Demon Deacons (15-12, 6-8 ACC) took the lead with 4:37 left in the first quarter over the Wolfpack (20-7, 10-4 ACC) and never looked back, using an all-around team effort to down the Pack, 89-77, despite a season-high 24 points from senior guard Miah Spencer.
“Obviously a very tough day, very disheartening,” head coach Wes Moore said. “The Play4Kay Game is really important to this university and to this campus and to this program, so it’s very disappointing from that standpoint.”
NC State sported white and pink jerseys and all-pink shoes for the game. On the backs of those jerseys, in place of the normal last names below the numbers, were the words: strength, hope, inspire, faith, courage and fight, varying from player to player.
A lightning quick first quarter saw the lead go back-and-forth for the first five minutes, but at about the midway mark, the Deacs took the lead for good. NC State had little trouble penetrating the lane, but couldn’t always finish at the rim, missing multiple close-range opportunities.
“I think they were contested some,” Moore said about the missed shots. “I think people for Wake did a good job of trying to at least get a hand up — but that’s what I told them at halftime, we’ve missed some shots that we’d normally make.”
The Wolfpack also struggled from beyond the arc in the first, missing three 3-pointers while Wake Forest shot 3 of 4 from deep. Spencer led all scorers with eight points, but the Deacs led 19-15 at the end of the first.
The Pack continued to struggle everywhere on the court except inside. The biggest disparity of the half was the 3-point percentage with Wake Forest, led by junior Amber Campbell, shooting 57 percent while NC State shot a mere 17 percent, going 1 of 6.
The imbalance in 3-point shooting was evened slightly in the paint for the Pack, as State held an 18-10 edge. NC State also made nine free throws to Wake Forest’s five. The Deacs went into the half with the 37-32 lead.
At the break, cancer survivors gathered at the center of Kay Yow court to remember the legendary coach and recall the reason for the wonderful NC State tradition. All those in the building were reminded of Yow’s motto: “When life kicks you, let it kick you forward.”
Chelsea Nelson was the first to get on the board in the second half when her layup trimmed the Wake Forest lead to three. One minute later, the Pack was within one, and Reynolds was rocking.
However, Wake Forest was quick to respond and the Deacs turned a slim 39-38 lead into a 49-40 advantage behind a pair of threes by guard Ariel Stephenson.
Recent shooting struggles by the Wolfpack were on display once again as the team shot an atrocious 35 percent from the floor through three quarters.
With her team down 10 with 2:32 left in the third, Spencer put the team on her back and went to work. Spencer made a layup and was fouled, converted the free throw and subsequently stole the ball on the next possession, finishing with another layup.
Spencer had 20 points through three quarters on 8 of 13 shooting, but the Pack was unable to gain a lead as it trailed, 57-51, at the end of the third.
Down 73-59 with just under five minutes remaining, head coach Wes Moore implemented the full-court press, hoping to force a turnover and get his team back in the game.
The Pack couldn’t effectively execute the press, however, and was unable to slow down the Demon Deacons. Poor shooting and a lack of defense doomed the Wolfpack as the Deacs took the game, 89-77. The 89 points scored were the most by an opponent this season for NC State.
“It hurts, it’s tough, you gotta protect the home court,” Moore said. “In the ACC you gotta do that, so this is a tough loss.”
The Demon Deacons, a team that had lost 12 games on the year and was sitting in the lower half of the ACC, were playing as if they were at the top of the ACC. All five starters made it to double figures for the Deacs, and the team also held a 44-40 advantage on the boards.
“Super proud of this group,” Wake Forest’s head coach Jen Hoover said. “We’ve had a really competitive week of practice and I thought we came out and put together a complete 40 minutes.”
NC State will return to action Thursday when the Pack hosts UNC-Chapel Hill on senior night in Reynolds Coliseum at 7 p.m.