The No. 23 NC State women’s basketball team defeated No. 12 Duke Blue Devils in a tightly contested match, 55-52, Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum.
Coming off of a conference loss to Syracuse, the Wolfpack (14-5, 4-2 ACC) was able to bounce back and hold off No. 12 Duke (15-3, 3-2 ACC) in the final seconds to seal the win against the rival. Redshirt senior guard Dominique Wilson led the way for the Pack as she tallied 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.
“Our kids are warriors, they just find a way to win,” head coach Wes Moore said. “Our word for today was ‘finish’ and that’s basically what we did.”
Both teams fought hard early on as neither team could solidify the lead. The Pack then broke out on a 7-0 run to give it the lead, 18-11, at the first timeout. NC State maintained its lead at the end of the quarter, 24-15. State controlled the ball well, as it tallied seven assists in the quarter with only one turnover. Additionally, State shot 5 of 10 from behind the arc.
The second quarter was a defensive slugfest, as both teams combined for six points just before the halfway mark in the quarter. The Pack increased its lead to 14 points at the half as it led 35-21 going into the break. Redshirt senior guard Dominique Wilson led the way for State, tallying 12 points on 3 of 3 from behind the arc in the half.
The Blue Devils had a tough first half, as they shot 32 percent from the field, going 1 of 5 from the 3-point line. Duke struggled handling the ball as well, as it committed seven turnovers with only five assists.
The Blue Devils came out in the third quarter with high intensity as they forced the Wolfpack to commit three turnovers. The Blue Devils capitalized by going on a 8-2 run before the first timeout, but the Pack still held onto its lead, 37-29.
The Blue Devils outscored the Pack in the third 17-8 to decrease the Pack’s lead, 43-38. Senior forward Oderah Chidom tallied seven points in the quarter for Duke. Duke’s defense was too much to handle for the Pack, as it shot 3 of 11 from the field and committed eight turnovers in the quarter.
“We really tried to be more aggressive,” Duke redshirt junior guard Rebecca Greenwell said in regard to the team’s defensive pressure in the second half. “We tried to take it personal after they hit so many threes in the first half and I think everybody did a great job denying the wings and trying to shut down their go-to players.”
The Blue Devils opened the fourth quarter by going on a 7-0 run to gain the lead, 45-43. The crowd intensity skyrocketed after Duke took the lead and its fans made their presence known.
Both teams brought high energy and emotion into the fourth quarter. Neither team could solidify more than a one-point lead in the last five minutes of the quarter. The crowd in the Reynolds Coliseum went crazy in the last five minutes over every possession.
The game went down to the wire. Duke shot the ball and missed with 5.2 seconds left, then Wilson made both free throws on the ensuing foul, extending the Pack’s lead to 55-52. The Blue Devils committed a turnover with .7 seconds left that ultimately ended the game.
“Playing 40 minutes is the name of the game and we didn’t quite do that,” Duke head coach Joanne McCallie said. “We played a great 20 minutes of basketball; State’s a very good team and we are very disappointed that we didn’t finish.”
The Blue Devils outscored the Pack 31-20 in the second half, but were unable to hold the lead to obtain the win. Greenwell led the way for the Blue Devils with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one block and three steals.
Senior forward Oderah Chidom from Duke described that the team had a more aggressive mentality in the second half to be able to comeback. Chidom went on to say their main focus was defense in the second half.
Senior guard Miah Spencer and junior forward Chelsea Nelson held the game intact for the Pack as they combined for eight of the last 10 points for the Pack. Nelson finished the game with 13 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and three steals.
“My team is very unselfish,” Nelson said. “If anyone is hot [on the team] we get them the ball, so I just think we go with what’s rolling.”
The Pack catches a break from its tough schedule, and plays its next game against Clemson at Reynolds Coliseum, Sunday, Jan. 22.
Redshirt freshman guard Kaila Ealey drives past the Duke defense during the ACC game between NC State and Duke in Reynold's Coliseum on Jan. 15. Ealey had one assist during her six minutes of play. The Wolfpack defeated the Blue Devils 55-52.
