No. 8 NC State women’s basketball remained unbeaten after pulling out a 70-61 overtime victory at Reynolds Coliseum Sunday in a highly competitive matchup in which Virginia Tech was looking to grab its first win in conference play.
After trailing Virginia Tech throughout the entirety of the first quarter, the Wolfpack (18-0, 5-0 ACC) took its first lead of the game nearly two minutes into the second after a layup by junior guard Aislinn Konig. The Pack and Hokies (13-5, 0-5) would go back and forth throughout the matchup with five lead changes – four which coming in the second half.
“You know, I think that we come into every half thinking it’s a new game,” Konig said. “For us, walking on that floor it’s 0-0 again and that’s something that Coach Moore emphasizes a lot but you can’t come out and just expect people to not show up. It was really just executing and making sure we did the things we needed to do to be successful.”
NC State struggled to maintain its five-point lead coming out of halftime, as Virginia Tech hit 7 of 12 3-point shots in the second half and shot an overall 43.5 percent from the floor. Meanwhile, the Pack continued its struggles in the second half, hitting 10 of its 28 field goals during that span.
The Wolfpack experienced adversity especially from beyond the arc, where the team made only 28.6 percent of its shots. Even throughout this second-half slump, NC State managed to retain the lead with the help of redshirt junior guard Kiara Leslie who hit two 3-pointers in a row until a Hokie triple gave Virginia Tech a two-point lead late in the third quarter.
“During practice we work on different situations and I think doing that helps us execute down at the end of play,” Leslie said. “I think coach does a great job of setting us up to be successful.”
The last five minutes boiled over into an exciting end of regulation, with 15 combined points leading to a tie at 59 a piece and setting up overtime, where the Pack quickly took command for the win.
“They didn’t panic, head coach Wes Moore said. “I think it’s important that [freshman forward Elissa Cunane] got a big bucket for us and then Ace hit the 3 coming off the staggered pick and that gave us a five-point lead. I think that gave us the confidence to finish it off.”
NC State will look to continue 18-game winning streak against Clemson, tipping off at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Reynolds Coliseum.
Graduate guard Kiara Leslie attacks the rim against Virginia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 20 at Reynolds Coliseum. Leslie recorded a game-high 25 points along with seven rebounds in the Wolfpack’s 70-61 overtime win.
