The No. 13 NC State’s women’s basketball team passed its first big test of the season with flying colors, defeating No. 9 Maryland 66-59 in Reynolds Coliseum Thursday night.
Despite committing 28 turnovers, the Wolfpack (9-0) played tenacious defense all night, hounding the Terrapins (7-2) and forcing them into 17 turnovers and just 33.8% shooting from the field. The Terrapins’ red-hot 3-point shooting masked an otherwise perfect defensive effort by the Pack, as Maryland shot just 28% inside the arc.
“We’re excited about the win,” said NC State coach Wes Moore. “Hopefully we can learn from some of the things we could do better.”
In a rematch of the 2018 NCAA Tournament second round game in Reynolds Coliseum, Maryland came out firing from deep, hitting three 3-pointers in its first four possessions and racing out to a 9-4 lead. As the Terrapins pushed the ball up the court at a fast tempo, NC State struggled to get back in transition, and Maryland’s lethal 3-point shooters found themselves wide open.
After senior guard Ace Konig tied the game 9-9 with a contested 3-pointer after a layup by sophomore center Elissa Cunane, though, the teams traded turnover after turnover. Eleven combined turnovers in the first period marred what was an electrifyingly fast-paced game, and Maryland closed out the quarter with a narrow 18-15 advantage.
Maryland’s fast-paced offense and pressing defense was giving NC State fits in the first quarter, but as the Wolfpack calmed down and adjusted, it found its footing.
“I think every game is a challenge,” said junior guard Kai Crutchfield. “Coach says we prepare for each game as if it is a big game. It’s great having the confidence in each other going into each game and executing on offense and defense.”
The Wolfpack exploded out of the gates in the second half to the tune of a 10-2 run and a 38-32 lead, its largest of the game to that point. Firing up the Reynolds Coliseum crowd, NC State never relinquished its lead.
Every time Maryland would score quick buckets in succession to inch closer, someone was there for NC State. Whether it was junior forward Kayla Jones splashing a 3-pointer to push NC State’s lead to 43-37 or freshman wing Jakia Brown-Turner rattling in her only deep ball of the game off a Maryland turnover to push the lead to nine points, the Wolfpack was always ready to answer.
Maryland came out in the fourth quarter firing, scoring six straight points and outscoring the Pack 12-4 to pull within one point with just over six minutes to play.
That’s when the hometown hero Crutchfield decided she had had enough of Maryland’s comeback attempts.
The Raleigh native hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to four, then with just under three minutes to go she hit another, her fifth of the game, to give the Wolfpack a 60-53 lead. And as if that wasn’t enough, she ran the floor on a fastbreak the very next possession and dropped home a layup, putting NC State up 62-53 and icing the game away to seal a win over a top 10 opponent.
“I was trying to take what the defense gave me,” Crutchfield said. “… I have to give credit to my teammates for setting me up for those things … Maryland’s a very challenging team, and it wasn’t one of those games where you could just put up any shot.”
The only thing that kept Maryland in the game was the incredible amount of turnovers it forced NC State into. The usually disciplined Wolfpack turned the ball over 28 times Thursday night, playing uncharacteristically sloppy against the relentless Maryland press.
“We’ve got plenty of things we can clean up,” Moore said. “We’ve got to take care of the ball better … there’s still a lot of stuff that we can get better at.”
The towering 6-foot-5 Cunane dominated in the paint all game long. She finished the game with 16 points and 15 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds that helped NC State as it piled up 16 second-chance points. Bullying her way down low alongside Cunane was Jones, who scored 11 points and hauled in 14 rebounds.
With 29 combined boards, Cunane and Jones outrebounded the Terrapins by themselves as the Wolfpack couldn’t be stopped in the painted area, with a 51-27 advantage in the rebounding department and 36 points in the paint.
“Coach really harps on crashing the boards and then just box out,” Jones said. “We knew what type of rebounders [Maryland] were, so we just needed to box them out and keep them off the glass.”
NC State will return to action Sunday, Dec. 15 when it plays Elon at home in Reynolds Coliseum at noon.
Junior forward Kayla Jones dribbles up court against Maryland on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019 at Reynolds Coliseum. Jones recorded 11 points and 14 rebounds as the Wolfpack won 66-59.
