The NC State women’s basketball team used a strong second half to pull away from the Wofford Terriers for the team’s first win of the 2020-21 season on Friday, Nov. 12 in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (1-1) didn’t start out well, trailing by one at the end of the first quarter and holding just a five-point lead at halftime, but the Pack managed to turn it around in the second half, doubling the Terriers (0-2) 56-28 after the break and shooting a whopping 68.8% in the third quarter.
“Obviously really frustrated and disappointed with the first half,” said head coach Wes Moore. “That second half effort was a ton better.”
After a mostly uninspiring first half, the Pack put its foot on the gas to begin the second half, looking to star frontcourt of senior center Elissa Cunane and graduate forward Kayla Jones, who combined to score the Pack’s first 12 points of the third quarter.
That was all NC State needed, as the Pack ended up outscoring Wofford 29-14 in the third quarter and 27-14 in the fourth quarter, shooting 52.8% in the second half and 50% in the entire game. Jones said it was Moore’s halftime speech and adjustments that spurred on the Pack’s dominant second half performance.
“He really got into us, and we knew we had to be more aggressive on defense,” Jones said. “That’s what we really tried to focus on because we had a slow start at the beginning and we tried to buy into what he was asking us and just get out into transition.”
It was indeed a tale of two halves, as the Pack committed eight turnovers, pulled in 22 rebounds and gave up 16 rebounds in the first half compared to two turnovers, 29 rebounds and nine rebounds given up in the second half.
“We should be able to come out and play a little better than that,” Moore said. “That first half was really frustrating. We’ve got to figure it out, how to get off to a better start. You can’t keep digging holes, especially against really good teams.”
After playing a close first quarter, the Pack got hot and was able to capitalize on a 14-0 run late in the second quarter. Wofford quickly responded with two quick 3-pointers that cut NC State’s lead to five at the end of the half. Despite this, the Pack would quickly pull away at the start of the third quarter and wouldn’t look back.
Going forward in the season, the Pack needs to string wins together, but more importantly, establish who it is as a team. Cunane said it was necessary for the team to not worry about their opponents and focus on the team’s identity.
“I think we’re trying to work on who we are as a team and establishing our identity as ourselves,” Cunane said. “You hear everybody talk about how much depth we have this year, and I think we just have to establish how we play together and how we all maximize ourselves as players for this team.”
Next up, the Pack hosts Florida on Sunday, Nov. 14 at Reynolds Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network.
