The No. 10 NC State women’s basketball team secured a spot in the ACC Tournament championship game Saturday afternoon, beating sixth-seeded Boston College 82-75 in front of a Greensboro Coliseum crowd that heavily favored the Raleigh team.
A dominant 31-6 run from the end of the first quarter until halftime put the Wolfpack (27-4, 14-4 ACC) in complete control over the Eagles (20-12, 11-7 ACC), as it avoided any possible letdown just hours after first-seeded Louisville was upset in the other semifinal by fourth-seeded Florida State. With the win, NC State advances to its first ACC Tournament championship game since 2010.
“Proud of our kids, the way they responded,” said NC State head coach Wes Moore. “We got off to a slow start again, and first quarter we gave up a whole lot of points, and then in the second quarter we seemed to be able to get some stuff going in transition and get Elissa some touches inside, and [senior guard Aislinn Konig] knocked down some threes. So that gave us momentum going into the locker room at halftime.”
With NC State down 24-17 late in the first quarter, junior forward Kayla Jones stepped into a 3-pointer and knocked it down to cut the deficit to four. After a traveling violation on Boston College gave the Pack the ball with seven seconds to go, junior guard Kai Crutchfield sprinted up the court and pulled up from deep, canning a 3-pointer and slicing into the deficit even further.
Jones and Crutchfield’s 3-pointers kickstarted NC State’s most dominant run of the season, as it outscored the Eagles by 25 points over the final 10:30 of the game. Jones bookended the run, with a 3-pointer to start it and a 3-pointer to conclude it at the end of the half. As Boston College struggled to score on offense, sophomore center Elissa Cunane went to work down low, scoring seven points and hauling in three rebounds while the Wolfpack pulled away.
“When anybody hits big shots like that, it really excites the team and allows us to get more excited on the floor,” Konig said. “We play a little harder, we are able to celebrate, and so I think that was the big momentum changer and really got us into the flow.”
However, Cunane had three fouls in just 16 minutes, and as a result sat for a good chunk of the second half. This opened the door for freshman forward Jada Boyd to have an absolutely dominant game, putting up 16 points and eight rebounds.
“[I was just] adjusting, getting my feet wet and trying to get in the swing of things,” Boyd said. “I’m still growing and still learning, so just coming back today and doing it.”
Boston College came out of the gates on fire offensively, with forward Emma Guy accounting for 10 of the Eagles’ first 19 points as she had perfect shooting from the floor. Thankfully for the Pack, the team was able to repay the Eagles, particularly on second-chance points, grabbing seven offensive boards in the first quarter alone, good for five second-chance points. NC State shot 4 for 8 on 3-pointers in the quarter, tying its total from yesterday against Georgia Tech. The Pack quickly shook off its rust from the quarterfinal, adding to its total early in the second quarter and making six by the opening minutes of the second period.
Both teams showed in the first quarter what March is really about, with the teams playing scrappy on the boards and displaying high-octane offense. After the first quarter, the Pack was scoring 1.5 points per possession, while the Eagles were scoring 1.6 points per possession; high marks all around.
Turnovers killed the Eagles, as the team committed six turnovers in the second quarter alone, with the Pack only having four by the half. The turnovers were only part of the bleeding for Boston College, as the team’s offense of the first quarter quickly became history, missing eight straight field goals to cap off the half.
“I think they were doing a good job of getting the ball into the post,” Konig said. “[Emma Guy] is a talented senior there for Boston College who scores really well, so switching up the defense [helped stop BC], and we ended up putting Jada Boyd on her for a little bit, and that changed the way she was being guarded, and that was able to disrupt their offense.”
While the offensive production in the third quarter somewhat slowed, Konig found her shooting stroke, knocking down two 3-pointers and sinking a pull-up jump shot as she helped NC State extend and maintain its dominant lead. Konig finished the game with four of the Pack’s 10 made shots from beyond the arc.
“You saw the fans, the crowd out there; there was a lot of red,” Moore said. “They’ve been awesome. We sold out several games this year down the stretch, and our season ticket sales are like seven times what they were a few years ago. So we got a lot of momentum and excitement, and our fans are awesome, so we would love to [win the championship for them].”
NC State will be back in action for the ACC Tournament championship game inside the Greensboro Coliseum on Sunday. The game is scheduled to tip off at noon and will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates.
Junior forward Kayla Jones drives down the court during the semifinal game of the 2020 ACC Women's Tournament versus the Boston College Eagles on Saturday, March 7, 2020 in the Greensboro Coliseum. Jones scored 9 points and had 4 rebounds against Boston College. The Wolfpack beat the Eagles 82-75 to advance to the championship game against Florida State.
