In the 15th annual Play4Kay game, the No. 8 NC State women’s basketball team fell at home to Duke 70-65, dropping its second straight Play4Kay game in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (23-4, 12-4 ACC) never led in the game, falling behind early and never completing any comeback attempt as the Blue Devils (17-10, 11-5 ACC) scored 23 points off 16 NC State turnovers. The loss marks NC State’s third loss in its last four games as it’s struggled mightily over the last couple weeks.
“I just told the players, I’ll take the blame on a lot of things,” said NC State coach Wes Moore. “But at some point they also have to be accountable. We’ve got to do a better job preparing for games, knowing the scout, going out and executing, playing with some energy and some urgency.”
As cancer survivors were honored at halftime and $356,701.50 was raised for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, win or lose, the game Monday night was about more than just basketball. For players and fans alike, the mission of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and Play4Kay was evident in the 5,000+ Wolfpack fans decked out in pink shirts.
“This environment is amazing,” said sophomore center Elissa Cunane. “We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but life kicks you, and let it kick you forward. So I think we are going to take a lot from this game. Wolfpack Nation was wonderful, it’s just what this game stands for, Play4Kay, it’s so much bigger than basketball, it’s so much bigger than NC State, it’s bigger than everything.”
It took the team five minutes to get its first field goal, but a baseline jumper by Cunane gave the Pack the offensive juice it needed. After missing five straight shots to open the game, NC State hit four of its next five from the floor, with Cunane accounting for seven of the team’s 14 first-quarter points.
Junior forward Kayla Jones went to the locker room at the conclusion of the first quarter, due to a minor injury, but returned early in the second quarter. Moore opened the second quarter with an all-freshman frontcourt of forward Jada Boyd and center Camille Hobby, with Cunane resting. With both Cunane and Jones out of the game, the Blue Devils went on a mini 6-0 run, with all scores coming from inside the paint.
After falling behind by as much as 11 points before the half, the Pack slowed the tempo and displayed excellent ball movement en route to chipping away at the deficit. A particularly flashy sequence saw Cunane pass deep to senior guard Aislinn Konig, who saved the ball from going out of bounds and passed it to a wide-open Jones down low, who scored the lay-in. Despite committing seven turnovers in the half, NC State closed out the half on a 10-2 run, trimming the deficit to one at the conclusion of the half.
Duke star forward Leaonna Odom picked up her fourth foul with nearly half of the third quarter remaining, giving the Wolfpack an ample advantage to attack the paint. The Pack whiffed on this opportunity at first, committing four turnovers in seven possessions, but eventually, the team found its footing to close the third quarter. Cunane and Boyd were responsible for six straight points on the interior, though the team still faced a five-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.
A huge basket by freshman guard Jakia Brown-Turner cut the lead down to three in the final minute of game time, and another miracle against Duke looked to be in reach, but a late turnover by the young wing and clutch free throws by Duke put the game away.
“It’s a little concerning, but at the same time we know who we are,” Cunane said. “We are gonna bounce back and we still have a lot of games to play, it doesn’t seem like it but at the end of the season there’s gonna be very big games, very important games. So I know the culture of our team, the culture of our program and we are going to come out and fight.”
Cunane notched her 13th double-double of the season, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Boyd scored 15 points and hauled in four rebounds, and outside of those two, no Wolfpack players scored in double figures.
After a 22-1 start to the season, NC State is 1-3 in its last four games and needed a last-second shot to win its one game. The Wolfpack is scoring under 60 points per game during its two-week malaise and with the ACC Tournament looming large next week, there’s not much time left to fix its problems.
“You wanna be great, you better be able to handle the heat,” Moore said. “We’re just not hungry enough, we’re not tough enough … when you step between the lines, at some point you’ve got to get down and dirty. You’ve got to compete.”
NC State will return to action on Thursday when it takes on Syracuse at 7 p.m. for senior night. The game will be inside Reynolds Coliseum and will be broadcast live on the ACC Network.
