NC State women’s basketball head coach Wes Moore had his hands on his head all afternoon against Notre Dame as the Wolfpack suffered a 79-67 loss to the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana.
NC State women’s basketball (17-8,10-4 ACC) looked defeated after having a week to prepare for Notre Dame (16-9, 8-6 ACC), with players’ hands on their hips being a common sight. The Pack failed to get back on defense, leading to too many easy buckets for the Fighting Irish. An important game for both teams, the Wolfpack continues to seek a double-bye in the ACC tournament while the Irish needed this game for a better case at a bid to the big dance.
The Fighting Irish pursued harder, out-muscling and outshooting their opponent. The Wolfpack outrebounded its opponent once again, but it couldn’t make up for a lack of hustle. Sloppy offensive play was the story of tonight.
Passes were flying in the stands and going everywhere but the hands of those in pink jerseys. The Wolfpack totaled 22 turnovers, 10 coming in the first half, which led to 28 points off turnovers for the Irish. That was too significant for the Wolfpack to come back from as the Notre Dame defense was shutting down Moore’s offense.
The Wolfpack came out in the first quarter a tad slower than expected. The red-and-white didn’t seem orchestrated and it looked like teammates were not on the same page with some of the passes that led to turnovers. After a grueling first quarter, the Pack only trailed by three, hoping to come out of the break with some firepower.
But Notre Dame snuffed them out, coming out in the second quarter with no regard for distance, splashing four 3-pointers and ringing up 30 points on the Wolfpack to lead 47-27 at halftime.
The NC State perimeter defense was slow to step to Notre Dame’s shooters, and failed to rotate quickly enough, allowing easy shots for too good of a roster. Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo is third in the ACC in points per game, and the Pack knew she was going to be a handful before tip-off, directing a lot of attention to her and forcing her to use her left hand.
But, Hidalgo overwhelmed the Wolfpack defense, scoring 19 points with six assists and eight rebounds. She wasn’t the only one with a good performance, as four players scored 12+ for the Irish.
Junior forward Khamil Pierre was solid for the Pack. The 6-foot-2 center kept her game simple and efficient, getting inside and to the free throw line. Pierre recorded yet another double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, marking her 17th double-double this season.
Sophomore guard Zam Jones also made her presence felt, dropping 21 points, but was fairly inefficient from the field, shooting 9-for-20 and 1-for-8 from 3-point range.
While Jones struggled from three, junior Qadence Samuels was knocking down the three-ball and her jumpshots. The UConn transfer only missed one shot, going 5-for-6 from the field and grabbing 12 points on some tough shots.
The Wolfpack met an extremely hot and desperate Notre Dame team who couldn’t miss from the field. The Irish had a 27-point lead over the Wolfpack at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and without a 12-to-2 run from the Pack late in the 4th quarter, the point differential would have been much larger.
The Wolfpack’s next matchup will take place in Durham against No.11 Duke on Thursday, Feb. 19. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
