The NC State women’s basketball team defeated the Longwood Lancers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, winning 96-68 inside Reynolds Coliseum.
Despite leading by just four points after the first quarter, the Wolfpack ripped off a 23-6 second-period run to come away with the win and advance to the round of 32, in which the Pack will face Kansas State.
“Proud of our kids,” said head coach Wes Moore. “We had streaks kind of but we have been off a couple of weeks, so I think it was good to get back out there and be able to get a little momentum, a little confidence going. And I thought we did that in stretches.”
The win set the program record for most wins in a season, with the Wolfpack now sitting at 30 wins.
“Wow, I didn’t know that,” said junior wing Jakia Brown-Turner of the benchmark. “But it’s great. We come out every day playing hard. … I guess we’re making history. So we just want to keep doing that, keep playing our game.”
NC State got a balanced scoring attack from its roster in a game that featured a near-perfect scoring game for graduate guard Raina Perez, who scored 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the floor. Perez joined Brown-Turner, senior center Elissa Cunane, sophomore guard Diamond Johnson and junior forward Jada Boyd as Wolfpack players who finished in double figures.
“There were so many people that contributed,” Moore said. “And that’s what you need this time of year. You need a lot of depth. And I think we have that. And we have a lot of people that can step up on a given day. So five people in double figures and two more just right outside of it. So it’s exciting to see that this time of year.”
On the other hand, NC State did a great job of handling Longwood, allowing just three opposing players to score in double figures and holding Akila Smith, a player who just put up 32 points and 13 rebounds in Longwood’s First Four game, to just 10 points.
“Congratulations to Longwood on a great season and, you know, man, they had some people who could score the ball,” Moore said. “Some matchup problems with [Tra’dayja] Smith and [Kyla] McMakin. And of course today the other Smith stepped up big, too. So they had a lot of weapons. And so they have had an awesome season. Congrats to them.”
The matchup got off to a rocky start, with NC State going up 15-5 but allowing Longwood to go on a 10-2 run behind a couple 3-pointers from Tra’dayja Smith. Tra’dayja Smith was a force all game long for the Lancers, ending the game with 25 points on 5 of 13 shooting from deep.
Despite the fact that Longwood shot poorly, it was able to get more shots than the Wolfpack and pace it for the rest of the quarter.
“I have been doing this a long time,” Moore said. “You see that obviously, we’re the higher seeded team. We’re supposed to win, whatever. So you come out and you get off to a great start. I think we were up 15-5 for instance. And then, you know, I think the mentality is, ‘Oh yeah, we got this. We knew it was going to be this way.’ And then all of a sudden they get a couple offensive rebounds, they hit a couple of 3s and all of a sudden you got a four-point game.”
However, the Wolfpack stormed back in the second quarter, fueled by Perez and Cunane, who combined had 23 of NC State’s first 35 points. NC State rode a 17-0 run in the second period to take a stranglehold of the game.
“We just wanted to take the lead and try to stretch it but I think we were just in our heads,” Perez said. “We missed a lot of shots, we didn’t get back but we just tried to stretch the lead honestly and just wanted to come out strong and just dominate the game.”
Though the Lancers did a great job of pacing the Pack in the third quarter, a feat opposing teams rarely achieve, NC State’s tremendous second quarter kept things out of reach for the Lancers.
In the fourth, Moore was able to dispatch his entire bench, giving the young players a chance to get some March Madness action. Players like freshman guard Aziaha James and sophomore guard Madison Hayes impressed in limited action, and James pulled out one of the best transition moves of the Wolfpack’s season to help push the Pack past Longwood 96-68.
“Our team is really deep and it’s great to see our bench players — I wouldn’t even say that, because anyone on our team can start — but it’s great to see them come out, contribute and just keep the dice rolling,” Brown-Turner said.
Next up, the Wolfpack takes on Kansas State in the round of 32. NC State previously defeated the Wildcats 90-69 in November. Since then, star center Ayoka Lee set the NCAA record for points in a game with 61, setting the stage for a clash between her and Cunane. That game will take place on Monday, March 21 inside Reynolds.
“It’s a tough matchup down there on the block,” Moore said. “[Lee] scored 61 against Oklahoma, that’s scary. If they are hitting 3s around her, it’s really tough. … She’s a great player, I’ll tell you. And it’s going to be a big challenge for us. They are kind of young on the perimeter, but they got a lot of kids that can really shoot the three. That’s what worries you, is when they have the inside out combination. That’s the way we try to be. That’s the way we want to be. They are built similar to us, and [Lee]’s a tough matchup.”
