N.C. State advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women's NIT by dismantling Florida 80-55 in the process Thursday night.

State continued its run in the tournament by exploiting the Gators' confusion and playing a near-perfect game.

The Wolfpack advanced to play St. John's at Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday.

The Pack (20-12) lost to St. John's 60-55 in November -- but that was then, and Thursday looked nothing like a loss.

"That was the best team game that we've had all year," N.C. State coach Kay Yow said. "It's sort of what I've been having in mind what we can look like with our potential."

All of the Wolfpack's potential was on display Thursday, with four players scoring in double figures.

Florida alternated between man-to-man and zone schemes on defense but had almost no success with either as the Wolfpack's Khadijah Whittington and Shayla Fields slipped through, in and around Florida.

Fields did the most damage, scoring a game-high 31-points and the Gators couldn't do much more than watch.

"We ran plays for her, and she was knocking down the shots. Whew! I love it," Whittington said after scoring 13 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. "I hope she stays hot."

The game appeared to be over early -- very early -- as State jumped to a nine-point lead while the Gators tried to figure out how to play zone defense, an unusual tactic for Florida. N.C. State's players easily defeated the 2-3 zone, getting into the paint to score baskets. When the Gators went to a matchup defense, they were beaten off the dribble.

That's not how Florida (19-14) has played under first-year coach Amanda Butler, who raised the Gators' fortunes after they went 9-22 in 2006-07.

"For all that we've accomplished and for how far we've come, ... it's just not a fitting end to the season," Butler said.

The Gators went into halftime shooting 30.6 percent and trailing 40-25. Life got worse after the break, with Florida scoring only seven points in the first 11 minutes of the second half as the Pack continued to pull away.

The Wolfpack's dominance Thursday was a drastic departure from the way the team played during much of the regular season. Besides State's NIT victory over South Carolina on Monday, the Pack has played up-and-down basketball, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 and losing its ACC Tournament opener -- in overtime to Clemson.

Even before that, the Pack had a disappointing season, finishing 6-8 in the ACC.

But South Carolina and Florida don't play in the ACC.

Getting wins against the SEC and extending its tournament gives the young Wolfpack, with only one senior, experience for next season.

"It'll have a very positive effect on us going into next year," Yow said. "If you become satisfied with something, you're sort of dead in the water."

Yow said that despite playing in the NIT instead of the NCAA, the Pack could be in for a good summer.

"Only two teams finish their season winning," Yow said, referring also to the NCAA champion. "Maybe we can be one of them."