‘We dug a hole.’ Fast start helps Louisville end NC State’s 8-game winning streak
Midway through the fourth quarter, N.C. State was rallying. That’s when Louisville guard Yacine Diop found herself all alone on the right wing.
There was a miscommunication between two Wolfpack defenders and Diop, a redshirt senior, had plenty of time to look at the basket. She was patient and calmly knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game in what felt like the final dagger to No. 4 N.C. State at Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday.
N.C. State made a good effort, battling back from a double-digit halftime deficit, but the ninth-ranked Cardinals hit one clutch shot after another to knock off the Wolfpack, 66-59, in a battle of top-10 teams.
“They came out ready to play,” Wolfpack coach Wes Moore said. “They had lost back-to-back games, they took it to us and we dug a hole. Maybe we were a little nervous, or whatever, but we weren’t in attacking mode.”
N.C. State (22-2, 11-2 ACC) came into the contest ranked No. 4 in the country, riding an eight-game winning streak and with a perfect record (12-0) at home. The Cardinals, were due for a big shooting night after struggling from the field in their previous two games. The Wolfpack had a rare off night (5 of 20 from the 3-point line) that included a horrible start in the first quarter and had to play catch-up the rest of the way.
After outscoring Louisville (22-3, 11-2) in the second and third quarters to close the gap, N.C. State managed to pull to within three early in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer from sophomore forward Elissa Cunane. It was the only field goal, in 12 attempts, that Cunane made. She was held to 10 points, seven below her season average and Louisville forward Kylee Shook blocked seven shots.
Reynolds was ready to erupt. The sold-out crowd waited all night for the Pack to give them a reason to get out of their seats and scream and they were a couple of plays away from getting their wish. Then Diop, who only had two points at that point, found herself with an eternity to line up and knock down her 3. Her shot gave the Cardinals a six-point lead and shifted the momentum back to Louisville for good.
The Cardinals went on a 7-0 run over the next 3 minutes, while the Wolfpack went 1 for 10 from the floor.
N.C. State junior forward Kayla Jones made it a nine-point game after a three-point play with less than two minutes remaining. But the Cardinals had one more counter-punch left in them, on a night when it seemed like they had an unlimited supply. Louisville senior guard Jazmine Jones made a pair of free throws with 1:35 remaining, giving the Cardinals an 11-point lead.
Things started out well for N.C. State as it jumped out to a 6-1 lead at the beginning of the game. Louisville, though, countered with an impressive 14-0 run. At one point, N.C. State missed seven straight shots from the floor and trailed 19-8 at the end of the first.
“We took some tough shots,” said Jones, who finished with a team-high 17 points. “They can run and our tough shots were basically like turnovers and transition points.”
The Wolfpack showed a flash of life in the second quarter, at one point going on a 7-0 run to pull to within seven, but missed three shots in the final 52.8 seconds of the half. A three from Louisville freshman forward Ramani Parker sent N.C. State into the half down 10.
“We didn’t do a real good job defending,” Moore said. “They did.”
The teams are now tied for first place in the ACC, but won’t play again in the regular season. N.C. State hasn’t won the regular-season title, or a share of it, since the 1989-90 season.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Moore said. “We’re tied for first, I understand how it works. We could have taken a great step tonight. We’ve got five games left, we’ve got to be ready to play. We’ve got all tough games, we have to be ready to play Sunday and try to get this taste out of our mouths.”
AND ONE
Jones scored a career-high 17 points for the Wolfpack. Jones scored the first four points of the game and had 11 in the second half.
LANE VIOLATION
Louisville has now won six in a row against N.C. State. The last Wolfpack win was Feb. 2, 2017 in Louisville. The Cardinals knocked N.C. State out of the ACC tournament last season in Greensboro and lead the series 8-3.
ICYMI
N.C. State came into the contest having won all 12 games at home this season. Since Reynolds Coliseum underwent a renovation in 2016, the Wolfpack has gone 59-7 on Kay Yow Court.
MAKING SENSE OF THE NUMBERS
48: Percent Louisville shot from the floor. N.C. State held 19 opponents to under 40 percent this season and was perfect in those games. In N.C. State’s only other loss this year, UNC also shot 40 percent.
8: Number of games this season that N.C. State freshman forward Jada Boyd has scored in double-digits. She finished with 10 points.
19: Number of points scored by Jazmine Jones, who led Louisville in scoring. She also knocked down three 3-pointers. She came into the contest having hit only four 3s all season.
This story was originally published February 13, 2020 at 9:49 PM.
