NC State advances after strong second half to pull away from North Carolina A&T
N.C. State has started slow before in the postseason. This time, though, the Wolfpack didn’t wait until the fourth quarter to correct itself.
The Wolfpack, the No. 1 seed in the Mercado Region, trailed No. 16 North Carolina A&T in the first half, but got it going before the half, enough fuel to guide N.C. State to a 79-58 win in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
N.C. State (21-2) trailed in the fourth quarter of both the ACC tournament semifinals and final, and came back for wins. This time it found itself down six to the Aggies, who shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Moore said. “I think we didn’t have our energy, we didn’t have our mojo, so to speak and we need to find that in a hurry. You have to give North Carolina A&T a lot of credit, they came out and hit shots.”
The Wolfpack closed the first half on a 13-0 run to take a seven-point lead at the break. N.C. State scored 19 unanswered points between the second and third quarters to take control of the game.
Sophomore Jada Boyd, who started the third quarter in place of senior Kayla Jones, sparked N.C. State in the third quarter, scoring 11 of her 18 points right after the break. Boyd and the Wolfpack used a 26-3 run after falling behind by six to win its fourth consecutive opening-round game.
“I always have faith that our team is going to come together, get it together,” Boyd said.
A&T (14-3) known for its tough defense, came out the gates on fire, shooting 53% in the first quarter. The Aggies were shooting 50% from 3 at the half, but cooled down as N.C. State got going.
The Aggies started the third quarter 0-3 before Sean Kelly-Darks scored a layup over Elissa Cunane. By that point, though, N.C. A&T was still down 11. N.C. State was just getting rolling. The Wolfpack outscored N.C. A&T 20-7 in the third, shooting 80%.
Boyd was a perfect 5 for 5 in the third quarter. She finished in double figures for the 10th time this year. Kai Crutchfield finished with 14 on 5-of-6 shooting, but her biggest contribution came on the defensive end. Crutchfield, the senior from Raleigh, drew the assignment of Deja Winters, the Aggies leading scorer who came into the contest averaging almost 15 points per game. Winters started the game 0 of 9 from the field and didn’t score her first point, a free throw, until 3:13 remaining in the game.
Cunane scored 12 points, and Jakia Brown-Turner finished with 10.
N.C. State is now a perfect 10-0 against North Carolina A&T, winners of the MEAC tournament.
The Wolfpack has advanced to the second round each of the past four seasons. N.C. State hadn’t played since the ACC tournament title game on March 7. Moore felt that could have been a reason for the slow start.
“You always struggle with how to handle that, how many days to give them off,” Moore said. “For whatever reason, we seemed to lose our energy and, fortunately, we were able to get going in transition and see the ball go through the net a few times. But we have to find it. This is the time of year you work so long for, my goodness, you have to come out here and be ready to go.”
N.C. State will play the winner of No. 8 South Florida and No. 9 Washington State on Tuesday.
Points off the bench
It wasn’t just Boyd who helped contribute.
N.C State’s bench chipped in with 33 points, compared to 15 for the Aggies.
Freshman guard Genesis Bryant, who played in just three games in 2021, finished with nine points in 14 minutes. Bryant hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter to put the Wolfpack up 39-37 late in the second quarter, part of the 13-0 run.
Moore told Bryant this week to expect to get more touches.
“It was good for her to play that well,” Moore said. “Moving forward she’ll have that to draw from.”
Moore had to use Bryant and Boyd more in the second half due to an injury Jones suffered in the second quarter. Moore said Jones would have an MRI after the game.
“Very encouraging late in the year with how she looked,” Moore said about Bryant. “Hopefully, that’s going to help her Tuesday night to be comfortable.”
Camille Hobby added four.
“That’s a pretty big boost from those players,” Moore said. “It gives us a boost moving forward.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2021 at 3:51 PM.
