Why NC State women’s basketball can’t start slow against Indiana in the NCAA Sweet 16
N.C. State loves living on the edge.
One common theme in its last five women’s basketball victories has been slow starts.
In the ACC tournament semifinals, the Pack (22-2) trailed Georgia Tech by 10 in the fourth quarter and were down by eight in the finals to Louisville. N.C. State came back and won both games. In the opening round of the NCAA tournament against North Carolina A&T and the second round against South Florida, N.C. State outscored their opponents 34-18 in the third quarter, each time using that period as fuel to a win.
With that 79-67 win over South Florida on Tuesday, the No. 1 seed Wolfpack women’s basketball team danced into its third straight NCAA tournament Sweet 16.
That set up a showdown with Indiana this Saturday with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line.
As the NCAA tournament competition gets tougher and the games bigger, the Pack can’t afford to struggle out of the gate.
“All the teams here are going to be well prepared, very talented,” N.C. State head coach Wes Moore told the media on Thursday. “We do need to get off to better starts. We’ve done it all year and been able to come back, but I’ve said it all year that if you play with fire you’re going to get burned.”
Hoosiers defense could be a problem for Wolfpack
The Hoosiers (20-5) features one of the stingiest defenses in the country. Indiana holds opponents to 59.3 points per game. So far in the NCAA tournament, teams playing the Hoosiers have only managed to squeeze out 32 and 48 points, respectively. Twelve times this season they’ve held opponents to under 60 points.
When N.C. State has found itself down in games, it was usually an offensive explosion that helped dig them out of the hole.
Against the Bulls, the Wolfpack scored 19 unanswered between the second and third quarters to pull away. During that stretch, Moore got a little bit of scoring from everybody.
Senior Kai Crutchfield hit a three, and so did Jakia Brown-Turner during the run. Raina Perez hit a long two to push the lead to 12 and Elissa Cunane got going, scoring five points during the stretch.
It was a far cry from the first half when Brown-Turner carried the load, scoring 13 points before intermission. South Florida led by one at the break, but State, true to form, got going and dominated the second half.
The Hoosiers might not be as forgiving as their first two NCAA opponents, Belmont and Virginia Commonwealth. Indiana held Belmont to 18 points in the first half in the second round. VCU only had 17 in round one. The Hoosiers are giving up an average of 13.5 points in the third quarter, where N.C. State shines, averaging 22 points in the third. Something has to give and Moore knows it has to start in his locker room.
“We need to make sure we’re a little more focused and ready from the tip,” Moore said. “We’ve got to be locked in from the tip.”
A balanced attack
If N.C. State is to trip up the Hoosiers defense, Moore can’t allow teams to lock in on All-American center Elissa Cunane.
Naturally, Cunane is the focal point of the opposition. The junior came into the tournament averaging 16.5 points, drawing a lot of attention.
What Moore desperately needs in order to advance in the NCAA tournament — and what he got against South Florida — are contributions from the perimeter so that teams can’t clog the lane on Cunane.
Five players scored in double figures against the Bulls. N.C. State has 17 games this season when four players scored 10 points or more and is 17-0 in those games. Cunane, Perez and Crutchfield combined for just nine points in the first half versus USF, but finished with 34 points.
The big key, Moore pointed out, was Brown-Turner knocking down shots from the outside to spread the floor. The sophomore All-ACC selection was 2-4 from three in the win. She came into the contest 1-6 from three in her previous two games.
“We need that to have some balance in our offense,” Moore said. “It was a big lift for us.”
A 37 percent shooter from behind the line, Brown-Turner knew it was a matter of time before her shots started to fall again.
“I did struggle,” Brown-Turner said. “My teammates believe I can shoot and my coaches believe in me. Just having my teammates’ confidence is what I needed.”
Cunane’s shooting
And even after Cunane shot only 3 of 15 from the field against the Bulls, Moore isn’t going to change his game plan. Cunane’s 15 attempts are right about where Moore wants her.
“She usually shoots about 60 percent from the field,” Moore said. “I go to Vegas every August for a week and I know you want to play the odds. Elissa, that’s pretty good odds when you’re shooting 60 percent. We’ll move on, next game we’ll keep going to her. I think Darrel Royal, the old Texas football coach used to say ‘I’m going to dance with the one that brung me. We’re going to keep dancing with Elissa, that’s for sure.”
Playing in her second Sweet 16, but this time as the main player on offense, Cunane knows it’s her passing, not scoring, that has opened up the offense.
“I’ve gotten better at passing out of double teams,” Cunane said. “That’s opened up my teammates a lot more, which is why we’ve had such a spread of scoring.”
NCAA women’s tournament: NC State vs. Indiana
WHEN: Saturday, 6 p.m.
WHERE: San Antonio, Texas
WATCH: ESPN2
