No. 2 N.C. State falls to No. 17 Georgia in overtime, 82-80. Here’s what we learned
This is exactly how a showdown between two top-25 teams should look.
No. 2 N.C. State hosted No. 17 Georgia for the first time since 1987 and the two old friends had an epic battle in the old barn.
The game was so intense that it couldn’t be settled in regulation. Georgia got just one more bucket than the Pack, literally, escaping Reynolds Coliseum with a 82-80 win. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 9-0 all-time against N.C. State.
The Bulldogs connected on 3 of 8 field goals in overtime as the Pack made 2 of 6 in the extra period. Elissa Cunane missed a layup under the basket with 1.7 seconds remaining, turning the ball back over to Georgia.
“We have to figure out a way to guard better, defend better,” State coach Wes Moore said. “And rebound better. We have to figure out a way to get better at that.”
Georgia (9-1) shot 53 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, including 60 percent from three.
Kai Crutchfield rebounded a Cunane miss and knocked down two free throws with three seconds remaining, putting State ahead three. But Georgia’s Sarah Ashlee Barker hit a desperation 3-pointer with 00:04 remaining to tie the game, forcing overtime.
Moore added that not fouling a player on the inbound play will haunt him. If the Bulldogs had to go full court, Moore said he would have told his players to foul. Georgia in-bounded the ball from in front of its bench and Moore didn’t want to risk fouling the shooter, Barker. Barker shot 4 of 7 from three in the game.
Georgia threw the ball in to Jenna Staiti, who handed the ball off to Barker. In hindsight, Moore explained he would have fouled Staiti.
“We were trying to switch everything and try to make them go inside the three-point line and not let them have that look,” Moore said. “She made a tough shot. In hindsight we should have fouled the person who had their back to the basket.”
The overtime period erased an epic second half comeback by N.C. State.
Moore leaned on his veterans for a comeback in the second half. In the fourth quarter Cunane, Diamond Johnson, Crutchfield and Raina Perez combined for all 23 of the team’s points.
Cunane scored on a turnaround layup to put the Pack ahead by one and moments later Johnson hit a floater in the lane to make it a three-point State lead. After a basket from Georgia’s Staiti on the other end, Perez blew by her defender for an easy layup. The Bulldogs made 1 of 2 from the line on the other end, but Johnson hit a 3-pointer at the one-minute mark.
That turnaround helped fans forget the horrible first half for the Pack.
N.C. State played some of its worst basketball of the season in the second quarter, falling behind by 12 at the break. The Pack started the third by connecting on three of its first four baskets. Georgia started the second half 0-for-4. That brought enough energy into Reynolds Coliseum to get N.C. State going.
A huge part of the second half resurgence was having Cunane on the floor. The All-ACC center scored 13 points in the third quarter after scoring just two in the first half.
Cunane scored 18 points in the second half for the Wolfpack.
Under Moore, N.C. State is now 26-36 against ranked opponents, including 7-13 at home. Staiti led Georgia with 20 points and 11 rebounds. State had four players in double figures led by Cunane with 20. Johnson (17), Perez (13) and Crutchfield (10) rounded out the scoring. The Pack scored 80 or more for the sixth time this year, but had just five points in overtime, giving up seven to Georgia.
“No matter how much we score,” Cunane said, “if we don’t keep them under us we don’t feel good about it.”
Here’s what we learned.
LINEUP THAT WORKS
It’s well known that once Moore finds a lineup he likes, he sticks with it. In the third quarter that lineup was Cunane, Kayla Jones, Crutchfield, Perez and Jakia Brown-Turner, his five starters. Four players in that group played all 10 minutes. Brown-Turner played eight. State cut into the double-digit lead with that combination, taking a one-point lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring Georgia 24-11.
SECOND QUARTER SLUMP
N.C. State was 3-for-13 from the floor in the second quarter as the Bulldogs outscored the Pack 20-8. Georgia shot 50 percent in the second quarter, blitzing N.C. State after the two teams tied in the first quarter. Jones hit a 3-pointer that made it 27-25 in favor of the Bulldogs at the 3:50 mark. Georgia outscored the Pack 13-3 the rest of the way.
During one stretch, N.C. State missed five in a row from the floor and turned the ball over three times before the three from Jones. After that shot, the Pack missed its next three shot attempts with two more turnovers. The only points during that stretch came from a free throw by seldom used reserve Sophie Hart. Georgia shot 40 percent from three in the second quarter and forced five turnovers.
It was a far cry from the first quarter when N.C. State shot 64.3 percent (9 of 14) from the field and 66.7 percent from three.
LONG DROUGHT WITHOUT CUNANE
N.C. State’s best player, Cunane, only played four minutes in the first half. Cunane picked up her second foul at the 6:04 mark of the first quarter and watched the rest of the first half. That meant extended time for Camille Hobby, who played 14 minutes in the opening half. Without Cunane on the floor, Georgia 6-foot-4 center Staiti was able to get whatever she wanted inside, scoring 14 points and pulling down five boards in the first half.
“I was trying to get her out for a few minutes (when she picked up the first foul) so we could rotate,” Moore said. “I should have probably gotten her out immediately when she picked up her first foul.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 8:19 PM.
