NC State women’s basketball advances to Sweet 16 with blowout win over Kansas State
N.C. State played more than 20 minutes of basketball before star center Elissa Cunane scored her first basket.
The Pack was already up double digits and cruising by that point, and it closed out Reynolds Coliseum in style this year, crushing Kansas State, 89-57, in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
With the win, N.C. State (31-3) advances to the Sweet 16 for the fourth year in a row, advancing to Bridgeport, Connecticut.
N.C. State, the top seed in the region, and will face Notre Dame, which routed Oklahoma 108-64 on Monday.
Regardless of which team is next, it’s hard to imagine any team heading to Bridgeport hotter than Wes Moore’s club. N.C. State has now won 12 straight games.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these young ladies,” Moore said. “Every challenge that’s been put before them, they’ve just stepped up ... unbelievable. On the court, off the court, every day I’m just blessed to be around them.”
Despite the early start, Reynolds was as loud as it had been all season, and the Pack gave the capacity crowd plenty to cheer for. Despite a slow start, N.C. State built a double-digit lead in the second quarter, sparked by a 12-0 run. The Wolfpack led by 16 at the break, even though Cunane played just four minutes after picking up two early fouls.
The All-American center picked up her first just seconds into the game. She picked up a second at the 6:37 mark. The game was billed as a colossal showdown between Cunane and Ayoka Lee, Kansas State’s 6-6 center. With Cunane forced to watch, junior Camille Hobby logged 17 minutes in the first half.
“Coach Moore always talks about being ready,” Hobby said. “I was ready for that moment. At practice this is what we do every single day, so when the moment presented itself I felt like I was prepared enough to take on that responsibility.”
Lee finished with 12 points.
Cunane was hardly missed. Hobby scored eight first-half points in her absence. She had plenty of help. During the 12-0 run, the Pack flexed its muscle to show off its depth. Five different players scored during the spurt.
“It’s great to have this much talent and depth that you can rotate,” Moore said. “Somebody gets in foul trouble, somebody is having an off night, we have people who can step in and we don’t miss a beat.”
Defensively, N.C. State held the Wildcats to 14 points in the second and 12 in the third.
Lee, who scored 61 points in a game against Oklahoma in January, picked up her fourth foul late in the third. Without her on the floor, Kansas State lost its main offensive threat.
N.C. State only got stronger, shooting 62.5% from the floor (66% from 3) in the third.
The Pack started the fourth quarter with an old-fashioned 3-point play from Kayla Jones. That pushed the lead to 28, and nobody was leaving Reynolds. Fans stuck around to celebrate a team that has an eye on the Final Four.
In two games in Raleigh, N.C. State looked unstoppable. The bench scored 46 points against Longwood. Against Kansas State, the starters accounted for 46 of the final 89. Diamond Johnson, the ACC Sixth-Person of the Year, scored 15 off the bench.
The Wolfpack came up short in the Sweet 16 last season in San Antonio. That’s why players like Jones (season-high 18 points) returned for an extra year.
“First, we always take it one game at a time,” Jones said. “Whoever we have next, it’s not going to be easy, but we have to go out there and throw the first punch, like I always say, and be aggressive.”
Dominating the Raleigh region — average margin of victory 30 points — sets the team one step closer to its goal of a Final Four.
Bridgeport will provide tougher challenges right away.
“We’ve gone to the Sweet 16 four years in a row,” Moore said. “They aren’t satisfied with that. I think they still are going to be hungry. We know we are going to go into a hostile environment now, now it’s our turn. But theses kids have a lot of confidence, lot of experience. They’ve won big games on the road. I’m confidence they’ll handle it better this time.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 6:00 PM.
