NC State women fall to Syracuse 80-61 at ACC tournament
Goodbye, home folks.
Alexis Peterson had 18 points and Brianna Butler 17, leading four players in double figures as No. 17 Syracuse whipped N.C. State 80-61 in the quarterfinals of the ACC women's tournament on friday night at Greensboro Coliseum.
The Wolfpack had been the final North Carolina team alive in the tournament. None of the semifinal schools are within 480 miles of Greensboro.
No. 3 seed Syracuse (4-6) plays again on Saturday at 2:30 against No. 2 seed Louisville (25-6), with the winner getting a spot in Sunday's 12:30 p.m. final. The Cardinals won their only meeting of the regular season 71-53 on Jan. 25 in the Carrier Dome.
Brittney Sykes added 15 and Cornelia Fondren and Maggie Morrison 10 each for the Orange.
Miah Spencer led the Wolfpack with 22 points, followed by Jennifer Mathurin with 14 and Chelsea Nelson 12.
No. 6 seed N.C. State (20-11) will be hoping for a bid to the NCAA tournament on Selection Monday on March 14.
Syracuse had beaten the Wolfpack 55-52 on Valentine's Day in N.C. State's annual Hoops 4 Hope game, this season at Broughton High's Holliday Gym.
Syracuse led the black-clad Wolfpack 55-45 after three periods. Butler had 17 points and Spencer 15 with 10 minutes to go.
The Orange led 34-28 at halftime behind 15 points from Butler. Nelson had nine points at the half for N.C. State. The Wolfpack shot 42.3 percent for the half to 36.7 for Syracuse, which was leading the rebound battle 21-15.
Syracuse's biggest lead of the first half was 10, at 23-13 after a Peterson jumper with 6:44 left in the third.
Syracuse led 21-12 after the first period, with Butler scoring 12 points. Mathurin had eight for the Wolfpack over the period.
NOTES: State leads the all-time series 4-3. ... The teams also met in the quarterfinals of the 2014 tournament, with the Wolfpack winning 79-63.
This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 10:35 PM with the headline "NC State women fall to Syracuse 80-61 at ACC tournament."