Late jumper from Jakia Brown-Turner gives NC State 50-48 win over Miami

NC State played on the edge of defeat all night, but in the end it was Jakia Brown-Turner to the rescue for the Wolfpack. Brown-Turner’s baseline jumper with 2.9 seconds remaining broke a 48-48 tie and got the Pack out of town with a win. It was a fitting ending, because this was Brown-Turner’s game.

The numbers paint an ugly picture, and it was every bit as bad as they suggest. The teams were tied at 22 at halftime, and NC State struggled badly out of the break, giving Miami a seven-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

NC State put together a 10-0 run after Miami took a 41-36 lead with six minutes and change remaining, keyed by buckets from Elissa Cunane and Jada Boyd. The game likely wouldn’t have had so much drama in the final seconds if not for a terrible missed call late.

With Miami down three, a Hurricanes player obviously dribbled the ball off her own shoe out of bounds—they even reviewed this—but the officials decided they somehow didn’t have enough evidence to overturn the initial call and give State the basketball.

The Hurricanes took that gift and buried a three to knot things at 48 with around 22 seconds left. Fortunately, Brown-Turner had one more big shot in her.

She led all Wolfpack players with 18 points on 7-11 shooting, including 4-6 from beyond the arc. She accounted for all of State’s made threes in the game.

NC State is really struggling at the offensive end right now, so getting this win is big for the team’s psyche. We’re not exactly talking about a crisis here, but they’ve clearly been down on themselves and needed a win to get the positive vibes flowing again. Hopefully Thursday’s result helps them relax and re-focus on what lies ahead.