ACC regular season champs! NC State beats VT, 68-66, to win conference crown outright

A sluggish fourth quarter didn’t make the task an easy one for NC State, but fittingly it was Elissa Cunane who delivered the game-winning and conference-title winning play on Sunday night. Cunane’s shot with 53 seconds left broke a 66-66 tie, and NC State got a pair of stops from there to fend off the Hokies.

No one has been more important to NC State’s transformation into an elite program over the last few years than Cunane, so it’s only proper that she deliver their next big milestone accomplishment.

State scored only eight points in the fourth quarter and watched a nine-point lead evaporate as a result, but in the end the Pack came through when it mattered. And fortunately, Virginia Tech wasn’t great in the fourth either, shooting just 5-15 from the field.

Cunane carried the load all afternoon, finishing with 22 points on 8-14 shooting; Kayla Jones had 12 points, and Jada Boyd finished with 11.

The Pack attempted only nine three-pointers, which is unusual, and didn’t make one after the first quarter—but the team shot almost 53% inside the arc, led by Cunane’s efforts.

Virginia Tech, to its credit, fought back after falling behind by 11 after the first quarter, though that’s not surprising—good teams playing at home will do that. And Virginia Tech is good enough to do damage in Greensboro and the NCAA tournament beyond.

NC State will be the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament—that was already set—and will be off until the quarterfinal round on Friday, where it will face either Florida State or Boston College.

Big smiles for everybody tonight!