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The offense didn’t come as easily for NC State on Saturday as it did on Friday, but the Wolfpack also had the good fortune to play Virginia Tech without Liz Kitley, and it showed.
State manufactured extra offense by dominating the offensive glass, pacing itself though other wise tepid stretches, and the result was a relatively stress-free win over the Hokies. The Pack outscored Tech by 11 points in the second half.
Four Factors
| ... | NC State | VT |
|---|---|---|
| ... | NC State | VT |
| eFG% | 48.5 | 37.0 |
| TO% | 19.7 | 12.1 |
| OR% | 45.7 | 10.8 |
| FTR | 13.8 | 29.6 |
Pace and Efficiency
| Team | Pts | Poss | OFF_EFF | DEF_EFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pts | Poss | OFF_EFF | DEF_EFF |
| VT | 55 | 66 | 83.3 | 106.1 |
| NC State | 70 | 66 | 106.1 | 83.3 |
The shorthanded Hokies had a pretty good approach to defending Elissa Cunane and the Wolfpack but ultimately just ran out of gas: playing in their third game in three days, and without the adrenaline boost of a close fourth quarter, the energy wasn’t there.
Virginia Tech shot 7-29 during the second half, while NC State shot 15-28, and, decisively, 12-16 inside the arc. Cunane was good in the second half, and Jada Boyd was outstanding throughout: Cunane scored 13 points on 5-5 shooting over the final 20 minutes, while Boyd had 16 points in 20 minutes on 7-10 shooting.
NC State moves on to the ACC Tournament title game for the third straight year, and will face the winner of the Miami/Notre Dame game. The Hurricanes bounced Louisville on a buzzer-beater yesterday night.