NC State advances to second round with 79-58 win over North Carolina A&T

NC State advanced to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Sunday with a 79-58 win over North Carolina A&T in its first round matchup Sunday.

The Wolfpack earned the No. 1 seed after winning the ACC Tournament and the Aggies were a No. 16 seed with an automatic bid from winning the MEAC Tournament.

Four Pack players finished in double figures led by sophomore forward and ACC Sixth Man of the Year Jada Boyd’s 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting off of the bench.

"Jada Boyd did a great job and gave us a real lift,” NC State head coach Wes Moore said. “She does that a lot. She's just so athletic and long. We were able to get the ball inside to her there a couple of times, and she did a real nice job of finishing. We needed a lift, we needed a bolt of energy, and I thought she really gave that to us.”

NC State was tested early by a North Carolina A&T team that wasn’t afraid of the moment. With four minutes remaining before halftime, the Aggies led by six points after shooting 65 percent from the field in the opening 16 minutes.

The Wolfpack settled in to end the half on a 13-0 run to take a 44-37 lead into the locker room.

The Pack carried over its late first-half momentum into the third quarter, where it outscored the Aggies 20-7 to take a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter.

“We did a better job in transition,” Moore said. “We want to push the ball and try to spread people out, so I thought we got some buckets in transition. They did a really good job.”

Senior guard Kai Crutchfield finished second on the team in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a 4-of-5 mark from behind the three-point line, and led the Pack with a plus-minus rating of +26 in the 34 minutes she was on the floor.

Junior center Elissa Cunane had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 24 minutes.

“They were collapsing and doubling Elissa Cunane in there,” Moore said. “Elissa had to recognize it, settle down a little bit. She can really do a good job of passing out of the double when she'll slow down a little bit.”

Sophomore wing Jakia Brown-Turner added 10 points and 10 rebounds, marking the third double-double of her career.

All three of her double-doubles have come in big games. The first was NC State’s win over Florida State in the 2020 ACC Tournament Championship, and the second was in the Pack’s road win over then-ranked No. 1 South Carolina earlier this season.

Senior guard Kayla Jones finished the afternoon with three points, two rebounds and two assists in 12 minutes but left the game early with an apparent injury.

With 5:16 left in the second quarter, Jones went to the locker room after landing awkwardly and limping off the court.

She never returned after halftime, and her status for the future of the tournament remained in question after the win.

“They don't know,” Moore said. “We've got a doctor traveling with us. They said they'll just get an MRI tonight and see what it is, what's going on in there. They don't think it's an ACL or anything like that, but it's really tender and soft to the touch. We'll get some ice on it and hopefully she'll feel better.

“She's a big part of what we do and a great leader for us. We won't know until we get that later tonight.”

Jones is NC State’s third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder this season, averaging 11.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest entering the tournament. She was also a first-team All-ACC selection in 2020-21.

9 Points were scored by freshman guard Genesis Bryant in 14 minutes off of the bench. The scoring total was one shy of her 10-point career-high performance against Coastal Carolina this season, and her 14 minutes tied for the third-highest total in her first year with the Wolfpack. She also added three assists and two rebounds.

12.5 Percent was North Carolina A&T’s three-point shooting average in the second half. The Wolfpack held the Aggies to 1-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes after allowing North Carolina A&T to shoot 50 percent (3-of-6) from deep in the first half.

28 Points NC State scored off of 13 North Carolina A&T turnovers. Despite winning the turnover battle 15-13, the Aggies were only able to convert 14 points off of 15 takeaways.

18 Points was the margin in which the Wolfpack outscored North Carolina A&T in the paint. The Pack claimed 40 of its points in the post while the Aggies were able to produce just 22 points inside.

26-3 Was NC State’s run from the 3:16 mark of the second quarter through the 4:05 mark of the third quarter.

NC State will face the winner of the matchup between eighth-seeded South Florida and ninth-seeded Washington State, which tips off at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Wolfpack’s second-round contest will be Tuesday, March 23 with a time and television provider to be decided.

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