NC State trailed Georgia Tech by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter of the ACC Tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon in Greensboro Coliseum, but the Yellow Jackets couldn't stop the Pack from reaching its second-consecutive conference championship game.
The Wolfpack (19-2, 12-2 ACC) outscored the Jackets 23-8 in the final 8:26 to ultimately come away with the 66-61 victory.
NC State shot 50 percent from the field, 91.7 percent from the free-throw line and 37.5 percent from three in the second half to pave the path towards the comeback victory.
NC State center Elissa Cunane led the Wolfpack with 23 points and nine rebounds in the Pack's 66-61 comeback victory over Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament Semifinals. (Ethan Hyman, The News and Observer)
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After Georgia Tech's Loyal McQueen sank a three with 8:51 remaining to give the Jackets a 10-point leads, their largest of the game, Wolfpack senior guard Kai Crutchfield responded with an old-school three-point play to make it 53-46 with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter.
Moments later, Crutchfield saved a ball from going out of bounds off of a missed shot from sophomore win Jakia Brown-Turner. The Pack swung the ball around the perimeter and eventually found Crutchfield open in the corner where she made a second-chance three with 4:59 left to shrink Georgia Tech's lead to one.
Yellow Jackets forward Lorela Cubaj responded with a two-point bucket to stretch the Jackets lead back to three, but Crutchfield once again delivered in the clutch with a quick layup to make it a one-point contest with 3:33 left.
NC State went on to outscore Georgia Tech 8-2 in the final 2:28 to pull away with the victory.
The Wolfpack will now look to win back-to-back ACC Tournament titles for the first time in program history.
NC State will face Louisville, the tournament's top-seeded team, in the championship game on Sunday at noon in Greensboro Coliseum. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Elissa Cunane continues dominant performance in Greensboro
Junior center Elissa Cunane delivered another strong performance Saturday afternoon after scoring a season-high 27 points in the Pack's 68-55 win over Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals.
Cunane once again led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a 7-of-8 mark from the free-throw line. She also led the Wolfpack with nine rebounds in 31 minutes on the floor.
Cunane scored all eight of NC State's points in the final 2:28.
She gave the Pack its first lead since the midway point of the second quarter with a layup at the 2:28 mark. On the very next possession, the Wolfpack went back to its 6-5 center, who hit another shot at the rim which put NC State up 62-59 with 1:39 remaining.
Cunane is a native of Summerfield, N.C., a small town just north of Greensboro, and she's certainly playing comfortably at home.
"It's been great," Cunane said. "It's not necessarily the advantage that it has been with all of the fans here, but we still run out and there's a sea of red in the seats that are available. It feels like a home game when we step out here. Knowing that this is my hometown, it means a little bit extra."
Numbers of Note
15 The margin NC State outscored Georgia Tech in the final 8:26 of the fourth quarter. The Yellow Jackets led 53-43 with 8:51 remaining, but the Wolfpack ultimately came out on top 66-61.
92 Percent was the Wolfpack's shooting efficiency from the free-throw line Saturday afternoon. The Pack went 12-of-13 from the line, significantly better than its 12-of-19 mark (63 percent) from the strike in the quarterfinals win over Virginia Tech.
4 Wolfpack players scored in double figures. Cunane led the team with 23 points. Senior forward Kayla Jones finished second on the team with 12 points. Crutchfield and sophomore wing Jakia Brown-Turner each added 10 points.
18 Of NC State's points were scored from beyond the three-point line. The Pack went 6-of-16 from the perimeter to finish the game with a 38 percent three-point shooting efficiency. The Wolfpack made just 4-of-22 attempts (18 percent) from three in the quarterfinals win over Virginia Tech.
5 Points NC State outscored Georgia Tech on second-chance opportunities in the second half. The Wolfpack scored five points off of three offensive rebounds compared to zero second-chance points off of one offensive rebound from the Jackets in the final 20 minutes.
6 Lead changes took place during the game. There were also three ties. Georgia Tech led for 20:57 while the Wolfpack led for just 16:50 in the contest.
Quote of the night
"I really felt like in the first half Georgia Tech played harder than us. I don't know any other way to put it. They outscored us in fastbreak points, they outrebounded us, they outscored us in second-chance points.
"This time of the year, people are stepping up and taking to another level. You have to match that intensity, or you're going home. In the first half, they hit us in the mouth and took it to us.
"In the second half, we competed a lot better. That's what champions do. They find a way to win."
— NC State head coach Wes Moore said when asked about his team's spirit in the second half of the comeback victory.
