Greensboro, N.C. — With just over seven minutes remaining in the second quarter, No. 10 ranked NC State found itself flustered with Georgia Tech’s stingy defense and down 21-7 in Greensboro Coliseum Friday evening.

In the final 27 minutes of the game, NC State outscored Georgia Tech 50-27 in a convincing 57-48 win in the ACC quarterfinal game.

Back-to-back buckets by an NC State (26-4) senior and an unsuspecting freshman sparked a 16-2 second-quarter run that tied the game at halftime.

At the 7:03 mark in the second quarter, senior guard Aislinn “Ace” Konig hit NC State’s first three-pointer of the night to bring the majority Wolfpack crowd back into the game. Freshman forward Camille Hobby, who averages 2.2 points per game in only 18 appearances this season, riled up the friendly fans in red even more when she converted on a second-chance jumper in the following Wolfpack possession.

“It was huge,” said NC State sophomore center and first-team All-ACC selection Elissa Cunane. “I think one emphasis we have had on our play is 'next possession. We know that we're not going to hit a shot, we don't get the rebound, okay, next possession we are going to hit that shot.

"I think the energy that especially Camille brought off the bench, and us being on the bench cheering them on, I think that all helped to propel us.”

Hobby finished the night with four points, three rebounds and a plus-nine plus/minus total in her 11 crucial minutes when starter and fellow freshman Jakia Brown-Turner got into early foul trouble.

“I thought she did a great job,” said NC State head coach Wes Moore of Hobby. “She was able to knock down a shot or two. I thought she did a great job, gave us a big lift with Elissa being in foul trouble pretty early in the game.

"Camille has a lot of good skills and is going to be a really good player for us. Sometimes this time of year you go with the veterans, but felt like we needed her today and she did a great job.”

The Wolfpack played a total of 10 players in the gritty conference tournament game victory.

Konig led the Wolfpack in playing time with just over 39 minutes on the floor. After a cold first quarter, Konig finished with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting and went 2 of 6 from three-point range.

When Georgia Tech’s Francesca Pan hit a pull-up jumper with 5:49 remaining in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 42, it was Konig that responded with a layup on the following possession that put the Wolfpack ahead for good.

Cunane tied Konig’s team-high of 16 points and added five rebounds, most of which came in the second half. Georgia Tech was successful in containing Cunane to just two points in the first half, but she was able to get going in the second half once the Wolfpack’s shots started going down.

“Coach came up to me and said you gotta demand the ball inside, and they were double-teaming," Cunane noted. "We started knocking down shots so that opened up the double-team more, and I was able to score inside."

After entering the game as the No. 2 seed in the tournament and therefore earning a double-bye, the Wolfpack came out with rusty shooting in the first quarter but eventually settled down. NC State shot 18.8 percent from the field in the opening 10 minutes going 3 for 16 from the field and 0 of 8 from the perimeter.

“I always think that the team that played the day before has the advantage early in the game, and that was obvious today. They definitely had an advantage,” said Moore. “They looked a lot more comfortable and a lot more aggressive, but, obviously, if you have not played, you hope in the second half or in this case the second quarter that you can take advantage of a little bit of fatigue.”

Similar to NC State’s offensive woes at the start, the Pack allowed the Jackets to shoot 46.2 percent from the field in the first quarter. Georgia Tech also earned seven free-throw attempts in the opening period.

In the final three quarters, the Yellow Jackets only shot four free throws and saw its field goal percentage tank after the hot start.

The Pack repetitively presented a zone defense to Georgia Tech after the first quarter that forced the Jackets to make field goals to stay in the game down the stretch. Once the Wolfpack’s shots started going down, it was hard for the Yellow Jackets to keep pace while going 1 of 9 on three-point attempts.

“We were able to get stops, which allowed us to get out and run,” said Moore. “As far as the zone, I did feel like from watching film that the zone might be something that we could use to disrupt them a little bit.”

After Georgia Tech’s 65-61 victory in Reynolds Coliseum in the regular season, the Wolfpack defense had its eye on Georgia Tech’s senior guard Pan. In the first and only regular-season matchup, Pan made four three-pointers during a career night with 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

In Friday evening’s ACC quarterfinal, Pan was held to 15 points on just 1-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

“As a team, we were trying to focus more on her,” said Konig. “She has the potential to go off and be a huge player for that team. Last game she scored, and she has been playing well all tournament up to this point. We were trying to force other people to hit shots and helping off of players that we thought we would have a better chance of guarding.”

The Wolfpack advance to the ACC semifinals and will play Boston College on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Greensboro Coliseum.

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