For the second straight game, Jakia Brown-Turner had to save the day for No. 4 North Carolina State.
She scored 10 fourth-quarter points Thursday to help the Wolfpack beat No. 3 Louisville. On Sunday, after not scoring for about 35 minutes, Brown-Turner made two shots with less than 90 seconds to play to push the Wolfpack鈥檚 lead back to two possessions.
N.C. State ended up beating Virginia Tech 51-45 for its eighth straight win, limiting Virginia Tech to 29.3% shooting from the floor.
鈥淲e put her back in mainly to get a little bit of length and defense out there,鈥� N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. 鈥淪he made some big plays for us down the stretch.鈥�
Brown-Turner powered the offense for N.C. State (18-2, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), scoring 10 of her 14 points in the first quarter. Brown-Turner鈥檚 other two buckets came after an 11-2 fourth-quarter run from Virginia Tech. She also had seven rebounds and three steals.
鈥淚 just focused on defense and tried to make plays,鈥� said Brown-Turner, who also had seven rebounds and three steals. 鈥淚 know when I play defense, the offense will come.鈥�
Georgia Amoore had 13 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Hokies (14-5, 6-2), and Elizabeth Kitley added eight points and eight boards.
After trailing by six points, N.C. State went on a 14-2 run to end the second quarter, taking a 26-20 lead into halftime. Diamond Johnson scored all of her seven points during that span. The Wolfpack then used a 12-3 third quarter stretch to push their lead to 15 points.
The Hokies were physical in defending All-American center Elissa Cunane, holding her scoreless in the first half. She finished with seven points on 2 of 16 shooting, a season-worst 12.5%. Cunane did grab a team-high 10 rebounds.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always going to be a little physical inside, trying not to give them position,鈥� Cunane said. 鈥淟ooking back on it, I wasn鈥檛 taking the best shots.鈥�
BIG PICTURE
N.C. State: The Wolfpack are 9-0 in ACC play for the first time in coach Wes Moore鈥檚 nine-year tenure. N.C. State won Sunday by playing tough defense and by being efficient with extra scoring chances. The Wolfpack registered 16 second-chance points off of 14 offensive rebounds, and turned 13 Virginia Tech turnovers into 16 points.
Virginia Tech: There鈥檚 something about N.C. State鈥檚 Reynolds Coliseum that rubs the Hokies the wrong way. They鈥檙e now 0-12 there, and this loss snapped a three-game winning streak. The Hokies鈥� shooting woes doomed them in this game, as they put up their second-worst scoring total and field goal percentage of the season.
鈥淲e just feel like we didn鈥檛 play well,鈥� Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks said. 鈥淭heir defense was good, but we did have enough open looks that could鈥檝e really changed the complexion of the basketball game. We just didn鈥檛 knock them down.鈥�
STAT OF THE DAY
N.C. State registered its worst shooting percentage of the season at 32.4%. The Wolfpack have shot 40% or worse from the floor three times this season and won each game. N.C. State also connected on just 4 of 15 shots from behind the arc for a 26.7% clip 鈥撯�攊ts worst 3-point shooting percentage of the season.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 pretty. We found a way to grind it out,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淚f this had been an NCAA tournament game, where we struggled so much offensively, we would have been able to survive and advance because of our defense and because of our rebounding.鈥�
POLL IMPLICATIONS
After beating Virginia Tech and No. 3 Louisville this week, N.C. State reinforced its case that it should at least swap places with the Cardinals. The Wolfpack have now beaten five teams ranked in the AP Top 25 poll this season.
WNBA WATCH
Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller and Indiana Fever coach Marianne Stanley attended the game. The Sun have the No. 12 overall selection in the upcoming WNBA Draft, while the Fever are picking second.
UP NEXT
N.C. State: At No. 20 North Carolina next Sunday.
Virginia Tech: At rival Virginia on Thursday.
