#8 NC State at Virginia -- 03/01/20

[LETTERL]

#8 NC State (24-4, 13-4 ACC) and Virginia (13-15, 8-9 ACC) clash today at 2 pm in Charlottesville to close out the regular season portion of the schedule. The game is televised on Fox Sports South.

Virginia will be facing its 7th top-15 opponent of the season and it is Senior Day for Felicia Aiyetoan, Lisa Jablonowski, Joycelyn Willoughby and Dominique Toissant. The Cavaliers have won 5 of its last 7 games, and have a 5-game win streak at home. A win today keeps open the possibility of a 7th place finish in the conference standings; a loss could place the Cavaliers as low as 11th for next week's ACC Tournament. (There is a muddled mess of teams within two games of each other heading into today's action: Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Virginia, North Carolina and Notre Dame. Virginia beat Notre Dame and Syracuse but lost both matchups with UNC...and lost to Georgia Tech). Virginia is on a two-game win streak, with victories over rival Virginia Tech and hapless Pitt.

NC State looks to gain some momentum heading into next week's conference tournament, coming off a 69-60 victory over Syracuse that saw some changes to the starting lineup, and with sophomore center Elissa Cunane saddled with foul trouble most of the game. The Wolfpack Women have already secured the #2 seed in next week's ACCT, it's highest seed in the tournament since winning the regular season back in 1990.

Today's matchup will be the 78th meeting between NC State and Virginia. Virginia leads the series, 40-37, and is the only ACC team with more than 15 years of conference membership to have a winning record against NC State. The Cavaliers are 20-14 against NC State on its home floor, and last beat the Wolfpack Women in Charlottesville during the 2014-15 regular season.

 

[Centerstream]

Wow! According to ESPN3, this game is blacked out for my live streaming pleasure.

Oops, seems that it is being broadcasted on Fox Sports Carolinas.

 

[LETTERL]

4:05 left 1st quarter...Virginia has a 15-14 lead. Hoos are on an 8-0 run. NC State is 6 of 9 from the field but has 4 turnovers. The Wolfpack has also nailed four THREEs so far.

 

[LETTERL]

WIllougby has two fouls for UVA.

 

[Centerstream]

I love when the announcers say that there's a lot of contact and what they mean is that people are getting mugged without any calls being made (yet).

 

[LETTERL]

End of 1st quarter...Virginia leading 21-19. NC State shooting 50% on 6 of 12...including 5 of 5 from THREE but 8 turnovers killing any momentum. Virginia very active defensively. The Cavaliers have yet to commit a turnover.

Carole Miller has 8 points for Virginia. Ace Konig with 9 for NC State...3 of 3 from THREE.

 

[LETTERL]

NC State absolutely on fire from long range. 9 of 9 on THREEs. Timeout Virginia, 4:49 left 2nd quarter. NC State leads, 33-25. A 14-2 run for NC State.

Ace Konig with three THREEs, Jakia Brown Turner has 2 and 1 each from Erika Cassell, Kayla Jones, Grace Hunter and Kai Crutchfield.

Only 2 baskets made inside the arc.

 

[LETTERL]

Halftime: NC State leads 46-32, with a barrage of THREEs since Virginia defended the inside so well. Seven different players nailed a THREE for NC State: Konig (3), Jones (2), Brown-Turner (2), Hunter (1), Cassell (1), Crutchfield (2), Cunane (1). I don't know what the school record for consecutive made THREEs is but 12 has to be close. The Pack finished the first half 12 of 12 from THREE.

NC State shot 61.5% in the first half, on 16 of 26 shooting...but only 4 of 14 from inside the arc. Ace Konig was the Pack's leading scorer with 9 points, Brown-Turner and Jones with 8 each, Cunane 7 and Crutchfield 6.

Virginia shot 41.9% on 13 of 31 from the field, 1 of 7 from THREE and was 5 of 6 from the FT line. Leading scorer was Carole Miller with 8 points...Jocelyn Willoughby had 6.

NC State outrebounding Virginia, 16-14. Balanced rebounding for NC State, with 4 different players nabbing 3 boards each. Lisa Jablonowski with 5 for Virginia.

NC State committed 12 turnovers, to 6 for Virginia. Virginia recorded 11 assists on their 13 made baskets...NC State recorded 9.

 

[LETTERL]

There is an issue with the shot clock at JPJ...play suspeneded.

 

[LETTERL]

Now the game clock has stopped working.

Certainly, they have those old floor-based shot clocks which used to be used in the early days of modern WBB. Pull those out and let's get on with it.

 

[LETTERL]

They are going to use the PA system to keep track of the shot clock. Bizarre.

 

[Shades]

They are going to use the PA system to keep track of the shot clock. Bizarre.

Are they going to count it down vocally?

 

[LETTERL]

Are they going to count it down vocally?

I think only when it gets down below 10 seconds. Haven't heard any countdown yet. The band insists on counting down 3-2-1 everytime NC State has the ball.

 

[LETTERL]

4:43 left 3rd quarter...NC State with a 54-43 lead, but Virginia has now hit three THREEs in a row to cut a 20-point lead to 11.

On Virginia's last possession, the shot clock did run down and the PA announcer started his TEN-NINE-EIGHT countdown.

 

[LETTERL]

NC State's string of consecutive THREEs ended at 13.

 

[LETTERL]

This is really poor. Virginia has no backup plan for a malfunctioning shot clock? Is that common at all arenas?

 

[Shades]

This is really poor. Virginia has no backup plan for a malfunctioning shot clock? Is that common at all arenas?

I’m guessing the referees aren’t cracking down on shot clock violations, considering the situation.

 

[LETTERL]

End of 3rd quarter...NC State up 61-45. Kayla Jones now has 15 points for NC State...Ace Konig has 14. Elissa Cunane, Jakia Brown-Turner and Kai Crutchfield with 8 points each...Cunane with 8 rebounds.

For Virginia, Carole Miller and Amandine Toi have 10 points each.

I'm still annoyed over this shot clock thing.

 

[LETTERL]

I’m guessing the referees aren’t cracking down on shot clock violations, considering the situation.

So far, the shot clock has only gotten down to 2 seconds one time.

 

[LETTERL]

Timeout NC State...Virginia has closed to within 11 points. 63-52...6:38 left.

 

[LETTERL]

Media timeout...3:29 left. NC State's lead has been cut to 10 points. Elissa Cunane, now with a double-double, will be at the line for two FT when play resumes.

 

[triaddukefan]

Good job state. Hopefully we will meet again on Saturday Afternoon

 

[LETTERL]

Final: NC State sets a new school record for ACC wins in a season, finishing the regular season 25-4, 14-4 ACC, with a 75-64 win over Virginia. The Cavaliers fall to 13-16, 8-10 ACC.

NC State's leading scorer was Kayla Jones with 16 points, on 6 of 9 shooting but was also 3 of 4 from THREE. Joining Kayla in double figures was Elissa Cunane with 15 points (also grabbing 13 rebounds)...and Ace Konig with 14 points, and Jakia Brown-Turner with 12 points. The Wolfpack Women finished shooting 53.1% for the game, and 14 of 22 from THREE, after hitting their first 13 THREE-point shots.

Virginia finished the game shooting 40.4% and was 6 of 17 from THREE, including hitting 4 THREEs in the 4th quarter as Virginia cut a 20-point deficit to just 9 in the 4th stanza. Leading the scoring for Virginia was Amandine Toi, whose three THREEs in the 4th quarter led the Cavs' late charge; Toi finished with 13 points. Kylie Kornegay-Lucas finished with 11 and Carole Miller added 10. Seniors Jocelyn Willoughby added 9 and Dominique Toissant and Lisa Jablonowski finished with 7 each.

NC State outrebounded Virginia 33-29.

The Wolfpack finished the game with 16 turnovers; Virginia had 9. Both teams finished with 16 assists. Virginia had 8 steals, to 5 for NC State. Virginia had a slight edge in points in the paint, 22-20.

Up next: It appears Virginia will be the #9 seed at the ACCT, and will face Syracuse Wednesday. NC State is off until Friday at 6 pm, when they will open ACCT play with the winner of a game between Georgia Tech and the winner of an opening round game between Wake Forest and Clemson. (We'll know for sure the actual seedings later this evening).