No. 10 NC State’s loss at No. 12 UNC shows Pack has to 'do better' in midst of tough stretch
CHAPEL HILL — No. 10 NC State is in the midst of one of the toughest stretches in all of women’s college basketball. The Wolfpack embarked on a span of five ranked opponents in six games earlier this month and it has experienced the highs and lows that come with it.
The Pack found a way to win a track meet with then-No. 10 Duke on Feb. 3 before it delivered a knock-out blow with a 23-point at No. 22 Florida State just six days later. But as the top-25 onslaught continued, it seemed to take a toll on NC State.
A 2-point win over a struggling Miami squad on Thursday night was more difficult than most expected for the Wolfpack. NC State then followed that up with a 66-65 loss at No. 12 North Carolina at Carmichael Arena on Sunday afternoon, despite holding a 6-point lead with 1:50 play.
It wasn’t what Pack coach Wes Moore was looking for from his team, who struggled to shoot consistently from the field and had woes at the free throw line.
“Obviosuly, we’re in a tough stretch right here,” Moore said. “This was a big game, and we didn’t quite get it done.”
NC State logged a 39.4 percent mark from the field, but it was just 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) in the second quarter that forced the Wolfpack to chase the game in the waning 20 minutes. Even though it was able to do so, the Pack wasn’t able to get a look for the game-winning bucket in the final five seconds of regulation.
That resulted in just NC State’s second loss in its last 18 games as it entered Chapel Hill on a nine-game winning streak. Now, its chances to win the ACC regular season championship hinge on Duke finding a way to beat No. 2 Notre Dame on Monday night.
While the team isn’t thinking of that quite yet, it knew its defensive performance against UNC wasn’t good enough. The Wolfpack allowed the Tar Heels to knock down eight 3-pointers, including a pair in the final 2:17, while it was only able to force eight turnovers.
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Add in the 20 personal fouls NC State was called for — up from the team’s NCAA-leading 11.9 per game — and it wasn’t a recipe for success.
Moore, the Pack’s 12th-year coach, noted that was the difference between his squad finding another gear or not.
“We got to do better,” Moore said. “We’ve got to have more energy and urgency all the time. … We’ve got a good team. We could be a great team if we commit to defending and play with a little more urgency on that end.”
NC State doesn’t have time to feel sorry for itself, however. The Wolfpack will continue its six-game gauntlet with a trip to No. 19 Georgia Tech on Thursday before Notre Dame travels to Reynolds Coliseum next Sunday.
Moore said he hopes that his team can learn from its struggles against UNC to utilize at Georgia Tech, who the Pack has split its last two meetings with. The Wolfpack’s trip to Atlanta will be key in building momentum for when the Irish visit Raleigh along with ESPN’s College GameDay.
It isn’t the ideal stretch of games for the Wolfpack, but NC State is figuring out who it is and where it needs to continue to grow ahead of the postseason. The Pack hasn’t let one loss turn into two this season and it doesn’t plan on doing so at this stage of the year.
“We’ve got to worry about Georgia Tech,” Moore said. “It’s going to be a tough game.”
