Sometimes you get a team’s A-game, and sometimes you get a performance so far above baseline that it would seem impossible if you weren’t witnessing it happen right in front of you. NC State ran into the latter in Winston-Salem—for one half.
Wake Forest shot 12-15 from the floor in the first quarter, and 7-7 from three, which is a 103.3 eFG%, if you were wondering. NC State did well to keep within shouting distance as Wake piled up 33 points over those 10 minutes, but as the Deacs pushed ahead by
15 midway through the second, the situation was more than a little worrying.
But NC State outscored Wake Forest 68-35 from then on. Yeah, I don’t know what I was worried about either.
The Pack closed to within six at the break thanks to a last-second three from Zam Jones, then scored the first 10 points of the second half, with Jones leading that charge. Wake Forest went from up 15 with 5:36 to go in the second quarter to down 10 with 5:06 left in the third. State saw Wake’s 33-point first quarter and answered with a 32-point third quarter.
NC State’s defensive effort was much better over the last 20 minutes, and Wake shot 3-13 from beyond the arc in the second half after its ridiculous 9-12 first half.
State’s dominance on the glass helped turn the tide, and Wake had no answers trying to defend Khamil Pierre, who was tremendous: 26 points on 12-17 shooting, with 14 boards. She had seven offensive rebounds, while Wake Forest finished the night with two.
As frustrating as it is in the moment watching somebody pull some scorched-net NBA Jam shit, watching your team overcome it is all the more rewarding, and as the Pack pushed ahead by 20 in the fourth quarter, I struggled to recall what the trouble was. Hell of a second half.
