CONWAY, S.C. – There wasn’t enough time left for the 17th-ranked and fourth-seeded N.C. State Wolfpack when it suffered a 59-58 ACC Tournament loss to 14th-ranked and fifth-seeded Louisville at HTC Center on Friday.
A pair of free throws by Myisha Hines-Allen with 19.2 seconds to play made the difference for the Cardinals as two late attempts from the field didn’t drop for the Wolfpack.
Hines-Allen scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half, while Louisville’s Asia Durr carried the load and led all scorers with 28 points.
“They battled, they competed,” N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said.
“You know, obviously Durr was phenomenal in the first half, tried switching up D’s a little bit in the second half, and that helped some, but seemed like we gave up some offensive rebounds at some key times.”
Guard Miah Spencer scored 18 points for N.C. State while Chelsea Nelson added 16 points and Dominique Wilson posted 12 in the losing effort.
Wilson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key that gave the Wolfpack a 58-57 lead with 1:35 to play before Hines-Allen countered with the eventual game-winning free throws.
“I’m proud of our kids, and we know we’ll be playing again,” Moore concluded.
“So just got to try to rest up a little bit and recover from it and get ready to go again.”
Notes: N.C. State played most of the game without starting forward Jennifer Mathurin, who left the game in the second quarter after suffering a knee injury…Louisville, which trailed by 14 points early in the second quarter, reached the semifinals for the third consecutive year…Durr scored 21 of Louisville’s 32 first-half points, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range while Spencer had 16 first-half points for the Wolfpack.