RALEIGH, N.C. – A three-pointer from guard Len’Nique Brown with 2.6 seconds remaining completed a dramatic 68-65 comeback win for the N.C. State Wolfpack over the Miami Hurricanes at Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday.
Brown led the Wolfpack (15-11, 6-7) with 20 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and three steals while Miah Spencer’s 19-point performance was the additional fuel that generated the home side’s fire and resurgence in the second half.
Adrienne Motley scored a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds for the Hurricanes (18-8, 8-5) with teammate Michelle Woods adding 20 points and five rebounds as both players combined for seven three-pointers.
It was an exceptional finish to a well-contested Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) game that had both teams jockeying for position in the league standings.
“What do you say? A tale of two cities?” a relieved N.C. State coach Wes Moore said smiling while starting his postgame session with the media.
“First half was embarrassing – very disappointed. I’ve been proud of this team for the most part. We’ve faced a lot of adversity, we don’t have a lot of subs, and they’ve battled (this season). That first half, we didn’t have a whole lot. I told them we’re not good enough to get outhustled. When I see us get beat down the floor and the trail person’s able to get a layup because we got people joggin’; when I see the ball on the floor and Miami’s got people divin’ on it, and we’re reachin’, bendin’ over to pick it up – I knew that wasn’t gonna’ work. I just told them, it’s their team. We can go out here, get back in the game and compete, or we can just continue what we’re doin’ which wasn’t very much fun.”
While temperatures in the teens created frigid conditions outside, the Wolfpack and Hurricanes put together a 40-minute display of hot shooting and tenacious defense that came about due to resilient effort.
During warmups, the doors were open as the 1,570 in attendance entered the building and it was noticeable that the heat wasn’t on.
Media members sat on press row wearing their coats and hats and players like the Wolfpack’s leading scorer Dominique Wilson (8 points, 7 rebounds) were rubbing and blowing on their hands as they literally warmed up while going through the shootaround.
The doors closed and the temperature eventually rose, particularly as the Hurricanes shot at a 53-percent rate during the opening half that eventually gave them an 18-point lead, 42-24, at halftime.
The Wolfpack didn’t react quickly and effectively enough to protect its perimeter as Woods and Motley fired from three-point range and helped the Hurricanes hit 8-of-15 from there.
Miami scored the first basket just 26 seconds in, but N.C. State’s Jennifer Mathurin (7 points, 9 rebounds) soon matched it, and both teams traded scoring opportunities until back-to-back 3’s from McGuire and Woods, along with a layup from Motley, gave Miami a 12-6 lead.
A 5-2 run led to a three from Chelsea Nelson (7 points, 4 rebounds) that pulled the Wolfpack to within three with 10 minutes to play in the half.
Miami pushed its lead back up to eight with six minutes to play, but Carlee Schuhmacher (7 points) put together a five-point swing on two possessions, dropping a layup and a three-pointer, as N.C. State trailed 23-20.
A turnover by the Hurricanes allowed the Wolfpack to pull within one a few minutes later as Wilson scored her first points of the game.
Miami answered back and dominated the remainder of the half with a 19-4 run that included four 3-pointers and established what seemed like an insurmountable margin after the opening 20-minutes.
Miami shot 53-percent from the field during the half, while N.C. State converted an average 33 percent, hitting 10-of-30 from the field and only 2-of-13 beyond the arc.
The Hurricanes’ dominance from the perimeter forced the Wolfpack to pressure beyond the three-point line in order to force turnovers in the second half.
They had nothing to lose, particularly as the Hurricanes extended their lead to 20 points, their largest lead of the game as Woods’ layup continued the scoring run from the first half.
N.C. State trailed 44-24.
The defensive strategy to extend beyond the three-point line and the extra effort in doing so paid off as the Wolfpack forced turnovers and posted points on the board.
That’s how they scored 25 of them throughout the game.
N.C. State put together a 12-6 run and cut the deficit to 12 points with 16 minutes to play.
After Brown hit a three, Woods matched it to keep the Miami lead in double-digits.
While Miami’s shooting for the half cooled, the Wolfpack tried to stay warm enough to overcome the deficit.
It didn’t look as it would happen, but the Hurricanes’ over-aggressive play on defense continued to give N.C. State and its fans hope.
The Wolfpack pulled to within 11 following a flagrant foul called on Necole Sterling (7 points, 1 rebound) who knocked Spencer off pace at halfcourt and allowed her to drop both free throws.
On the ensuing possession, the guard scored again, laying the ball in to cut the deficit to single digits.
While it looked as if everything was working N.C. State’s way, Wilson continued to struggle and missed an open three-point attempt which turned out to be costly as Sterling laid the ball up and in at the other end.
Motley then went to work and dropped key transition baskets while N.C. State struggled for a period.
Miami built its lead back up to 15 points, leading 55-40 with 12:18 to go.
Brown, Spencer, Wilson and Mathurin, four of only seven players on an injury-plagued squad that played in the game, weren’t willing to give up – and didn’t.
Collectively, they eventually brought the Wolfpack to within eight points with five minutes remaining.
They threw in a different press package that confused the Hurricanes on the inbounds and a five-point swing by Spencer, a three and a layup with the help of a turnover caused by Wilson, cut the Miami lead further.
A charge call against the Hurricanes at the other end gave N.C. State the ball and the opportunity to continue on its run.
It did.
Wilson scored and Miami’s lead was three.
She may not have scored near her 14-point per game average, but Wilson was pivotal in earning assists on baskets for the Wolfpack, among others.
“That’s we talk about,” Moore said when talking of the Wilson’s contributions in the game.
“Don’t let your offense necessarily affect the rest of your game. I knew she was havin’ a tough night the first half, but I just thought she made some big steals, she attacked and got fouled at a crucial time and knocked down both free throws. I think it was a team effort. I can look down this list and maybe they didn’t score a lot of points, but they got some rebounds, some steals. It was a team effort all the way.”
After Motley scored two free throws, Spencer matched it with a jumper in the paint.
The Wolfpack’s relentless pressing continued and so did the 12 turnovers that the Hurricanes committed during the second half.
Mathurin then dropped a high-arching three and tied the game 65-65 with 53.9 seconds to go.
Up to that point, she was 0-for-3 from the outside.
“I thought about it all game,” Mathurin said.
“I had missed three 3’s, and I was like, ‘this one’s gotta’ count’.’ I just made it. In my head I wasn’t gonna’ miss.”
After Miami missed picking up a loose ball at half-court, the possession arrow came up in the Wolfpack’s favor with Brown’s hands wrapped around the ball.
The game’s outcome literally lay in her hands.
The shot clock and game clock were both synced at 29.3 seconds.
“It was either create for myself or create to get someone to help and kick,” Brown said.
“I just had a feeling. I’ve been chosen to take the last shot a couple of times and it didn’t fall – just today was the day.”
Brown took the inbounds from Wilson, and carried it up the court.
She dribbled left, then right.
The clock continued to count down to 10 seconds, as she dribbled left and right again, working off screens set high by her teammates along the three point line.
With one final dribble and with three Miami defenders fronting her, she popped up a high three-pointer that dropped with 2.6 seconds to go.
The thunderous roar that echoed throughout the building was fitting for the redshirt senior who hadn’t beaten the Hurricanes throughout her career at N.C. State.
She had hit the biggest shot of the year and her career to date.
Sure, a winning free throw to beat Georgia Tech with 1.4 seconds to play a week earlier was a big shot, but how this one played out was the biggest according to her.
It also helped make up for a missed opportunity at winning the game at Boston College, a 64-59 overtime loss, on Monday as well.
“It was definitely a great feeling,” Brown said smiling.
The win, as part of 23-point swing and comeback, ensured that the Wolfpack would end the season with a winning overall record, regardless of the outcomes of its remaining three games.
“Really happy for the kids,” Moore said.
“We’ve had some tough losses and we’ve had to face a lot of adversity. Just so happy for them, especially ‘Nique being a senior. I thought she just really stepped up. Again, a lot of people did. Just a great team win after a long week – proud of ‘em.”
N.C. State now prepares to finish its regular season by facing three top-10 ranked teams in Duke (10), Florida State (9) and Notre Dame (4) over an eight-day span beginning on Sunday.
Notes: N.C. State is currently playing with seven scholarship players and nine to draw from for playing time. A recent achilles tendon tear to forward Ashley Eli put the Wolfpack down four players for the season. While Eli recovers from surgery, the season-ending injury puts her alongside Krystal Barrett (knee), Chloe Jackson (foot) and Sara Boric (NCAA certification) to watch from the bench…The Wolfpack extended its overall record over Miami to 10-8 despite losing seven straight to the Hurricanes before Thursday’s game, last winning on Feb. 14, 2010. The win gave N.C. State a 7-2 record over Miami when playing at Reynolds.