RALEIGH, N.C. – The N.C. State Wolfpack dominated the Clemson Tigers in a 76-50 win at Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Miah Spencer reached and surpassed the 500-point career mark and led the Wolfpack with a career-high 25-points to go along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
Carlee Shuhmacher (18 points, 7 rebounds) and Dominique Wilson (10 points, 2 rebounds) supported the effort with their own double-digit finishes.
Coming off a 73-59 win over Virginia Tech on Thursday, N.C. State (11-5, 2-1) looked to continue their winning ways during the early part of their ACC schedule.
In the 84th all-time meeting between the two programs, Clemson (9-8, 1-3) was trying to right its ship, coming off consecutive losses to Georgia Tech (74-66) and No. 22 Florida State (82-52) respectively.
“A good effort,” N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said.
“After a quick turnaround, it was good to come out with some energy and be able to get some momentum early. Give Clemson a lot of credit. Boy, they battled back there in the second half and made it a little nerve-wracking. Proud of our kids.”
While Shuhmacher got the Wolfpack on the board early, posting consecutive baskets to start the game, Spencer and Wilson soon followed up with back-to-back 3’s and extended the lead to 12-7.
“It definitely opens it up for them if I hit a couple of shots inside,” Shuhmacher said.
Ashley Williams (6 points, 3 rebounds) and Len’Nique Brown (8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) then continued the Wolfpack’s early dominance beyond the arc.
Another three from Brown and a long two from Shumacher soon put N.C. State ahead by 20, leading 32-12 with 7:25 to play.
Clemson’s lone seniors, Nikki Dixon (15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists) and Chelsea Lindsay (8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) led the Tigers offense.
Defensively, Jennifer Mathurin (7 points, 10 rebounds) and Chelsea Nelson came of the bench with energy to platoon with Shuhmacher and created problems for Clemson’s post players.
The Wolfpack’s defense played high and extended the challenge to the Tigers’ young lineup to work the ball inside.
However, it couldn’t and was kept scoreless for a six-minute stretch.
“The main focus was stopping what they wanna’ do,” Spencer said.
“If there was a shooter, make them force the bounce, make them go to the basket. If there was an attacker, make them shoot, make them feel more uncomfortable.”
N.C. State led 45-20 at the half, shooting 57 percent from the field, and even better (67 percent) beyond the arc as Williams added to the Wolfpack’s 8-of-12 conversion rate from that distance.
Clemson showed fight and resilience to start the second half, scoring five quick points, but the Wolfpack matched the effort.
Another quick five points from the Tigers with 12 minutes to play challenged N.C. State’s endurance and ability to rebound.
Still holding a double-digit lead, 55-34, the Wolfpack started to show some wear.
The Tigers put together a 12-2 run, cutting their deficit to 18.
Not a monumental comeback attempt, but significant in humbling N.C. State for a period of time.
“Too many second-chance points, boxin’ out, basically they were getting a lot of offensive rebounds, and their momentum was going up.”
Spencer eventually helped to slow the Tigers’ pace and put the Wolfpack lead back over 20 points from the free throw line and subsequently finishing the fast-break off a steal from Brown.
The sophomore eclipsed the 500-point career mark as the Wolfpack led 62-41 with 9:06 to play.
“I feel like it’s nothing without my teammates,” Spencer said of reaching the milestone.
“My coaches, they push me so hard in practice. Coach Hill, my position coach, gets in the gym with me shootin’ different things. Like I said, I really appreciate my teammates and my coaches pushing me everyday.”
Clemson put Dixon in the post and tried to work a 4-out-1-in offense, but the Wolfpack’s defense defended it easily.
No matter how Clemson tried to adjust its offense or defense, N.C. State’s overall execution never left the game in doubt as to how it would end.
“I think it helped that we shot the ball really well during the first half,” Moore said.
“We shot it well. We won the rebound battle even though I felt like there was a stretch there in the second half, when we were getting hurt on the offensive boards; but we hung in there. Defensively, I thought we did a great job with recognizing players’ strengths. Really playin’ the scout out – how we wanted to approach this game from an individual defensive position. I thought we did a great job and then as a team, I think our team defense was really good.”
Notes: Moore confirmed that senior guard Krystal Barrett, who suffered an ACL injury in a game against Davidson on Dec. 19, would be lost for the season…Moore also confirmed that freshman guard Chloe Jackson wouldn’t be returning any time soon, but could possibly do so later in the season. Jackson fractured her foot in early December…A friend of Moore’s, actor Dennis Haskins, better known as Mr. Belding from the 90s show Saved by the Bell, watched on after giving the Wolfpack a pregame pep talk. He was in town to attend the funeral held earlier in the day for former ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott.