RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State Wolfpack couldn’t complete a final-minute comeback and lost 60-55 to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the two teams’ initial meeting in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Reynolds Coliseum on Wednesday.
Guards Dominique Wilson (15 rebounds, 7 rebounds, 2 assists) and Len’Nique Brown (12 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists) led N.C. State’s offense, but it was the inside-outside presence of the visiting side that eventually proved too much to overcome.
Minnesota forward Amanda Zahui B. posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds while guard and Big Ten Conference (B1G) preseason Player of the Year Rachel Banham finished with a nearly identical 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Golden Gophers to the win.
“We showed some heart in the second half,” N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said.
“We let them have a 12-0 run and it would have been real easy to roll over at that point, but our kids fought back, so proud of that. We gotta’ realize that it’s a real fine line for this team between winning and losing. We gotta’ do a lot of little things well.”
The two programs hadn’t faced each other since Nov. 27, 2010 in the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev., a contest that Minnesota won 71-67, and stood as its lone victory against N.C. State until Wednesday night.
N.C. State (5-3) came into the game as the ACC’s leader in free throw shooting percentage (124-156, .795) and kept that average up, finishing 8-of-10 from the free throw line.
However, the long and wide zone defense that Minnesota (7-1) employed throughout the game proved effective and the Wolfpack didn’t penetrate it as much as Moore wanted.
“Against the zone, we’ve gotta’ attack it, be aggressive with it, instead of lulling it us to sleep,“ the coach stated.
That sense of sleepiness took hold early on as both teams put together a body of work that was slowly developing on the scoreboard and was identical in many facets.
The lead changed 14 times and was tied on five occasions with matching missed opportunities, turnovers, rebounds, steals, and scores.
Minnesota led 27-26 at halftime with both sides converting on identical 36-percent shooting outputs and sitting close to even in a majority of statistical categories.
A three-pointer from Wilson gave N.C. State a 33-32 lead with 13:57 remaining.
However, for the next four minutes, Zahui B. and Banham, along with Shae Kelley (8 points, 6 rebounds), led the Golden Gophers to establish an 11-point margin at 44-33.
N.C. State fought valiantly to overcome the deficit, and kept chipping away at it throughout the latter stages of the game.
The Wolfpack trailed by a point at two different instances during the final two minutes of play, as Brown and Wilson drove to the basket to score with ensuing foul shots to follow.
After Banham hit a three, Wilson quickly narrowed Minnesota’s lead back down to 56-55 with 10 seconds remaining, and gave the 1,535 in attendance hope that the Wolfpack could pull off the comeback.
However, Zahui B’s flawless work at the free throw line, going 6-for-6 to end the game, along with the six-foot-five-inch forward’s final-seconds’ block on Brown’ three point attempt to tie the game made the difference.
“I’d seen a switch,” Brown said.
“I thought (she) was further (up) enough so I can shoot it, but she was longer than I expected.”
N.C. State expected the defensive switch as Brown brought the ball up the court and decided to look for the shot herself.
It was a shot that Moore didn’t want to be forced to take, but without much impactful presence coming from the post, it was an option that the Wolfpack had to go to.
“Probably could have maybe come up with a better design,” Moore said.
“We were trying to get ‘Nique to come off the pick on the ball, and we went with four guards. We tried to spot up some shooters, hoping she could come off that pick on the ball and either if the post switched to her she maybe could get around her and get a look, or maybe she can force somebody to rotate and we could get a shot off of that.”
Unfortunately, neither situation presented itself, and as quickly as the ball left Brown’s hands, it was denied by Zahui B’s.
The play finalized the Wolfpack’s third loss in its last four games.
“We’re just gonna’ have to be committed to doing the little things better,” Moore concluded.
“We’re makin’ some careless mistakes. We gotta’ clean those up. I did see some fight. All we can do is get back in the gym, keep practicin’, keep workin’ and try to clean things up a little bit and try to figure out a way that we can be a little more consistent in scoring. That’s what’s killin’ us. I can’t fault our defense a whole lot right there.”