Wolfpack Falls at No. 22/20 Miami to Open ACC Play

Wednesday, December 30

Coral Gables, FL

7PM

NC State

9-5, 0-1ACC

#22/20 Miami

13-1, 1-0ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
NC State	8	15	13	8	44
#22/20 Miami	17	21	23	12	73

Wolfpack Falls at No. 22/20 Miami to Open ACC Play

12/30/2015 10:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Miah Spencer and Dominique Wilson lead NC State with 11 points each

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The NC State women's basketball team fell at No. 22/20 Miami Wednesday evening to open Atlantic Coast Conference play, losing by a final score of 73-44.

NC State was led in scoring by 11 points each from Miah Spencer and Dominique Wilson. The Wolfpack (9-5, 0-1 ACC) had a difficult evening offensively, shooting a season-low 14-57 (.246) from the field. NC State's ball handling improved significantly from its last outing, committing 17 turnovers against Miami's athletic defense which ranks 11th in the nation in steals per game.

Miami's Laura Cornelius led all scorers with 20 points (6-6 from distance). She was joined in double figures by Jessica Thomas (14 points) and Michelle Woods (11). The Hurricanes shot 25-57 (.439) from the field, a mark which included a 9-17 (.529) success rate from three-point range.

"At halftime we were down 15 points," NC State head coach Wes Moore said to radio broadcaster Patrick Kinas in his postgame interview. "We were outscored 10-0 in second-chance points and missed five free throws. There's your 15 points. Pretty simple. I know it looks like we're a long way away, but I look at it as though there are a lot of little things we can do better and be a better team than we are right now."

Miami (13-1, 1-0 ACC) got off to a fast start, outscoring the Wolfpack 17-8 in the first quarter. NC State nearly doubled its first quarter output with 15 points in the second stanza, but the Hurricanes took a 38-23 advantage into the halftime break thanks to 13-31 (.419) shooting which included a very high rate of success (6-8) from three-point range. NC State struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 8-31 (.258) and 4-14 (.286) from long range.

Immediately after the halftime break, the Wolfpack ripped off a brisk 5-0 run to pull within 10 points (38-28) when Jennifer Mathurin scored a put-back basket and Ashley Williams drained a three-pointer at the top of the key. NC State would keep the deficit within 13 points until the Hurricanes put together a 14-2 run throughout the final four minutes of the third quarter to take a 61-36 lead into the final period of play.

There's a 5-0 run to start the half!! #GoPack pic.twitter.com/Kw1JSjtdc1
— NC State WBB (@PackWomensBball) December 31, 2015

NC State returns to action at home against Wake Forest on Sunday, January 3. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. from Broughton High School's Holliday Gymnasium. This will be the first of two straight home games for the Wolfpack, as Georgia Tech will then come to Raleigh for a Thursday, January 7 game (7:30 p.m.).

#GoPack