RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Kayla Jones scored 15 points and No. 5 North Carolina State got its first win of the season, drubbing Wofford 90-57 on Friday night.
Elissa Cunane added 13 points for the Wolfpack (1-1), who were coming off a loss on Tuesday night to top-ranked South Carolina.
Annabelle Schultz and Jackie Carman scored 16 points apiece for the Terriers (0-2), who kept it close in the first two quarters before N.C. State took control.
Wofford led 16-15 after one quarter and N.C. State had a 34-29 advantage at halftime. Cunane and Diamond Johnson, a transfer from Rutgers, combined for 15 points in the second quarter. Johnson finished with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including two 3-pointers, after shooting 2 of 12 against the Gamecocks.
“Coach (Wes) Moore definitely wanted us to get post touches more (in the second quarter),” Cunane said. “Even if I was kicking it back out, it was working for us.”
Wofford struggled with the Wolfpack’s size, getting outrebounded 51-25 for the game and shooting 35% in the second half. N.C. State shot 53% after the break and made five 3-pointers.
“Coming into this game, we knew they were big. I mean, they’re really big,” Wofford coach Jimmy Garrity said. “They don’t get to be No. 5 without being really, really talented.”
BIG PICTURE
Wofford: The Terriers opened the season with an 80-48 loss to Charleston and did not top 40% shooting in either game.
N.C. State: Moore labeled his team a “work in progress” after the loss to the Gamecocks, in which the Wolfpack shot 41% and struggled to integrate transfers Johnson and Madison Hayes. Friday’s performance wasn’t perfect — N.C. State had eight turnovers in the first half — but the team’s third-quarter showing was more than enough.
Against South Carolina, N.C. State went 5 of 18 from 3-point range. The Wolfpack turned that around by making 10 of 26 3s on Friday.
TURNING POINT
The Wolfpack ripped off a 25-5 run to start the third quarter, making three 3-pointers and dominating in the paint. One stretch saw the duo of Jones and Cunane combine for 14 consecutive Wolfpack points. N.C. State led by 20 at the end of the period.
“We wanted to get the ball inside,” Moore said. “When it’s not going in, you’ve got to work it inside, settle down a little bit and quit settling for jump shots.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Wolfpack aren’t likely to slip too far in the AP Top 25.
UP NEXT
Wofford: Hosts Towson on Sunday.
N.C. State: Hosts Florida on Sunday.
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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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