NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Diamond Johnson provided the offense and North Carolina State got downright defensive in another rout.
Johnson scored 24 points and the No. 5 Wolfpack held Washington State to 26% shooting in a 62-34 victory on Saturday night at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship.
“Really proud of our defensive effort. Washington State has so many great shooters and are well coached,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “Fortunate we maybe made them rush shots a little bit. They didn’t have normal days; hopefully part of that was our defense.”
N.C. State (6-1) built a 14-point halftime lead as Johnson, who made 10 of her 16 shots, had 13 of her points before the break. Washington State (4-1) hung around for most of the third and only trailed 39-28 before the Wolfpack closed the period by scoring the final 10 points.
Elissa Cunane had half the points during the closing burst and finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.
It didn’t get better in the fourth quarter for Washington State as N.C. State scored the first 11 points and Washington State didn’t score until 3:25 was left in the game.
“We really locked in, watched a lot of film,” Johnson said. “We know we have offense and have defense.”
Tara Wallack scored seven points to lead Washington State.
“Love our team and their response right now,” Cougars coach Kamie Ethridge said. “They are disappointed in how they played. They felt they embarrassed themselves a little bit. I’m happy that they are disappointed in that. It says a lot about them.”
The Wolfpack routed No. 2 Maryland on Thursday in the tournament opener and are poised to move up in the AP Top 25 on Monday.
The game was played at the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas in a converted ballroom complete with a low ceiling and a raised stage right off midcourt. There were high school-style bleachers behind the two benches for fans.
OUTSIDE SHOOTING WOES
Washington State moved the ball well on offense but couldn’t finish. The Cougars were 4 for 23 from behind the arc.
“They challenged us to shoot 3s,” Ethridge said. “People are going to do that until we make some.”
BIG PICTURE
Washington State: After a relatively easy schedule to start the season, the Cougars faced a stiff test in No. 5 N.C. State. It will help the team prepare for the difficult Pac-12 Conference schedule ahead.
N.C. State: Another dominant performance by the Wolfpack, whose only loss came against No. 1 South Carolina to open the season.
UP NEXT
Washington State: Hosts San Francisco on Thursday.
N.C. State: Visits No. 4 Indiana on Thursday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
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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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