Cunane, No. 4 Wolfpack women beat No. 16 Blue Devils 84-60

Sun, Jan 16, 2022
NCAAB News (AP)

Cunane, No. 4 Wolfpack women beat No. 16 Blue Devils 84-60

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Elissa Cunane scored 23 points to help No. 4 North Carolina State beat No. 16 Duke 84-60 on Sunday, keeping the Wolfpack unbeaten in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Jada Boyd added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench as N.C. State won its 15th straight game against league opponents dating to last season, which includes a three-game run to a second straight ACC Tournament title. The Wolfpack (16-2, 7-0) steadily pulled away early in this one, leading by double figures in the first period and pushing that margin to 23 points before halftime.

N.C. State never let that margin slip to fewer than 14 points again.

Shayeann Day-Wilson broke through some recent struggles to scored 14 points for the Blue Devils (11-4, 2-3), who had more turnovers (11) than made baskets (eight) in the first 20 minutes to fall behind 42-22. The Blue Devils warmed up after halftime to finish the game shooting 36%, though they also committed 17 turnovers that led to 20 points for the Wolfpack.

BIG PICTURE

Duke: The Blue Devils limped into nearby Raleigh after a second double-digit loss to Virginia Tech in two weeks. They didn't have two starters in that one, with Texas transfer Celeste Taylor out with her left arm in sling, while Texas Tech transfer Lexi Gordon missed the game due to health protocols. Taylor was out again Sunday as the team's No. 2 scorer at 11.7 points, while Gordon (9.8 points) returned with seven points on 2-for-10 shooting.

  • N.C. State: The Wolfpack's run has included 11 straight regular-season league wins, with nine of those coming by margins of at least 19 points. N.C. State added Duke to its its list of wins against AP Top 25 opponents this year, joining No. 6 Indiana, No. 8 Maryland and No. 21 North Carolina. And Wes Moore's club has its second 7-0 start in four seasons, the other coming during an 8-0 start in 2018-19.

    UP NEXT

    Duke: At Miami on Tuesday night.

    N.C. State: Hosts No. 3 Louisville on Thursday night in a matchup of the ACC's top teams.

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    Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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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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