No. 4 NC State women's basketball completes 14-point comeback to down No. 3 Louisville (2024)

The NC State Wolfpack pulled off their largest comeback this season after dominating Louisville in the fourth quarter to fight back from down 14 and win, 68-59.

NC State owned the fourth, outscoring Louisville, 31-8. Prior to tonight, teams down 14 or more entering the fourth were 3-1,278.

Louisville dominated the first three quarters of this matchup. It seemed as though the Cards would run away with it as they had a 13-point lead at the half thanks to the help of Olivia Cochran and Emily Engstler.

But, with a third quarter resurgence from center Elissa Cunane, the Wolfpack still weren’t out of it even if the scoreboard had them down by double digits. In the first half, Cunane had two points on three shots and four boards. In the final half, she managed to put together 13 points and 17 rebounds to get a double-double and the win.

Another major factor was an awakening from Diamond Johnson and the Wolfpack shooters. Johnson couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half with a total of zero points, but she fought back as well to finish with 16 points and 10 rebounds on the night.

The Wolfpack made five threes to outscore the Cardinals 31-6 in the fourth. Prior to the final quarter, NC State was 1-13 from deep.

Everything went the Wolfpack’s way in the fourth. They forced seven turnovers, held Louisville to just three made field goals and only turned the ball over three times.

With this win, NC State improves to 17-2 (8-0 ACC) and hands Louisville its first loss since November as the Cardinals drop to 15-2 (5-1 ACC).

NC State has opened the fourth quarter on a 15-2 run. With a bit over six minutes to go, Louisville leads 53-52.

The Wolfpack's three-point shooting woke up at the right time with a pair of threes from Diamond Johnson and Jakia Brown-Turner. NCSU has also managed to force three turnovers so far.

🐺 47
🔴 53

Back-to-back Pack threes and it is LOUD.

7:20, 4Q pic.twitter.com/HW94AYUEev

— #4 NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) January 21, 2022

With a 13-point lead at the half, Louisville could've got complacent and let NC State back into this game, but thanks to rebounds and more offensive production the Cardinals lead 51-37.

NC State's Elissa Cunane had a slow first half with only two points. In the third, she managed to put up eight to try and help spark a Wolfpack comeback.

Louisville's Hailey Van Lith has picked up the pace as well for her team getting a quick five points to open up the half for the Cards.

Louisville's defense continues to impress. The Cardinals held NC State to six points in the second quarter to take a 34-21 lead into the second half. This is the biggest halftime deficit of the season for the Wolfpack (13).

One big factor that Louisville was preparing for was NC State's Elissa Cunane who has averaged 14.1 points so far this season. Tonight, Cunane has just two points on three shots and four rebounds.

On the other side, Louisville's post players in Olivia Cochran and Emily Engstler have combined for 20 point and 14 rebounds. The Cardinals have recorded 11 offensive rebounds to NC State's six in the first half. That has allowed for a lot of second chance buckets.

Louisville opened the first five minutes of the second quarter with a 10-2 run against NC State.

The Cardinals doing a great job of forcing turnovers (8) and blocking shots (4) on the defensive end while also getting back quickly on offense to get quick scores. All four of UL's made FGs this quarter have come from inside the paint. Olivia Cochran continues to dominate with 11 points and four rebounds.

Big time block, big time bucket 💪💪💪

📺 ESPN#GoCards pic.twitter.com/SlHOPVcCgL

— Louisville WBB (@UofLWBB) January 21, 2022

The first quarter saw nine lead changes and Louisville did a good job of closing it out to take a 18-15 lead into the second half.

The Cardinals forwards are proving to be the difference maker right now. Olivia Cochran and Emily Engstler have combined for 12 points and six rebounds so far.

🔴⚪⚪⚪#GoCards pic.twitter.com/Z2MlUozMef

— Louisville WBB (@UofLWBB) January 21, 2022

Roughly halfway through the first quarter we've seen a a fair amount of long range shots so far as NC State is up 9-6 over Louisville.

NCSU's Raina Perez has hit the only three so far tonight, but there have been a couple deep two's to make it a tight game so far in Raleigh.

.@_naannna step back 👌

📺 ESPN#GoCards pic.twitter.com/Br7LMrXd2Z

— Louisville WBB (@UofLWBB) January 21, 2022

No. 3 Louisville and No. 4 NC State will square off in a high-stakes ACC matchup this evening in Raleigh. The Wolfpack and Cardinals sit at one and two respectively in the conference standings with undefeated records (7-0, 5-0).

Three-point shots are going to prove to be a difference maker in tonight’s game. NC State has the best three-point percentage in the nation (40.91%) coming into this one. The Wolfpack have four players with at least 35 attempts from deep and a percentage at 43% or better this season.

If the shots aren’t falling for NC State or Louisville, both teams have a go-to player for rebounds. This season, Cardinal forward Emily Engstler leads her team with 133 rebounds (8.3 avg) while Wolfpack center Elissa Cunane sits at 136 (7.6 avg).

Louisville’s key to victory will be its defense. Outside of the 71 points that Syracuse put up on the Cardinals on Jan. 13, they haven’t let up more than 53 in a game since UConn scored 64 on Dec. 19. This season, Louisville is second in the ACC in steals (171) while also racking up 69 blocks so far.

#4 vs #3.
In OUR house.

We're ready for it. pic.twitter.com/li9ZjHn0za

— #4 NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) January 20, 2022

Here is how to watch tonight's game:

Time:7:30 p.m. ET
Date:Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022
TV Channel:ESPN
Streaming:ESPN.com/Watch
Location:Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina

No. 3 Louisville women's basketball will travel to No. 4 NC State on Thursday night in the first top-five ACC matchup of the season. This matchup could very well decide the ACC regular-season title as we move closer to March. NC State enters the game at 16-2 (7-0 ACC) and Louisville sits at 15-1 (5-0 ACC).

The Wolfpack is riding a six-game winning streak following an 82-80 overtime loss to then-No. 17 Georgia in December. Since then, NC State has held opponents to 60 points or less in four of those six matchups. Center Elissa Cunane has also been on a tear during that streak leading the team in points in five of the last six.

Louisville has also been on a tear with 15-straight wins after the Cardinals lost the first game of the season to Arizona in November. UL has been led by guards Kianna Smith, Hailey Van Lith and forward Emily Engstler who have combined for an average of 34.6 points per game this season.

This matchup could be a possible ACC Tournament Championship preview. The two will face off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN from Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Louisville will travel to North Carolina on Thursday night to take on the Wolfpack in a top-five ACC matchup.

Here is how to watch Thursday’s game:

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Date: Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022
TV Channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN.com/Watch
Location: Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina

NC State enters Thursday night having won the last two games against the Cardinals. Louisville does lead the Wolfpack on the all-time record at 8-5.

Here is the series history between Louisville and NC State:

Louisville and NC State enter the game both as top five teams in both the women’s basketball NET Rankings and the AP Poll. NC State does reach the highest ranking between the two at No. 2 in the NET.

Check out both rankings below:

We've hit the 10-week mark! Where has the 2021-22 season gone?

We still have ways to go as conference play continues to heat up, providing tons of drama.For the first time this season, I have two new teams featured in my Power 10 after Arizona and Maryland faced tough losses against conference foes.

Here are my Power 10 rankings in Week 10 of women's college basketball:

1. South Carolina (1) —The Gameco*cks took down SEC foes Texas A&M and Arkansas to improve to 16-1. Aliyah Boston continues to make her case for National Player of the Year by recording her 11th straight double-double which sets a program record. Boston is one of four women in the SEC to have a streak of 10 double-doubles or more over the last 20 seasons.

2. Louisville (2) —It's another perfect week in ACC play for the Cards! Louisville handled Syracuse and used a defensive effort against Boston College for head coach Jeff Walz to pick up his 400th career win to finish Week 10. The Cards remain untouchable with a 14-game winning streak.

3. Stanford (3) —The Cardinal put a stop to the last unbeaten team in the nation, Colorado. Tied at 41 going into the final frame, the momentum was in Colorado's favor using its intense defense to force Stanford into 22 turnovers. After being held scoreless in the first half, the 2021 MOP Haley Jones led the way with 11 points. Stanford finished the week with a victory over Utah, paced by the sophom*ore sensation Cameron Brink's 24 points and 11 rebounds.

SO LONG UNDEFEATEDS:Colorado, the last undefeated women's basketball team, loses to Stanford

4. Indiana (4) —Even without its go-to scorer Mackenzie Holmes due to a knee injury, Indiana still found a way to take down the No. 8 offense in the nation, Nebraska by using its No. 1 defense in the Big Ten. Adversity continued to strike the Hoosiers going up against Purdue with Nicola Cardano-Hilary sitting out due to COVID-19 protocols and Ali Patberg spraining her ankle in the final minute. The Hoosiers were able to outlast the Boilermakers in overtime, despite being without its Big 3 to win the in-state rivalry. The Hoosiers blaze on with a nine-game winning streak.

5. NC State (5) —The Wolfpack blew past Virginia and finished the week with a victory over No. 16 Duke, led by Elissa Cunane's 23 points, recording her third 20-point performance this season. The Wolfpack advance to 7-0 in ACC play, but its next task will come against ACC foe No. 3 Louisville on Jan. 20.

6. Tennessee (6) —The Vols are now 6-0 in SEC play after defeating Vanderbilt and No. 19 Kentucky to finish 17-1 overall in Week 10. This is the best season-opening record since its 2007-08 campaign. Rae Burrell is finding her groove after suffering an injury to start the season. She came off the bench and poured in 14 points, including a flawless 4-for-4 performance from beyond the arc. The Vols finished with a season-high 10 three's against the Wildcats.

7. UConn (7) —The Huskies have been finding its rhythm by using a team effort to remain resilient through adversity. UConn is now 4-0 in Big East play with victories over Butler and Xavier. UConn's next tough task will come against non-conference foe Oregon on Jan. 17.

SUNDAY ACTION:

8. Michigan (10) —Penn State held Naz Hillmon scoreless in the first quarter, but that didn't last for long as the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year found impressive ways to score out of the double (and some times even triple) team. But teams can't focus too much on the paint. Maddie Nolan had seven triples against Maryland to take down the Terps. Michigan put up an incredible defensive effort against the No. 7 offense in the nation, holding them to under 50 by controlling the pace and forcing 17 turnovers.

9. LSU (NR) —Hall of fame head coach Kim Mulkey has came in and turned this program around in her first year with the Tigers, now 17-2 overall. LSU has picked up impressive wins over Georgia, Texas A&M, Missouri State, a gritty Missouri team in overtime, and Iowa State (which is why I have the Tigers above the Cyclones). Its only two loses comes from FGCU, who is the No. 5 offense in the nation, and No. 1 South Carolina, which was only decided by six points. LSU is led by one of the top guards in the country, Khayla Pointer, who averages 18 points per game.

10. Iowa State —Hello, Cyclones! And rightfully so. Iowa State is waking up the nation with a 16-1 overall record, which is the first time in program history. So far, the Cyclones have taken down all of its ranked opponents that they've been tasked with, so far — Iowa, Iowa, Oklahoma and Kansas State. Its only blemish of the season comes against LSU. Iowa State is led by one of the most versatile players in the league, Ashley Joens who leads the Cyclones in points, rebounds, and free-throws.