NC State Falls to Iowa 79-61 in Sweet 16

#2 seed Iowa defeated the #3 seed NC State 79-61 today in the Sweet 16.

It simply wasn’t the Wolfpack’s day.

They couldn’t find a rhythm shooting the ball (34.8% FG), and they definitely couldn’t find a way to disrupt Iowa’s rhythm on offense (54.4%).

NC State specifically didn’t have an answer for National Player of the Year Megan Gustafson, who finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds. As silly as that stat line is, it’s actually below her season average (28 & 13.5).

The Wolfpack went into halftime with a 13-point deficit looming over their heads, but with 4:43 left in the 3rd Quarter, Kai Crutchfield could have hit a layup to make it a 3-point game. Unfortunately she missed the gimme, and the Hawkeyes ran down the court and hit a three, making it a 8-point lead.

NC State wouldn’t get that close again.

Redshirt Graduate Senior Kiara Leslie finished with 16 points (6-18) and 9 rebounds. Freshman Elissa Cunane had 14 points (6-19) and 11 rebounds. Senior DD Rogers had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Junior Aislinn Konig had 10 points (2-4 3PT) and 5 assists.

No one wants to lose in the NCAA Tournament, but the Wolfpack have every reason to hold their head high. On paper, they should have never made it this far. NC State lost 4 players to season-ending injuries, and 3 of them were starters.

Despite the odds being never in their favor, the Wolfpack won 28 games, which is tied for the 2nd most in school history. They made it to the Sweet 16 for the 13th time in school history.

It would have been easy for this team’s morale and confidence to have crumbled at many points this season, but these ladies were resilient, and someone was always ready to be the next woman up.

8 coaches will lead their team to the Elite 8, and 1 of them will win the National Championship, but I don’t believe any of them did anything as impressive as what Wes Moore did in 2018-19.

PHOTO CREDIT