Indiana ends NC State’s season with a 73-70 Sweet 16 win
N.C. State was sweet once again, just not elite.
For the third consecutive time, the Wolfpack made it to the Sweet 16, looking to make to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history.
Once again, though, N.C. State, the No. 1 seed in the Mercado Region, got turned away.
Instead of the Wolfpack, it will be the Indiana Hoosiers advancing to the next round. Indiana relied once again on its strong defense, defeating N.C. State, 73-70. Elissa Cunane’s shot attempt from 3 would have tied it, but it fell short, punching Indiana’s ticket to the Elite Eight.
The final possession looked a little rushed for the Wolfpack and for good reason: Coach Wes Moore used his final timeout with 13 seconds remaining. Indiana followed by calling a timeout of its own to advance the ball. Moore burned a timeout he could have used to set up a final shot, and it’s something he regretted terribly.
“I messed up and called a timeout there with about 13 seconds left,” Moore said. “Shouldn’t have done that. Should have saved that and we maybe would have gotten a little bit better look that last possession.”
Point guard Raina Perez drove the length of the court and found herself deep in the paint. Perez, who finished with 17 points, kicked the ball out to Cunane, who in a rush, threw up a desperation shot attempt that fell short.
Cunane struggled at times but still finished with 15 points. Ali Patberg, one of four Hoosiers in double figures, led Indiana with 17 points.
Jada Boyd led N.C. State with a game-high 18 points, but she fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Body scored the first seven points of the game as N.C. State jumped out to an early 7-0 lead before the Hoosiers got it going.
A fighting chance
The Wolfpack trailed most the second half, including falling behind by 13 in the fourth. But N.C. State cut it to seven after a 3 from Perez with 2:37 remaining and four after a 3 from Boyd with 2:25 showing on the clock. The Wolfpack eventually went on an 8-0 run to trim the lead to two, but Cunane missed a close attempt under the basket and the Wolfpack had to foul the rest of the way.
Cunane said she has to make that play late in games.
“Yeah, it wasn’t like exactly the look we planned for. But I did get a down low, which is what Coach Moore drew up for me, to get the ball down low. I just didn’t execute it,” Cunane said. “It was a good look. They were doubling all game. I had a little double there. I could have finished that. So it was the look we were looking for. I got it inside, just was unable to execute that.”
The Wolfpack finished its season at 23-2, leaving San Antonio earlier than expected in a season when the team reached new heights. N.C. State was a No. 1 seed in the tournament for the first time, but ran into a brick wall in the form of the Indiana defense. The Pack was the first team to score more than 50 points against the Hoosiers in the tournament, but Indiana did enough defensively to get N.C. State out of a groove offensively.
“They did a great job, made it hard on us to run things offensively,” Moore said. “Obviously, they executed well on the offensive end.”
The Pack turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 20 points for the Hoosiers.
“Turnovers were definitely a big reason why they won this game,” Cunane said. “We knew they were going to have good pressure and execution from the jump.”
No comeback this time
In a tournament in which N.C. State had played its best in the third quarter, Indiana wouldn’t allow that to happen Saturday.
The Wolfpack made big comebacks in the ACC tournament semifinals and title game, and it looked like that could happen again when Kai Crutchfield opened the fourth with a 3. That cut the lead back to single digits, but the Hoosiers countered with a 6-0 run to go up 13. N.C. State made it interesting in the final minute, but IU hit enough free throws to advance. Even down double figures, Cunane believed another comeback was in the works.
“I never doubted that we could win that game until the buzzer went off,” Cunane said. “I think the team never doubted each other, too. We all had each other’s backs in the huddles, knowing we could come back; we’ve done it multiple times this season. We didn’t start off too hot in any of the games in any the NCAA tournament, I don’t think the ACC tournament we started off hot. We knew we were going to come back in the second half. We made a run for it. It just fell short. But never once doubted this team.”
The Wolfpack connected on four of its final five field goals, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. N.C. State actually outshot the Hoosiers from the floor — 50% to 48% — and from 3 (47% to 14%), but the Wolfpack only attempted seven free throws, all in the second half.
“Indiana, they took care of the ball better. They did a better job on the boards,” Moore said. “Consequently, even though we maybe shoot a little better, they got more opportunities and took advantage of that.”
N.C. State came into the game 4-0 all-time against Indiana, but saw that and its 11-game win streak come to an end inside the Alamodome.
“I’m proud of my players, all they’ve done this year, all they’ve gone through,” Moore said. “I’m proud of them today. I was proud of the way they competed.”
Moore sounded like a coach who has had enough of stops at the Sweet 16.
“We’re going to get over the hump,” Moore said. “We’ve got to get over the hump. We have to keep putting ourselves in this position and hopefully close the deal and take advantage of it.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Indiana ends NC State’s season with a 73-70 Sweet 16 win."
