No. 5 NC State women’s hoops rolls past Clemson, 79-52

It’s a game of runs, and NC State put together a few big ones against Clemson on Thursday night to remove any thoughts of an upset. In the first quarter, it was an 12-0 State run that pushed its advantage from 13-9 to 25-9 over the last four minutes of the period.

After taking a 13-point edge into halftime, NC State came out in the third and put together an 11-0 run, and then a 12-0 run a bit later. The result was a 31-point lead heading into the fourth, full laugher status in effect.

It could have been worse for Clemson, given how NC State shot the ball and controlled the boards, but all those turnovers (21 in total) put a substantial dent into the Wolfpack’s offensive efficiency. Of course, the Tigers turned the ball over 23 times, so State’s sloppiness wasn’t an issue.

Jada Boyd led State in points and rebounds with 18 and eight. Diamond Johnson scored 15 on 5-10 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds and handing out four assists. Raina Perez scored eight points and had eight assists. Elissa Cunane finished with eight points but logged only 15 minutes in part because of foul trouble, but also because the team didn’t need her down the stretch.

NC State is 3-0 in the ACC and has had no trouble whatsoever with a few of the ACC’s worst teams, but it’s about to get a whole lot more serious next month, beginning with a game against the Tar Heels a week from tonight.