News & Lifestyle, On The Court

No. 8 NC State earns upset at top-ranked South Carolina

Photo Credit: Sean Rayford/AP

The 2020-21 NCAA women’s basketball season is young, but that young season early included a matchup of two of the premier teams currently in the collegiate ranks in No. 1 South Carolina and No. 8 North Carolina State.

When all was said and done for this game, it was not the result many outside of Wolfpack fans expected.

North Carolina State defeated Dawn Staley’s top-ranked Gamecocks by a final of 54-46 in a game that may be considered an early wake up call for South Carolina. It snapped a 29-game win streak for the Gamecocks.

Kayla Jones led the North Carolina State attack with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Elissa Cunane scored 14 points with six rebounds. Jakia Brown-Turner and Raina Perez each finished with 11 points with Brown-Turner contributing another 12 rebounds.

As for the Gamecocks, Laeticia Amihere and Zia Cooke each scored 11 points with Amihere also grabbing 15 rebounds. Aliyah Boston played 35 minutes and hauled in nine rebounds, but only tallied nine points.

While both teams struggled from 3-point range, free throws may have been the main difference. The Wolfpack were 10 of 12 from the line while the Gamecocks only went four of 11 from the charity stripe.

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