GREENSBORO, NC – North Carolina coach Wes Moore is delighted to be back in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game as the Wolfpack want to defend their title.
Elissa Cunane had another great game with 23 points and nine rebounds, and third-placed Wolfpack had to fight back from a four-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win Georgia Tech 66-61 Saturday in the semifinals.
Moore knows his team will have to play better Sunday against No. 5 Louisville if he hopes to repeat. The Cardinals beat Syracuse 72-59 on Saturday in the other semifinal.
“We’ve found a way to win, but I wouldn’t say we’re clicking by any means,” Moore said. “We’ll have to match his intensity and we’ll have to run a little better offensively and hopefully throw the ball a little better because Louisville will score points.”
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 17 points and five assists for the Yellow Jackets (15-8), who led most of the second half, but went cold in the dwindling moments.
Cunane finished 8th from 13 from the field and helped seal the victory with two free-range clutches with 8.8 seconds left, and finished 7th from 8 from the foul line for NC State ( 19-2).
“We were doing our best to contain her,” said Georgia Tech striker Lorela Cubaj, who finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. “At the end of the day, we have to do it for 40 minutes. The last four minutes were crucial and he appeared. “
Georgia Tech closed out the first half with a 9-2 run and got a 33-28 lead in the locker room with Cubaj and Lahtinen combining seven of those points. The yellow jackets would stretch the lead to 10 at the start of the fourth quarter.
But the Wolfpack didn’t panic, taking the lead with 2:27 left of Kai Crutchfield and Jakia Brown-Turner’s 3s and baskets attached to Cunane’s low post.
“We needed something to provoke our mojo,” Crutchfield said.
Kayla Jones added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Wolfpack.
“I really felt like the first half of Georgia Tech played more than us,” Moore said. “They beat us in quick break points, they beat us, they beat us in second chance points. … They just hit us in the mouth and took us, and the second half we competed much better. It’s the “They find a way to win.”
Nell Fortner, Georgia Tech coach, said: “We are very proud of how hard we fought today and gave each other a chance to win.”
GREAT IMAGE
Georgia Tech: Cubaj proved difficult to stop on the low post and will be a problem in the NCAA tournament with his wide range of moves, including an ingenious hook shot. Lahtinen is a strong striker and made 8 of 11 shots from the field. “I think they have a chance to run” in the tournament, Moore said.
NC State: Cunane was strong inside, but the Wolfpack also got big plays from Crutchfield and Brown-Turner in the fourth quarter. They both finished with 10 points.
THE GREAT TOURNAMENT OF CUNANE
Cunane, who grew up near Greensboro, is in the middle of another fantastic ACC tournament. He scored 27 points and nine rebounds in a 68-55 win over Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals, connecting on 10 of 15 shots from the ground and passing 7 of 8 from the foul line.
“It’s tournament time, so I definitely stepped up my game,” Cunane said. “I know there aren’t a lot of people who can protect me if my teammates get the ball to me and we’ve been throwing it really well from the outside, so the center is open.”
ADVICES
NC State won then-No. 1 ranked Louisville 74-60 last month. … Georgia Tech fired just 3 of 13 from the field of play. … Georgia Tech only attempted six free throws in the game.
UNTIL NEXT
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets will wait to find out where they are ranked in the next NCAA tournament after finishing third in the conference regular season standings.
NC State: The Wolfpack seeks its second consecutive ACC title on Sunday.
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