Jones, No. 4 N.C. State women roll past Clemson 86-65
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Kayla Jones scored 21 points and No. 4 North Carolina State regrouped from an upset loss by beating Clemson 86-65 on Thursday.
Jakia Brown-Turner added 13 points for the Wolfpack, who had lost at unranked rival North Carolina last weekend. Against Clemson, N.C. State scored the first 12 points of the game on the way to a 17-2 lead in the opening 5 1/2 minutes.
Jones led that effort, outscoring the Tigers in the opening period (11-9) and tallying 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting by halftime.
N.C. State (13-2, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) finished the game shooting nearly 52% while making 10 of 21 3-pointers, securing a 12th straight win in the series with that streak now stretching back more than a decade.
Delicia Washington had 24 points and eight rebounds for Clemson (10-8, 5-8), which never recovered from its bad start. The Tigers trailed 28-9 by the end of the first quarter and got no closer than 13 again, finishing the game shooting 41%.
BIG PICTURE
Clemson: The Tigers are trying to play their way into the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons under Amanda Butler, and the program hadn’t gone since 2002 before her arrival. But this one got away from them quickly, with Washington ending up having to carry the offense in what amounted to a one-woman show. Clemson hasn’t beaten N.C. State since January 2011.
N.C. State: The past week had offered a pair of huge swings for the Wolfpack. First came a win at then-No. 1 Louisville, the team’s second road victory against a top-ranked team. Yet N.C State lost to the Tar Heels on Sunday, falling as a top-10 team to the Tar Heels for the third straight year. It was a much better offensive showing Thursday compared to the UNC loss, when the Wolfpack shot 39%, while N.C. State led the Tigers by as many as 27 points.
UP NEXT
Clemson: The Tigers host Wake Forest on Sunday, the first of (as of now) four straight home games to close the schedule.
N.C. State: Notre Dame visits the Wolfpack on Monday in the annual Play4Kay game that benefits the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
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