#8 Wolfpack Top Orange

Thursday, February 27

Raleigh, NC

8 pm

Syracuse University

15-13,9-8ACC

NC State

24-4,13-4ACC

Syracuse

NC State

2/27/2020 10:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. - Syracuse ended the road portion of the regular season Thursday with a 69-60 loss to No. 8 NC State (24-4, 13-4 ACC) in Raleigh, N.C. Kiara Lewis recorded her second consecutive 20-point game in the defeat and Emily Engstler scored her 250th point of the year. The Orange (15-13, 9-8 ACC) return to the hardwood Sunday afternoon to host Boston College (17-11, 10-7 ACC) at the Carrier Dome in the final regular-season game of the year.

"NC State is a quick, athletic team. They were first to the glass today and it didn't help that we missed a lot of shots," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "They did what they do. They have a lot of balance and they scored a lot of points with other players."

Of Note:

Kiara Lewis' game-high 20 points took her over the 500-point mark for the year, a career-best for the redshirt junior. It's her ninth time dropping 20 this season and marks the third time this year she's had back-to-back 20-point outings. Lewis scored 24 against Notre Dame last Sunday.
Engstler's 250th point came thanks to a nine-point outing for the sophomore. She added five rebounds.
Amaya Finklea-Guity is just shy of her 600th career point after scoring four tonight. She'll enter Sunday with 595 points.
NC State recorded the first basket of the game and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the night.
The Wolfpack had four players score in double digits, Aislinn Konig leading her team with 13 points. Kayla Jones had a game-high 14 rebounds.

How it happened:

Syracuse and the Wolfpack went tit-for-tat for the first half of the opening quarter until a 5-0 push gave NC State a 15-9 lead. The Wolfpack then strung together a couple back-to-back baskets to take a 25-16 lead into the second quarter. Elissa Cunane came out strong and paced the game with eight points, going 2-for-2 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in four minutes of play.
'Cuse used an 8-2 run in the opening moments of the second to come within five, 29-24, but the celebrations were short lived as NC State responded with a 9-2 run of their own, their push widening their lead to 38-26 midway through the frame. Syracuse ended the second quarter with a 7-2 run to bring the game within seven, 40-33.
Kiara Lewis started to heat up in the second quarter, scoring seven points en route to becoming the first player on the floor to hit double-digits, her 12 points leading the game. NC State controlled the rebound game, out-grabbing the Orange 25-12. They also shot an impressive 50 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. Syracuse's defense recorded three steals and a block while forcing 10 turnovers. The Orange offense shot for 40 percent in the half.
Syracuse continued to chip away at NC State's lead and came close to overtaking the Wolfpack three minutes into the third quarter thanks to a 7-0 run, 42-40, but a 11-3 push by NC State kept 'Cuse at bay and down 61-48 heading into the final frame.
The Orange outscored NC State 12-8 in the fourth stanza and ended on a 8-2 run, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit, Syracuse losing by nine and recording it's third-straight loss in the series.

Up Next:
Syracuse plays its final regular-season game Sunday against Boston College at 4 p.m. (Regional Sports Network, YES Network in Syracuse). The Orange will celebrate the 2020 graduating class of Brooke Alexander, Elemy Colomé, Gabrielle Cooper, Whisper Fisher, Kiara Lewis and Digna Strautmane in a pregame ceremony. Tickets to Sunday's game are $5 online.

To celebrate the final weekend under the current Dome roof, 1,500 Carrier Dome replica tins will be given to fans at gates A and D Sunday while supplies last. Fans unable to make it out to the game can order their own Dome tin replica here.

To stay updated on the Syracuse Orange women's basketball team, follow @CuseWBB on Twitter and Instagram.