The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jackets give up 10-point lead in fourth quarter
N.C. State rallies to earn spot in final against Louisville.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina State coach Wes Moore is thrilled to be back in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship as the Wolfpack look to defend their title.
But he knows his team needs to play better today against No. 5 Louisville if it hopes to repeat. The Cardinals beat Syracuse 72-59 in the other semifinal Saturday.
found a way to win, but I wouldn’t say we’re clicking by any means,” Moore said. “We’re going to have to match their intensity, and we’re going to have to execute a little bit better offensively and hopefully shoot the ball a little bit better because Louisville is going to score points.”
Elissa Cunane led the Wolfpack (19-2) with 23 points and nine rebounds, but they had to battle back from a 10-point, fourth-quarter defi- cit to beat Georgia Tech 66-61 on Saturday in the semifinals.
“We were doing our best to contain her,” Georgia Tech forward Lorela Cubaj, who finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, said of Cunane. “At the end of the day we’ve just got to do that for 40 minutes.”
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen chipped in with 17 points and five assists for the Yellow Jackets, who led most of the second half but went cold in the waning moments.
Georgia Tech (15-8) closed the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room with Cubaj and Lahtinen combining for seven of those points. The Yellow Jackets would stretch the lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter.
But the Wolfpack took the lead with 2:27 left.
“I really felt like the first half Georgia Tech just played harder than us,” Moore said. “They outscored us in fastbreak points, they outrebounded us, they had outscored us on second-chance points.”
Said Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner: “Really proud of how we fought hard today and gave ourselves a chance to win.”
The Jackets now wait to hear where they are seeded in the NCAA Tournament after finishing third in the ACC regular season.