Historic NC State season ends in dramatic fashion. Wolfpack falls to UConn in Elite 8
When UConn needed her, the best player on the floor — and maybe the nation — showed up.
Paige Bueckers scored eight straight points in overtime, leading the Huskies to a 91-87 double overtime win over N.C. State in the Elite Eight.
Bueckers, who won nearly every individual award as a freshman, finished with 21 points and returns to her home state for a shot at a National Championship. She hit two clutch free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining to seal it. Bueckers had 8 in the first overtime. Her teammate, Christyn Williams was the hero in the second overtime, scoring a big layup with 21 seconds remaining.
“We needed to get it out of her hands,” N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said. “And tonight we were going to trap her some, try to ice her on one side of the floor, and we just didn’t get it done.”
UConn extends its streak of consecutive Final Four appearances to 14.
The last time N.C. State made it to the Final Four, they needed to go through the Huskies, and they did. History did not repeat itself.
Wild finish in regulation
Bueckers hit a jumper from the baseline to give UConn a two-point lead with 1:37 remaining. On the ensuing N.C. State possession, Diamond Johnson missed a driving layup.
After Bueckers put UConn up two, Cunane tied the game with a layup with less than a minute remaining. Olivia Nelson-Ododa then missed two from the line, setting up the last 26.6 of a tied game.
Kai Crutchfield missed a 3 at the buzzer that would have won it for the Pack in regulation.
Extra hoops
UConn was previously 0-for-5 in overtime games in the NCAA tournament.
In the first extra period, Bueckers scored four in a row to put the Huskies up one, 69-68.
Crutchfield made up for her missed 3 at the end of regulation to give the Pack a one-point lead, but it was Bueckers again, calmly knocking down a pair from the line to put the Huskies back in front by one. Aaliyah Edwards’ layup moments later put UConn ahead by three, 73-70, with 39.9 remaining.
Jones scored on a driving layup for State to make it a one-point game, but Azzi Fudd hit two more from the foul line to push the lead back to three with 28.3 remaining.
Crutchfield was fouled shooting a 3, but hit just 2 of 3 from the line, making it a 75-74 UConn lead with 18 seconds remaining. Bueckers calmly drained it with 6.2 to play.
N.C. State head coach Wes Moore drew up the perfect out of bounds play and Jakia Brown-Turner nailed a corner 3 to send the game into double overtime.
“Well, we know everyone on our team can shoot, including her,” Brown-Turner said about the clutch shots she and Clutchfield hit. “She was open, we ran a play specifically for her, and she took a shot. I took the shot, I was open.”
UConn pulled ahead by as many as five in overtime. But another Crutchfield 3 and a Cunane layup, made it a two-point game. N.C. State turned the ball back over to UConn with 1:16 remaining. Bueckers found Williams cutting to the basket, who was fouled by Jada Boyd.
Williams, who finished with 21 points, hit one of two, once again making it a three-point lead.
Boyd rebounded a Raina Perez miss and was fouled on the putback attempt. Boyd hit one of two and Williams scored again, extending the lead to four.
Brown-Turner drove to the hoop for a basket with 10.1 left in the game. Williams got free for the last four points to seal the win for UConn.
The game was the first double overtime game in the Elite Eight or later in the NCAA tournament. N.C. State is the first No. 1 seed to be eliminated from the tournament so far.
Memorable season
The Wolfpack’s 13-game win streak came to an end. N.C. State was also seeking its 10th win over a nationally-ranked opponent. UConn, ranked No. 5 in the nation, improved its all-time record to 7-2 over the Wolfpack. The Huskies have a 4-1 edge in NCAA tournament matchups.
N.C. State made plenty of history this season, but didn’t have one more trick in its bag. The Pack won the ACC regular-season title for the first time since 1990 and captured a third straight ACC tournament title.
All the upperclassmen said the goal this year was to finally make it beyond the Sweet 16 after three straight failed trips. They took care of that on Saturday, but the Final Four still eludes them.
“This journey has been incredible, and this team has done so much and accomplished so much,” Cunane said. “Although this is hurtful right now, I am proud of all that we’ve done this season, and even to be playing in this game. I couldn’t be more proud of the team.”
The window for a shot at a national title might not get this open again. Wes Moore will have to replace Elissa Cunane, the team’s leading scorer; Kai Crutchfield, their best defender; Raina Perez, the big play point guard; and Kayla Jones, the player whom Moore called the glue of the team. Jakia Brown-Turner, who will return, led N.C. State with 20 points. Cunane ended her career with 18 points in her final game, while Jones and Crutchfield each scored 12.
For the third time, N.C. State was a higher-seeded team facing UConn, but the Huskies looked right at home inside Total Mortgage Arena, located 77 miles from their campus in Storrs.
“We knew it would be hard coming in,” Brown-Turner said. “Getting this far in general is hard. I know everyone was saying that it was UConn’s backyard or whatever, but we just came out, played for each other, and we gave it all we had.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Historic NC State season ends in dramatic fashion. Wolfpack falls to UConn in Elite 8."
