Notre Dame Fighting Irish at NC State Wolfpack

NC State women hold on to upset No. 2 Notre Dame 70-62

The Wolfpack showed enough toughness, too, to hang on for a huge upset and a rare loss for Notre Dame since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Dominique Wilson scored 18 points to help N.C. State beat Notre Dame 70-62 on Thursday night in the league opener for both teams, snapping the Fighting Irish's 35-game winning streak against ACC opponents.

"This is something that they'll cherish," Wolfpack coach Wes Moore said. "All night long on ESPN, that (score) is going to be going across the ticker. I may just go home and sit in front of the TV for an hour and watch it: there it goes again, there it goes again."

Yet the Wolfpack (11-3) never trailed, leading for nearly 39 minutes and running off a 16-0 burst spanning halftime to take a 19-point lead midway through the third quarter.

Notre Dame made a frantic fourth-quarter push behind Marina Mabrey to within five, but got no closer in a performance that coach Muffet McGraw said was "exactly what we deserved."

"They outhustled us, they outworked us," McGraw said. "They threw some punches early and we did not respond. We were back on our heels the entire game. Just really disappointed in the way we played, in the effort that we gave."

Miah Spencer finished with 17 points for the Wolfpack (11-3), who went 6 for 6 at the line in the final 70 seconds to secure the program's first win against a top-5 opponent in nearly five years.

"I felt like this year we came in believing that they were beatable and we can compete with anybody," Wilson said. "And we showed it."

Mabrey finished with 22 points for the Fighting Irish.

BIG PICTURE

Turner, Notre Dame's leading scorer at 15.9 points, finished with seven on 3-for-8 shooting before fouling out.

"We're trying to throw the ball inside and we couldn't complete a pass," McGraw said.

N.C. State: Simply put, this was a huge win for Moore, now in his fourth season. The Wolfpack patiently worked the clock, knocked down big shots and played with discipline to build that big lead, then showed enough composure and toughness to turn away Notre Dame's frantic fourth-quarter comeback attempt.

EVEN NUMBERS

N.C. State fought to a 37-all tie on the boards, an 11-all tie in second-chance points and outscored Notre Dame in points off turnovers (17-16). N.C. State also finished with the edge in fast-break points (11-7) also made 14 of 15 from the foul line despite coming in ranked 10th in the ACC in free-throw percentage (67 percent).

"Really in every category almost," Moore said, "we did what we needed to do."

SHE SAID IT

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish visit Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

N.C. State: Things don't get much easier for the Wolfpack. N.C. State travels to No. 7 Florida State on Tuesday.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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How can I watch Fighting Irish vs. Wolfpack?

• TV Channel: Fighting Irish vs Wolfpack 2021 College Basketball, week 8, is broadcasted on ACC Extra.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: Reynolds Coliseum

Location: Raleigh, NC
Attendance: 3,677 | Capacity: