NC State wins second straight ACC tournament title on Raina Perez’s game-winning shot

N.C. State senior guard Raina Perez hit a jumper from the free throw line with two seconds remaining on the clock, the game-winner to ice a second straight ACC tournament title for N.C. State in a 58-56 win over No. 1 seed Louisville.

Before that shot Perez, who started the game 2-for-2, had missed her previous six shots. With the big basket, her first since the first half, the Pack earned a second consecutive ACC title.

The shot that counted the most was nothing but net for the graduate senior.

After a 10-point fourth quarter comeback in the semifinals, the mountain wasn’t as high to climb for N.C. State in the ACC championship. The Wolfpack went on a 13-6 run, once again living life on the wild side.

N.C. State trailed by three heading into the fourth and by as many as eight, but Elissa Cunane hit two free throws to retake the lead, 55-54, for the first time in 10 minutes. Dana Evans put UL back in front with a floater. The Cardinals got the ball back after a miss, but the State defense forced a turnover.

Cunane was fouled with 46.8 left and calmly tied the game at 56 with her first free throw. She missed the second, giving the ball back to Louisville with 30 seconds remaining, but the Cardinals could not convert.

Here are updates from earlier in the game:

Louisville 43, N.C. State 40: End of third quarter

N.C. State went up five over Louisville, then went cold as the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run to retake the lead.

Through three quarters of action there were 12 lead changes between the two tops seeds. After a layup from Elissa Cunane, N.C. State missed its next five shots as Louisville battled back to go in front. A spinning layup by Elizabeth Dixon flipped the lead back in favor of the Cardinals heading into the final quarter.

NC State 26, Louisville 25: Halftime

Despite going on a 3:31 scoring drought, N.C. State led at the half over No. 1 seed Louisville. Luckily for the Wolfpack, the lid was also on the basket for the Cardinals, who went the final 2:45 of the second quarter without a basket.

The Wolfpack missed five straight field goals before Jada Boyd hit a 17-foot jumper from the top of the key to put N.C. State up 26-25. The Wolfpack defense forced four straight Louisville turnovers after the Cardinals took a 25-24 lead on a Hailey Van Lith three pointer. In a battle of the top two seeds, the lead changed seven times in the first half.

Louisville 16, NC State 15: End of first quarter

N.C. State scored the final four points of the first quarter and forced a Louisville turnover as the horn sounded to end the opening 10 minutes.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but N.C. State recovered to tie the game at nine on a Raina Perez three. Louisville led the entire first quarter, but State grabbed the momentum in the final seconds, getting consecutive baskets from Jakia Brown-Turner and Jada Boyd.

Pregame notes

In the first match up, N.C. State got a big night from Elissa Cunane (16 points), Brown-Turner (16), Jada Boyd (16) and Raina Perez (15). The Cardinals feature ACC Player of the Year Dana Evans, who scored 29 in the first match up in Kentucky. The Pack will start Cunane, Brown-Turner, Perez and seniors Kai Crutchfield and Kayla Jones.