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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Camille Hobby pulled up from midrange toward the end of the fourth quarter. By that point, the game was essentially over. Syracuse trailed by almost 20 points. After Hobby missed the jumper, the Orange miscommunicated on the rebound, and Hobby enjoyed another bucket inside the paint.

The uncontested lay-in was just two of 54 points inside the paint — four less than Syracuse’s total — that crushed the No. 9 seed Orange (18-12, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) in a 83-58 defeat to No. 8 seed NC State (20-10, 9-9 ACC) in the ACC Tournament. Syracuse, sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble, now awaits its fate. The Wolfpack completely dominated inside, using centers River Baldwin and Hobby, who combined for 34 points. NC State often drove straight to the glass or moved the ball around to create openings in the paint. The Wolfpack shot 61% from the floor while the Orange were held to just 33%, partly because it didn’t need to shoot many outside shots.

“They scored a lot in the paint, and they out-rebounded us by a lot,” Georgia Woolley said. “They had almost 20 more rebounds than us, so I think they really just dominated us down low, and we didn’t have an answer for them today in that respect.”

Following a quick 6-0 Syracuse run to start the game, Jada Boyd positioned herself down low working against multiple SU defenders. She spun, getting to the hoop and making the easy bucket to kick-start an 8-0 run for NC State. Then, Baldwin had the ball near the free-throw line before passing it off to Jakia Brown-Turner, who used her position inside to easily score, giving NCSU a 15-10 lead.

For the remainder of the first half, Syracuse kept pace with the Wolfpack, only trailing by six at the break. But, it could never address the paint. Baldwin consistently scored down low, notching 10 points in the first 12 minutes of the game before Hobby took control. In the first half, the Wolfpack scored 20 points down low, often relying on Baldwin, who led all scorers in the first half and shot 5-of-5 from the field. Baldwin finished the game a perfect 7-of-7.

“We feel like we need to do that,” NC State head coach Wes Moore said. “(Baldwin and Hobby) are very efficient inside, and when we get them the ball, they score.”

On NC State’s first field goal in the third quarter, Saniya Rivers passed to Hobby down low. The pass was deflected and almost stolen, but Hobby corralled the ball and scored on the right block. Hobby had another bucket as Aziaha James penetrated into the left side of the lane before dishing it off across the paint. Then, Hobby found Boyd down low, which was the third straight basket inside the paint in the early part of the third quarter.

Similarly, Baldwin set herself at the right block in the third quarter. Off of an inbounds play, Baldwin posted up down low. With multiple Syracuse defenders around her, she still navigated through to score near the basket. It was a simple inbounds play that happened again in the fourth quarter.

“I thought River played really well,” Moore said. “Seven for seven from the field, so very efficient there.”

Moore said he was pleased with Baldwin’s ability to corral the defensive rebounds, especially as the Wolfpack continued to build and maintain their lead in the second half. He added it was “comforting” to know that if Syracuse missed — which it did frequently — Baldwin would be there. Baldwin notched six rebounds in the afternoon, contributing to NC State’s 41 total rebounds that allowed it to get more possessions and scoring opportunities.

A fair chunk of the inside points came in transition and on the fast break. The Orange had only 10 turnovers, a significant improvement from the first meeting between the teams. Georgia Woolley had her pass stolen by Madison Hayes at the top of the key. Hayes went coast-to-coast for the easy layup. Hayes was just one of five double-digit scorers for the Wolfpack.

“This is their stage,” Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said of NCSU’s offensive dominance. “You’re talking about the team that’s been here and won it three times in a row. We were just a young team that all of our announcers called mid-majors, not good enough. We had to try to dethrone the triple threat.”

In the second half, the lead only swelled with the help of 34 points inside the paint. After the third quarter media timeout, Legette-Jack called a timeout shortly after. She saw two more buckets down low. Rivers drove herself without much defense from the Orange. And on a fast break, James found Hayes on a 2-on-1 fast break with a bucket down low.

“We had our backs against the wall… we really tried and gave it our best effort,” Legette-Jack said. “And the best team won today, and that’s the truth.”

Published on March 2, 2023 at 6:01 pm

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