BOX SCORE
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson was defeated by No. 7 NC State at Littlejohn Coliseum on Thursday. Although they had three double-digit scorers on the night, the Tigers fell to the Wolfpack 79-60.
Clemson (7-14, 3-7) knocked down six 3-pointers, but NC State (20-1, 9-1) sank 14 shots from deep. The Tigers shot 37.9 percent from the field, and the Wolfpack finished with a shooting percentage of 41.2. NC State also went 9-for-11 at the free throw line and pulled down 42 rebounds. As for Clemson, the Tigers corralled 39 boards and tallied 24 points in the paint. The Wolfpack’s 20 points off turnovers proved to be critical.
Shania Meertens led Clemson with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. Twelve of her points came in the second half. Meertens also tabbed three rebounds and three assists. Down low, Amari Robinson finished with 10 points and five boards, and Kobi Thornton picked up 10 points and two boards. For NC State, Aislinn Konig recorded a game-high 23 points. She sank seven 3-pointers.
A competitive first quarter was capped off by a Clemson buzzer beater. NC State led 22-18 through one period of play, but Robinson scored on a putback in the final seconds of the first. Also of note, Clemson’s Mikayla Hayes netted her first 3-ball of the season in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Tigers evened the score at 22 points apiece by recording the first four points of the second quarter, but the Wolfpack then went on a 10-o run to regain momentum.
NC State outscored Clemson 15-10 in the second quarter and led 37-28 at halftime. The Wolfpack went on to lead 62-45 entering the fourth quarter, and NC State ultimately won 79-60.
The Tigers will next head to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels (15-6, 10-2) at Carmichael Arena. Set to take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2, the game will air on ACC Network Extra.
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