RALEIGH, N.C. — Elissa Cunane scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and No. 9 North Carolina State beat No. 13 Florida State 68-51 on Thursday night.
Freshman guard Jakia Brown-Turner made three first-half 3-pointers and scored 11 of her 18 points before halftime as the Wolfpack (16-1, 5-1 ACC) got out to a 36-21 lead. Kayla Jones and Aislinn Konig each scored 10 points for N.C. State.
Kiah Gillespie scored 22 for Florida State (15-3, 4-3), but the Seminoles struggled against N.C. State's well-orchestrated defense and lost for the third time in their last five games. Nausia Woolfolk added 12 points for Florida State.
Cunane was 9 of 15 from the field, and with FSU having no post player to match her in size and skill, she recorded her 10th double-double. Cunane entered the game eighth nationally in double-doubles, seventh in field goal percentage (.634) and 17th in rebounds per game (10.6).
Cunane and Kayla Jones each made a pair of layups during a 15-2 run that gave N.C. State a 22-10 lead in the second minute of the second quarter. The Wolfpack led by double digits the rest of the way.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: Losing three out of five after starting 13-0 is troublesome for a team that has high aspirations. The Seminoles won their first four games against ranked teams this season and need to find a way to revive an offense that has been unproductive in two of the last three games.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack has rebounded nicely after suffering its first loss of the season on Jan. 9 at North Carolina. Following up a blowout win Sunday at Notre Dame with a defeat of a ranked foe shows that the misstep at North Carolina last week didn't shake the Wolfpack's confidence.
UP NEXT
Florida State: Visits Wake Forest on Thursday.
