Jones, Cunane lead No. 8 NC State at Virginia, 75-64

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Kayla Jones scored 16 points, Elissa Cunane had 15 points and 13 rebounds and No. 8 North Carolina State made its first 13 3-point attempts in a 75-64 victory at Virginia on Sunday.

The Wolfpack (25-4, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) were 12 for 12 from beyond the arc in taking a 46-32 halftime lead. Jones hit her third 3 early in the third period. Kai Crutchfield missed with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the period.

Amandine Toi led Virginia (13-16, 8-10) with 13 points and Kylie Kornegay-Lucas had 11. The Cavaliers had won their previous five at John Paul Jones Arena.

N.C. State led by 54-34 after Konig's fourth 3-pointer early in the second half, but Virginia gradually closed to within 65-55 after Toi's third 3-pointer with 5:26 to play. They got to within 68-60 on a three-point play by Kornegay-Lucas with 1:46 left, but Jones converted a free throw, missed the second and Elissa Cunane scored off an offensive rebound to push the margin back to 11.

Aislinn Konig added 14 points and Jakia Brown-Turner had 12 for N.C. State. The Wolfpack matched their season high with 14 3-pointers (in 22 tries).

The game was played without an operational shot clock in the second half, so the public address announcer counted down the final 10 seconds of each possession.

BIG PICTURE

N.C. State: The Wolfpack have to hope their marksmanship from beyond the arc is a sign of good things to come now that the postseason is next. They had made just 30 of 114 3s in their previous six games, or 26.3%.

Virginia: The Cavaliers have forced more than 17 turnovers per game this season, and N.C. State had 16, but Virginia didn't do much with them, converting them into just 10 points.

UP NEXT

The Wolfpack, seeded second, will open its ACC Tournament play on Friday.

Virginia will play an opening-round game in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday.

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