Hilary Sigmon drives the lane for two of her 27 points on Tuesday night. Photo by Benjamin Robson.
The Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team fell short in a hard-fought, 70-63, contest on Tuesday evening against NC State. Senior Hilary Sigmon’s 27-point night started early as she collected the ball immediately after the tip-off, scoring an open lay up.
Sigmon shot lights out in the first half, as she went 6-6, 3-3 from behind the arc, and tallied 17 points.
“I was going off of their screens and playing off how they were playing. My team found me and I happened to have the hot hand this game.”
She was the only 49ers player in double digits for scoring in tonight’s loss, as Preseason All-Conference USA selection Lefty Webster was next on the squad with eight points, but was taken out early due to foul trouble.
Tip-off winner Kira Gordon snagged a game-best 12 rebounds, one shy of her career high, as she assisted Charlotte (1-1) to a 36-33 edge on the glass. 49ers Head Coach Cara Consuegra expressed the importance of rebounding for her team.
“It is always a big point of emphasis for us and we always try to outrebound our opponent by seven each game. I think we were outrebounding them for most of the game. NC State started to get on their players to crash the boards harder and I do not think we adjusted too well to that. We need to hold them to one shot per possession down the stretch of the game.”
Miah Spencer was one of the reasons why the Wolfpack went on an early hot streak, as she had the first nine points for the visitors. Carlee Schuhmacher scraped 14 of her 18 points in the paint tonight, two of which were final free throws that pushed the NC State to victory.
Tuesday’s rally in Halton Arena was a tight game throughout, with the largest lead by either side being when NC State (3-0) started to pile basket after basket.
With Spencer and Schuhmacher scoring all of the Wolfpack’s first 14 points, giving them a 14-8 lead, Charlotte’s Sigmon found a hot streak, as she connected on eight of her next 10 shots, rallying the 49ers to an 18-18 tie. Unfortunately, this would be the closest the home team would get to gaining the lead, as the Wolfpack began an 8-0 run.
Despite giving up a couple turnovers in the first half, the 49ers never gave up in their quest to victory. Coach Consuegra said, “The number one thing I saw in my team tonight was great fight. There were opportunities where NC State could have taken over the game, and we didn’t allow them to do that . . .We are going to be okay in the long run.”
Sigmon and Consuegra were on the same page tonight, as the senior showed fight in all of her 34-minute appearance. When it felt like the Wolfpack were about to take the game, it was Sigmon that Charlotte leaned on when it came to a “must score” possession. Charlotte trimmed the gap to four before the half, as senior Olivia Rankin scored four-straight points the closing minutes.
The Charlotte 49ers came out the locker room with a bang to begin the second half, as their aggressive defense helped lead them to an opening 6-0 run, four of which came from Sigmon. Her final lay up in the run was followed by a free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play, giving Charlotte the 43-42 advantage. This was the first lead for the Charlotte 49ers since Sigmon’s opening lay up off of the tip-off.
It didn’t take long for the Wolfpack to find their groove, as they would take the lead back with a 12-2 run with only 4:34 left. The 49ers used the last of their energy to battle back into the game with a 7-0 run of their own, putting Niner Nation on their feet, 65-63.
A long fought battle came to a gradual end, as Charlotte found themselves trailing with two minutes left, resulting in fouling to try and extend the game. With a couple of free throw attempts for the Wolfpack, they ended up taking another victory, ending the game 70-63.
The 49ers will look to rebound with their second home contest, Friday at 7 p.m. against Elon.