RALEIGH (AP) — Elissa Cunane scored 14 of her 24 points in the first half and No. 3 North Carolina State avoided the type of drama from the first meeting with Boston College by defeating the Eagles 76-57 on Sunday.

Raina Perez added 16 points, Jakia Brown-Turner notched 13 points and Jada Boyd had 10 points for the Wolfpack (10-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

N.C. State had its closest call of the season in last month’s 75-69 win at Boston College, rallying from 16 points down in the fourth quarter.
“Last time we played them, we didn’t play as well,” Perez said. “I just think we did really well in the first quarter and that got us going.”

The Wolfpack moved to a 10-0 record for the third year in a row.

Cunane made all nine of her shots from the field. She shot just 4-for-9 from the field Thursday night at Georgia Tech.

“I went into this game trying to finish more,” she said. “I’ve been working on trying to finish strong.”

Taylor Soule and Cameron Swartz each scored 14 points for Boston College (4-4, 0-4), which hadn’t played since Dec. 20 and lost its fourth game in a row. Ally VanTimmeren, who signed with the Eagles in November and became an early-entry enrollee, scored 10 points in her collegiate debut before fouling out with 4:30 to play.

Boston College’s Makayla Dickens, a guard who posted 20 points in the Dec. 13 meeting, was held to four points on 2-for-12 shooting. She had six 3-pointers in the first matchup, but was 0-for-5 from deep in the rematch.

“We defended better,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “We scored about the same amount of points. We just held them to a lot less.”

N.C. State led 38-29 at halftime and then tallied the first six points of the third quarter.

The Wolfpack’s 20 turnovers and Boston College’s 16 rebounds provided reasons for Moore’s concern.

“The good news is we won, and we’ll be able to pop this film in and learn some things,” he said.

Cunane scored 10 points in the game’s opening 12 ½ minutes.

N.C. State built a 10-point edge as Boston College made only one field goal during the final 6 ½ minutes of the second quarter, resulting in the Eagles’ 33.3-percent shooting to go with 10 turnovers in the half.

“We played hard and we played with our hearts for the majority of the game,” Boston College coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “I just don’t think we always played smart out there, especially when we’re playing the No. 3 team in the country.”

The Wolfpack defeated the Eagles for the ninth straight meeting.

ASSISTING MATTERS
Perez entered the weekend with the ACC’s best assist-to-turnover ratio. She provided a season-high nine assists Sunday.
She credited those numbers with getting the ball to the right places – such as into Cunane’s hands.

“You’ve got to get her the ball,” Perez said. “She can finish.”

Perez is a transfer from Cal State Fullerton.

“She fit in from Day 1,” Moore said. “She has been a real blessing for our team, where we needed a veteran point guard.”

0-FOR-4
Boston College is 0-4 in league play for the first time since 2015-16, but for the third time in a seven-season stretch. Three of those results this season have come against opponents holding national rankings.

BIG PICTURE
Boston College: The Eagles entered the game with a nation-leading 84.7 percent rate on free throws. They didn’t attempt a free throw until nearly 15 minutes into the game (4-for-6 in the first half). They ended up 11-for-18 on foul shots.
N.C. State: The team has won 10 consecutive games against ACC opponents. Three of those victories have come vs. Boston College.

UP NEXT
Boston College: Home vs. Notre Dame on Thursday night.
N.C. State: At Virginia Tech on Thursday night.