Clemson won its first game in the ACC Tournament since 2003 and is now 5-10 when facing NC State in the conference tournament. In the 2003 event, the Lady Tigers defeated Maryland in the opening round. Clemson is now 28-28 all-time in the ACC Tournament.
Lady Tiger Head Coach Cristy McKinney won her first game in five tries against her former coach Kay Yow. McKinney played for Coach Yow at NC State from 1975-79.
Thursday's game was the first overtime game for Clemson this season. The Lady Tigers had last played an overtime game during the 2005-05 game and had last won a game in overtime on Dec. 3, 2004 when they defeated South Carolina, 87-79, in Columbia, SC.
Clemson is now 4-1 all-time in overtime games played in the ACC Tournament.
Five Lady Tigers scored in double figures on Thursday afternoon against NC State. Whitney Hood and D'Lesha Lloyd led the team with 12, while Lele Hardy and Morganne Campbell each scored 11 and Moreemi Davis had 10. It was only the third time this season that five Clemson players scored at least 10 points. The other times were against Duquesne on Nov. 14 and Charleston Southern on Dec. 16.
The five blocked shots recorded by NC State's Khadijah Whittington were the most by a Clemson opponent in the ACC Tournament. Dawn Royster of North Carolina had previously had four in the quarterfinals of the 1984 tournament.
Individual Notes
After missing her first free throw attempt of the game, sophomore Morganne Campbell made seven straight, including six in overtime, from the line. Campbell was also the hero of Clemson's last-second victory at Florida State to conclude the regular season.
Campbell's seven free throws were a career high for a single game and her eight attempts were also a personal best.
Lele Hardy was just one rebound and one assist shy of a triple double. The sophomore scored 11 points with nine rebounds and nine assists.
Hardy tallied five steals on Thursday against NC State and now has 176 in her two years at Clemson. She is now averaging a school-record 2.93 per game.
D'Lesha Lloyd scored in double figures for the first time since she had 10 against Duke on Feb. 13. The senior has now totaled 1,029 in her career to move into 18th place on the Clemson career-scoring list. She moved past Melinda Ashworth and now trails Natasha Anderson, who scored 1,033 from 1995-99.
Lloyd also had a double-double with 10 rebounds, just her third of her season.
Moreemi Davis scored in double figures for just the second time this season. She had 10 against Charleston Southern on Dec. 16.
Updated Clemson Notes
Clemson has an 18-9 record in quarterfinal games of the ACC Tournament, prior to the inception of the current format. The last time the Lady Tigers played in a quarterfinals contest after winning a first-round game was in 2003. Clemson faced 2nd-seeded North Carolina that year, falling 80-71.
Clemson and North Carolina have met 11 times in the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels have won seven of those games, including the most recent in 2003. The Lady Tigers last defeated North Carolina in the ACC Tournament in 2001, winning by a 75-57 margin in the quarterfinals as the number-two seed.
In the regular season match-up between Clemson and North Carolina, the Tar Heels won 79-57 in Chapel Hill. Sthefany Thomas led the Lady Tigers in the game with 14 points, while Lele Hardy had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
