'Everybody Loves Raina': No. 1 NC State squeaks by No. 5 Notre Dame with late steal to reach Elite Eight

No. 1 seed N.C. State is in its first Elite Eight of the women's NCAA tournament since 1998, thanks to a defensive stand in the final 20 seconds that turned into its first lead since the second quarter.

Raina Perez stole the ball in the backcourt and laid it in with ease to put the Wolfpack up by one on No. 5 seed Notre Dame in the Bridgeport region. She sealed the 66-63 win with free throws in the final second after a 3-point attempt by Notre Dame failed to fall.

"She turned her back, the ball was still stuck on her hip, so I went for it, got the steal, made the lay-up," said Perez, who returned for a fifth year. "And those free throws, we practice free throws every day in practice, and we're always in tough situations. I just knocked them down."

The Wolfpack (32-3) had not advanced past the Sweet 16 in their last five tries and were 1-13 in the round all time. They will play No. 2 seed UConn, a Sweet 16 winner over Indiana, in Bridgeport on Monday.

N.C. State had an opportunity to tie the game with 36 seconds left when Maya Dodson fouled Elissa Cunane. She made one of the two free throws and Dodson secured the rebound. Perez then stole the ball from Dara Mabrey near midcourt. Wolfpack coach Wes Moore noted Perez has had clutch moments before and compared her first to a musical icon — "Beyonce is big, but Raina blows her away" — and next to a 1990s TV one.

"Unbelievable kid, personality, and then obviously — that show, 'Everybody Loves Raymond'?" Moore said. "It's now 'Everybody Loves Raina,' OK? It's going to be a series for a long time, just unbelievable."

Wolfpack defense stands strong late

Notre Dame led nearly the entire way and went into halftime up 38-30 behind 15 points from freshman point guard Olivia Miles. Moore said he told his team that Notre Dame's hot shooting couldn't last and that his squad had been in similar predicaments before.

"I'm normally a worrier and can get down," Moore said, "but I just felt like — I felt like they maybe hung their heads a little bit in the first half and maybe even at halftime, and I just needed to remind them, we've been down so many times and they always find a way to get it done. We've come too far."

Notre Dame still led 53-46 going into the final quarter when N.C. State turned up the defensive pressure with a full-court press and an eye for forcing stops any way possible. Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey credited N.C. State for the adjustment and double team on Miles.

"When you have so much pressure, I think it just kind of weighed on her," Ivey said. "I feel like she was just trying to figure things out. She was trying to read while she was trying to run the offense and had different players on her, so she saw a lot of different things."

Miles said she "could have done a way better job of getting my team more organized." Ivey starts two freshmen and a sophomore and brought the Irish back into the tournament after missing out in 2021.

Crutchfield, Cunane power Wolfpack at end

Kai Crutchfield forced a steal in the backcourt and drew the foul from Miles for an and-1 to pull within two, 53-51, in a glimpse of what was to come. Notre Dame went on a 6-0 run with layups by three different players and the Wolfpack answered on a Crutchfield bucket and four free throws by Cunane to pull within two again, 59-57. They went basket-for-basket until N.C. State scored the final seven points.

"We knew that we kept getting close, and then we would make a mistake, like a turnover or a bad pass and wouldn't get a defensive stop," Cunane said. "I think we kept telling ourselves we can get those defensive stops to keep getting closer."

Cunane, a projected first-round WNBA draft pick, had a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. Crutchfield had 14 points and four steals, the largest difference-maker for this senior-heavy squad. Perez also had four steals and four other players notched individual steals for the team's total of 12, compared to Notre Dame's five. Five players scored between five and nine points in a balanced scoring effort.

Notre Dame controlled game until final seconds

The Fighting Irish (24-9) appeared to have the upset if not in the bag, close to sealing it off. They shot 50% as freshman Miles continued her dazzling highlight assists in this tournament. She was 9-of-19 for a team-high 21 points with six rebounds and six assists.

But their 16 turnovers created easy points for N.C. State and they happened at pivotal times late. They blocked more shots (6-1), hit two more baskets (27-25), made just as many 3-pointers (five) and stayed about even on the boards (-1). They were 4-of-5 on free throws to N.C. State's 11-of-14.