GREENSBORO, N.C. — GREENSBORO, N.C. - NC State guard Raina Perez drained a jump shot with 2.1 seconds remaining to give the Pack a 58-56 win over Louisville Sunday afternoon and the 2021 ACC Championship.
The ACC title is the sixth in program history.
Elissa Cunane tied the game at 56 with a free throw and the Pack got a defensive stop at the other end to set Perez up for her late game heroics.
The graduate transfer from Cal State Fullerton came off a Cunane screen and both Louisville defenders stayed with the Pack's Unanimous First-Team All-Conference selection which left Perez open at the elbow and she buried the jumper to send NC State to its second consecutive ACC title.
The Pack looked to be in trouble early in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals scored the first five points of the final frame to take its largest lead of the game, 48-40, with 8:58 to play.
But NC State was not rattled as Kia Crutchfield immediately knocked down a corner three-pointer and Cunane hit two free throws to cut the deficit to three with 6:59 to go.
Louisville led 54-49 with 4:58 to go when the Pack would go on a 6-0 run to take a 55-54 lead on two Cunane free throws with 2:23 left.
Louisville's Dana Evans, the two-time ACC Player of the Year, answered with a lay-up to put the Cardinals back in front, but that proved to be Louisville's last points of the day as NC State held the Cards without a point for the final 1:59 of the game.
NC State led 26-25 at halftime. Neither team had a lead larger than five points in the opening 20 minutes and the second quarter had seven lead changes as neither team could get into a flow.
Cunane scored a game-high 20 points and added nine rebounds. She scored nine of her 20 points in the fourth quarter.
The Summerfield, N.C., native was named ACC Tournament MVP after scoring 70 points on 62 percent shooting and grabbing 27 rebounds in three tournament wins for the Pack.
Perez was next in scoring for the Pack with nine, while Jada Boyd added eight points and Jakia Brown-Turner finished with seven.
Kayla Jones led NC State with 10 rebounds.
Evans scored 15 points to lead Louisville in scoring, but the Pack's defense held her to a 7-for-21 shooting performance.
The Pack will return to action in two weeks when it begins play in the NCAA DI women's basketball tournament. The 2021 tournament will be held in San Antonio, Texas. The tournament selection show will be at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, March 15, on ESPN.