No. 14 NC State beats Syracuse 79-63 in ACC quarterfinals

Mar 7, 2014, 04:56 pm

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Markeisha Gatling scored a career-high 28 points before leaving with an injury, helping No. 14 North Carolina State beat Syracuse 79-63 in Friday's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals.

Kody Burke added 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Wolfpack (25-6), who trailed 48-39 before going on a 25-1 run fueled by Gatling's 14 points.

The 6-foot-5 senior left with 8:19 left after injuring her left knee and was helped to the locker room. It's unclear if she'll play in Saturday's semifinal against No. 2 Notre Dame.

Brittney Sykes scored 14 points for the fifth-seeded Orange (22-9), who missed 16 straight shots at one point during N.C. State's decisive run.

Syracuse, in its first ACC tournament, shot 10-for-38 (26 percent) after halftime.

The game was delayed three times in the second half due to lights and shot-clock outages amid a winter storm that caused numerous area power outages.