NC State players admitted they knew playing in 'UConn's backyard' would be an uphill battle in the Elite Eight

• No. 1 NC State battled the UConn Huskies through two OTs before losing their Elite Eight matchup.
• The Wolfpack admitted postgame that they knew playing in "UConn's backyard" would pose a challenge.

The NC State Wolfpack entered their Elite Eight matchup against the No. 2 UConn Huskies with the confidence that being a top NCAA tournament seed merits.

But after their gutting, double-overtime loss to Geno Auriemma and company, the Wolfpack admitted that they knew playing in "UConn's backyard" would be an uphill battle — regardless of the team's respective seeds.

"We knew it would be hard coming in," NC State junior Jakia Brown-Turner said during the postgame press conference. "Getting this far in general is hard."

"I know everyone was saying that it was UConn's backyard, but we just came out, played for each other, and gave it all we had," she added.

Monday night's thriller unfolded at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which is located roughly 80 miles — or an hour and a half drive — southwest of the Huskies' campus in Storrs. Despite earning the top spot in the region, the Wolfpack had to travel the 565 miles between Raleigh and Bridgeport by plane ahead of their second weekend of March Madness play.

Unsurprisingly, Total Mortgage Arena was jam-packed with UConn faithful for the iconic matchup. Ahead of the game, ESPN estimated that 84% of fans on hand for the 7 p.m. ET tipoff favored the Huskies.

"This team just came up here essentially on the road," NC State head coach Wes Moore said during the press conference, gesturing to his players on the podium.

And still, they fought tooth and nail for a shot at their program's first Final Four appearance since 1998 — before most of Moore's players were born. Though UConn looked to be pulling away in the first half, the Wolfpack closed the gap with a massive third-quarter run and forced overtime after a neck-and-neck final stretch of regulation.

Once again, when the Huskies looked to have victory in hand as the clock wound down in the first overtime period, Brown-Turner drained a last-second three-pointer from the corner to buy an extra five minutes. But ultimately, a 27-point showing from UConn superstar Paige Bueckers — including 23 second-half points, 15 of which came in overtime — proved too much for NC State to handle.

The Huskies closed it out with two layups in the final 20 seconds from senior guard Christyn Williams, thereby ending the careers of four of the Wolfpack's biggest stars — including All-American Elissa Cunane.

"This journey has been incredible, and this team has done so much and accomplished so much," Cunane said postgame. "Although this is hurtful right now, I am proud of all that we've done this season, and even to be playing in this game. I couldn't be more proud of the team."