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Final: NC State 73 Virginia 68
January 19, 2025
Raleigh, NC– The No. 21st ranked NC State women’s basketball team (14-4, 6-1) returned to the court Sunday playing host to the visiting Virginia Cavaliers (11-8, 3-4 ACC) seeking to maintain their hold on a top 4 spot in the ACC. The Wolfpack entered play tied with the Duke Blue Devils for 3rd place in a loaded ACC. NC State came into the game winners of their last 2 ACC contests and looking for their 3rd straight win over the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers were picked 9th in the preseason and are led by Kymora Johnson (18.1 ppg) and Latasha Lattimore (9.2 RB/game) who provide a huge 2-headed tandem for Virginia.
The Wolfpack,led by Aziaha James (17 ppg) and Saniya Rivers (6.6 RB/game) along with Madison Hayes provide one of the most prolific guard tandems in the country. The Wolfpack came into the game riding a 10-game winning streak at Reynolds Coliseum where they are undefeated on the season. They would extend their streak to 11 straight wins on the season at home after a thrilling back and forth affair Sunday.
1st Quarter: NC State 16 UVA 15
The game began with both teams trading leads and ties during a frenetic first five minutes. Tilda Trygger was hot early with 7 of the first 9 points for the Wolfpack. She also chipped in 3 rebounds before the first media timeout. The teams would be tied at 9-9 at the first media timeout with UVA getting 5 of its 9 points from Latasha Lattimore. Both teams sought to push the tempo early on as each team started out looking for the fast-break opportunities.
The Wolfpack were led in the first quarter by Tilda Trygger and her 7 points and 3 rebounds. Her work on the boards and the interior was pivotal for the Wolfpack offense in the early going as the Wolfpack finished just 2-7 from the 3-point line. Trygger and her work on the interior proved to be a steady form of offense for the Wolfpack.
Virgina would lead the rebounding edge in the first quarter with a 9-8 advantage which proved to be a big key to the Cavaliers hanging around in the contest. NC State would finish the quarter shooting 41% from the field and 28% from 3-point range. The Cavaliers shot 46.7% from the field and just 16.6% from 3 on 1-6 shooting.
2nd Quarter UVA 35 NC State 34
The second quarter began much like the first with both teams trading baskets throughout the course of the first 5 minutes. UVA would carry a 25-24 into the first media timeout of the quarter. Olivia McGee would pace the Cavaliers early with 6 points in the first half of the quarter. McGee attacked the rim and was able to get the Cavaliers out to an early lead in the quarter. Devan Quigley and Aziaha James were the leaders for NC State with 3 points each in the early going to keep NC State close in the contest. James was continually looking to increase the energy throughout the quarter as her team high 9 points in the quarter kept the Wolfpack close.
NC State would finish the quarter shooting 53.8% from the floor and 47% for the half. The Cavaliers stayed hot in the quarter shooting 61.5% from the floor in the quarter including 4-5 from 3-point land. The Cavaliers were led by Paris Clarke and her 10 points followed by Kymora Johnson and her 7 points. Olivia Mcgee would add 6 more for the Cavaliers offense who shot well all throughout the first half.
NC State was led by Tilda Trygger and Aziaha James who each had 9 points for a Wolfpack offense that started off slowly but picked up the shooting in the 2nd quarter. The Wolfpack would finish the half with 8 assists on 14 made field goals continuing their trend of sharing the basketball at a much better clip in the last 3 games. The 2 teams would have 6 ties and 5 lead changes in the first half as each team continued to look for the momentum changing stretch. The Cavaliers would use their advantage in the paint to take the lead into the half 35-34 as they were able to hold the slight edge on points in the paint and in the rebounding department. Virginia held a 20-14 advantage in the paint and a 15-14 advantage on the glass to take the early lead.
3rd Quarter NC State 54 UVA 52
NC State would come out in the second half with a much higher intensity on the defensive end of the floor which would aid them in taking back the lead at the media timeout holding a 42-39 lead. Zoe Brooks led the way in the early part of the 3rd as she earned 4 trips to the free throw line and hit all 4. She added another quick layup to put the Pack up 3 at the media timeout. Brooks would finish the quarter with 9 points to lead all scorers in the quarter. The Wolfpack turned up the pressure on the Cavalier defense with Brooks breaking down the teeth of the interior defense leading to open shots for her teammates. Brooks would finish with 7 assists and only 1 turnover in the game.
Brooks would not be the only one slicing through the Virginia zone in the quarter. The Wolfpack consistently was able to get into the lane with the precision cuts and penetration from all three of their guards.
Kymora Johnson for the Cavaliers would not let Virginia go away as she tallied 9 points of her own in the quarter. She consistently seemed to have the answer for the Cavaliers in the quarter. The Cavaliers continued to shoot well from the floor as they finished the quarter 6-10 from the floor and 3-4 from beyond the arc. The Cavaliers were getting good looks and knocking them down to keep it close. NC State though would own the paint advantage in the quarter using a 10-2 advantage there to take a 54-52 lead into the final period.
4th Quarter NC State 89 Boston College 52
The game continued to go back and forth in the beginning of the last quarter as it had all day long. The game see-sawed back and forth with each team holding no more than a 5-point lead throughout the game. Madison Hayes would score a huge 3-point play off a fast break at the 6:34 mark giving. Kymora Johnson would answer right back for the Cavaliers with a 3-point basket of her own. That stretch would be just a microcosm of the entire contest. The two teams entered the final media timeout with the score tied at 64 with each side looking for a run to take control.
NC State would use 6 offensive rebounds on 1 possession to take a 3-point lead after Madison Hayes completed the 3-point play to give NC State the 67-64 lead. UVA would score the next 4 points however, to take the 68-67 lead late. Madison Hayes would respond though with 4 straight points of her own to give the Wolfpack the 71-68 lead with 8.9 seconds left in the contest. UVA would turnover the basketball with under 2 seconds and Madison Hayes would put the final touches on a huge home win for the Wolfpack with 2 free throws to seal the 73-68 win for the Wolfpack.
Next up for NC State is a 10PM start against #20 California on Thursday Night.
Post-Game Interviews:
Coach Wes Moore
Saniya Rivers and Zoe Brooks
