Wolfpack Survive Jackets Sting 73-72 to Advance to ACC Semis!

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Final NC State 73 Georgia Tech 72

March 7, 2025

Greensboro, NC– The NC State women’s basketball team made the short trek down Interstate 40 looking to take yet another step towards a deep March run. Fresh off a 1-seed clinching win over SMU, the No. 7/8 Wolfpack (26-5) began their road trip through March with an ACC Quarterfinal matchup with Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets (22-11.)

1st Quarter Georgia Tech 23 NC State 18

In what was a fast-paced opening ten minutes, both teams were off to the races with the Yellow Jackets carrying the early 13-8 lead at the first media timeout. Kara Dunn and Tonie Morgan led the Jackets scoring attack as they tallied 16 of the Yellow Jacket 23 first quarter points. NC State would counter with their own All-ACC performer Aziaha James who scored 8 points of her own to lead the way for the Wolfpack. Georgia Tech finished the quarter shooting 58.8% from the floor on 10-17 shooting including 3-6 from 3-point land.

The Wolfpack finished the quarter shooting 44.4% from the field. NC State was unable to get it going from beyond the arc finishing 0-2 from deep in the early going. Tilda Trygger was NC State’s second leading scorer of the first quarter as she finished with 4 points and 2 early rebounds giving the Wolfpack an inside presence to help offset the hot-shooting start by the Jackets.

2nd Quarter NC State 38 Georgia Tech 37

As hot as the Yellow Jackets were in the first quarter, they were equally ice-cold in the second quarter as the defensive intensity from NC State picked up. Kara Dunn stayed hot though as she finished the half leading all scorers with 16 points 7 of which coming in the second quarter. The combination of Tonie Morgan and Kara Dunn kept the Yellow Jackets in the game while leading much of the first half.

The Yellow Jackets would finish the quarter shooting 4-16 from the field good for 25% and just 1-8 from 3-point land after making 3 in the first quarter. Georgia Tech finished the half shooting 42% overall and 4-14 from 3. GT would lose the turover battle in the first half which allowed the Wolfpack to limit the Georgia Tech offense to just 15 points in the quarter.

The Wolfpack came out in the second quarter a completely different team following the blistering start. The Wolfpack turned up the defensive intensity meter to 100 in the quarter as they forced 4 turnovers on the defensive end of the floor. NC State would also outrebound the Jackets 11-10 in the quarter giving them 19 total for the half.

Freshman Zamareya Jones made her presence known to the ACC scoring 8 of her team-leading 10 points in the second quarter. Jones was inserted into the lineup in order to better keep the Yellow Jacket offense off of the outside shot which opened up the transition game for a Wolfpack team who continued to push the tempo. NC State appeared to be the team coming off a bye as early on Georgia Tech appeared to be the fresher team in the first ten minutes.

Madison Hayes chipped in 5 points of her in the second quarter and Zoe Brooks added 4 more to an offense that woke up in the quarter. The Wolfpack shot 40% from 3 in the second quarter after finishing the first quarter with no production from the outside. The Wolfpack continued to attack the rim and were able to cash in on a perfect performance at the free throw line. The Wolfpack would take the 1-point lead to the locker room looking to extend their lead in the second half and advance to another ACC Tournament Semifinal matchup with rival North Carolina on Saturday.

3rd Quarter NC State 53 Georgia Tech 52

Both teams would come out of the locker hungry to extend their stay in Greensboro. Each team would trade the lead numerous times in another exciting quarter. The Yellow Jackets would take a 46-43 lead into the first media timeout as Tonie Morgan continued her fantastic game scoring 6 of the first 9 points of the quarter for a Yellow Jacket team playing just as feisty as their real-life counterpart. Morgan and Dunn continued to answer the call each time the Wolfpack would take the lead. Morgan finished the quarter leading all scorers with 17 points as she proved to be nearly unstoppable on her way to another brilliant performance

The Wolfpack countered with more balanced scoring with Tilda Trygger joining her double-digit scoring teammates Aziaha James and Zamareya Jones with 10 points each. Trygger would nearly single-handedly force a Georgia Tech timeout with 2:53 left in the 3rd as she scored all 6 of her points in the quarter in a little over 2 minutes of game time.

The Wolfpack would cool off from the field in the 3rd quarter finishing 7-22 from the field and 1-8 from three. NC State continued to look inconsistent throughout the game, however still maintained their 1-point lead into the 4th quarter.

4th Quarter NC State 73 Georgia Tech 72

The fourth quarter turned out to be just as epic as the other 3. Both teams continued to trade blows throughout the quarter with each team taking the lead numerous times. A total of 14 lead changes and 12 ties summarized a game that was thrilling to the very end. The 4th quarter ended with both teams scoring 20 points each. NC State finished the quarter shooting 57.1% from the field and 33% from 3. NC State would finish the game with 4 players in double figures and 2 other players would finish with 9 points total. Aziaha James and Zoe Brooks were stellar once again the quarter with the 2 combining for 14 of the 20 points for the Wolfpack. NC State would need every single point in this one as it turned out to be an epic finish in Tourney Town.

The Yellow Jackets continued to fight all the way until the end as well. Tonie Morgan and Kara Dunn both finished with 21 points each for the Yellow Jackets. Morgan also chipped in 11 boards to earn the double double. The Yellow Jackets shot 46.7% from the field and 50% from 3 as they continued to punch back each time the Wolfpack landed a blow. The Jackets outrebounded the top seed Wolfpack 44-37.

This game came down to the final seconds though as the Yellow Jackets held a 72-71 with just over 15 seconds left after taking the lead on the previous possession following a crucial freshman mistake from Zamareya Jones, who otherwise had a stellar performance. Senior Aziaha James made the game-winning free throws with just over 7 seconds left in the contest after she was able to get downhill on a high ball screen and got fouled on the shot. The senior buried both free throws in the clutch to give the Wolfpack the lead. The Jackets had one final chance to win the game, but a huge defensive stop led by Saniya Rivers caused time to expire before the Jackets could get a shot off.

NC State advanced to the ACC Tournament Semifinals in a matchup of Tobacco Road rivals at high noon on Saturday. The Wolfpack and UNC Tar Heels both advanced in the early session setting up a fantastic Semifinal Saturday.