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December 29, 2024
Final: NC State 83 Clemson 79
Raleigh, NC– The NC State Wolfpack women’s basketball team (10-3, 2-0) returned to action at Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday as they played host to the visiting Clemson Tigers (8-5,1-1) seeking their 16th consecutive win over the Tigers in the series. NC State came in winners of the previous 6 games in Reynolds over Clemson and looking for win #30 at home over the Tigers. NC State would use a strong second half behind balance scoring to earn their 16th straight win over a feisty opponent.
The Clemson Tigers under first year head coach Shawn Poppie had been one of the early surprises in the league as they rattled off an early win over Wake Forest in conference and won some key non-conference games over Hawaii and Kennesaw as they sought to build their resume during conference play. Loyal McQueen, Hannah Kohn, and Mia Moore paced a gritty Tigers team looking for a strong first season under the new regime.
1st Quarter: NC State 21 Clemson 19
Aziaha James and Zoe Brooks got the Pack off to a quick 9-4 lead as James tallied 5 quick points and Brooks tallied the other 4. The pace was quick from the start as both teams were attacking early and finding open shooters. Clemson would take an early 10-9 lead at the first media timeout with 4:24 left in the quarter. The Tigers started hot from the outside making 5 of their first 9 from deep while holding the early edge. NC State would return the favor by making 3 of the first 6 shots from beyond the 3-point line.
NC State would finish the quarter shooting 41.2% from the field on 7-17 shooting. NC State ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to take the early lead in the game. Madison Hayes led the way for the Pack with 8 points in the first followed by Aziaha James with 5 points. Tilda Trygger, earning her first career start for the Pack, had 4 early points and Zoe Brooks also chipped in 4 points of her own to go along with 2 rebounds and an assist. Madison Hayes and Aziaha James led the Pack in rebounding with 4 each as they were able to seize control late in the quarter.
2nd Quarter: Clemson 37 NC State 36
Clemson started the quarter with an early 5-0 run to give the Tigers the lead early in the second 24-21. NC State scored its first points of the quarter with just over 6 minutes left in the half. They would quickly regain the lead on a Maddy Cox 3-point basket to earn a 26-24 advantage. The teams would be tied at 26 at the first media timeout as both teams were finding it hard early to see their shots fall.
The two teams would trade baskets for much of the quarter as each team sought consistency on the offensive end of the floor. Zoe Brooks would connect on a 3-point play to give the Wolfpack a 34-33 lead with under a minute to go. She would follow it up with a quick steal and bucket to give the Pack a 36-33 lead. Hannah Hohn would give the Tigers the lead though as her 3-point basket as time expired gave the Tigers a 1-point lead.
The Tigers continued to launch from long-range finishing the half 9-17 from 3 as they were able to hold the edge in that department. NC State would finish 4-12 from behind the arc, however, would make up for the difference by winning the game in the paint with a 16-6 edge. NC State also earned a 10-2 advantage in fast break points while grabbing 3 extra rebounds over a smaller Tiger team. Both teams shot 39% from the field in route to both teams keeping the game close. Madison Hayes and Zoe Brooks led the way with 9 points each for the Pack as 9 different players would see the floor in the first half. 7 of them would tally points in the balanced offensive attack.
3rd Quarter: NC State 61 Clemson 59
Clemson would push the lead to 8 early in the 3rd quarter as their hot shooting continued making 6 of their first 7 shots to take a 50-42 lead. The lead was cut to 4 at the media timeout with the Tigers leading 52-48. NC State had trouble slowing down the Tigers until the Wolfpack began feeding the post. The lead would be cut to 2 at 59-57 Tigers after 2 free throws from Madison Hayes.
NC State would also use a zone defense throughout the third to keep the Tigers off the 3-point line. NC State would regain the lead at 61-59 after a drive for 2 from Saniya Rivers with just 6.1 seconds left in the quarter. The Wolfpack would finish the quarter on a 6-0 run as Clemson went 2:26 without a bucket.
4th Quarter: NC State 83 Clemson 79
Both teams would continue the quick pace early in the 4th quarter with each team scoring 6 points to begin the quarter. Both teams started 2-5 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line. The game would continue to go back and forth with each team looking to seize momentum. Clemson would also use the zone to try and keep the Wolfpack from getting out in the open floor. Zoe Brooks and Madison Hayes would continue to take advantage thought as NC State continued to score from inside throughout the night.
The Wolfpack would push the lead to 10 at 77-67 forcing the Tigers to take a timeout as the lead began to slip away. The Tigers would continue to fire away from the beyond the arc as they would use 2 late 3’s to cut the NC State lead to 80-74. Hannah Kohn would use her 6-114 shooting from 3 to keep the Tigers close each time the Pack tried to pull away. The combination of Mia Moore and her 23 points and Kohn with her 18 kept the Tigers in the game. The key for NC State was holding leading scorer Loyal McQueen to just 10 points on 3-12 shooting. Saniya Rivers would get 12 of her 14 points as well in the 2nd half to help lead the Pack to a 2-0 start in the ACC.
Next up for NC State is a Sunday January 5th showdown with Boston College at 2PM in Reynolds Coliseum.
Post-Game Interviews
Coach Wes Moore
Zoe Brooks and Madison Hayes
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