“March Gladness” for NC State in 66-55 win over rival Tar Heels!

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Final NC State 66 UNC 55

March 8, 2025

Greensboro, NC– After a thrilling win over the Yellow Jackets in the Quarterfinals on Friday, the No. 7/8 NC State women’s basketball team (27-5,16-2) were faced with another daunting task heading into Semifinal Saturday. The archrival 14th ranked UNC Tar Heels (27-6) stood in their way of their 5th ACC title appearance in their last 6 ACC tournament appearances.

Both teams entered the constant splitting their last 14 ACC Tournament games split their last 10 meetings regular season meetings. NC State entered the contest with the third most ACC Tournament championship titles behind only UNC (9) and Duke (8) with the Wolfpack seeking its 4th ACC Tournament title in the last 6 years. Each team came into the contest seeking to solidify its NCAA Tournament seedings with a potential 1 seed still on the line.

Neutral site games had been an advantage for the Wolfpack as they entered play holding an 11-7 edge over the rival Tar Heels. Both teams had several players honored before their Quarterfinal matchups.Maria Gakdeng and Reniya Kelly were All-ACC Second Team honorees. Gakdeng leads the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game while Kelly is averaging 10.2 points per game. Aziaha James is the leader of the Pack and 6th in the ACC in scoring with her 17.9 points per game. Each team entered the day with a lot on the line as the road to Tampa looks to begin on Tobacco Road.

1st Quarter NC State UNC

The pace of the game early favored the Tar Heels as they took an early 5-0 lead to start the quarter. Wolfpack freshman Tilda Trygger would end the early run as she went on an 8-0 run of her own to give the Wolfpack the early 8-5 lead heading into the first media timeout. Trygger, who was honored as an All-ACC Freshman team member, started a perfect 3-3 from the field to give the Wolfpack the edge.

NC State would continue to stay extending the run to 16-0 after a brief stop in the game for an Aziaha James injury. The Wolfpack would hit 2 straight 3-point baskets from Madison Hayes and Zamareya Jones to push the lead to 14-5. NC State was in complete control early by the end of the quarter as their defensive pressure seemed to overwhelm the UNC offense. Tylda Trygger led all scorers after the first after scoring 8 early points for the Wolfpack. Madison Hayes was right behind her with 5 points of her own.

NC State finished the quarter shooting 33/3% from the field and 3-7 from 3-point land. NC State would hold the edge on the boards earning the early 12-10 advantage. Lorena Awou entered the contest and grabbed 2 early rebounds for the Pack.

The Tar Heels finished the quarter shooting just 2-11 from the field and 1-5 from 3. The Tar Heels were under constant pressure from the Wolfpack defense who were consistently hampering the UNC guards forcing the UNC offense to run through Maria Gakdeng.

2nd Quarter NC State 33 UNC 26

NC State continued their run to begin the quarter as UNC’s poor shooting continued. The Wolfpack run would end at 21 though as the Tar Heels finally were able to get an outside shot to fall. The Tar Heels found themselves down 27-10 at the media timeout as they continued to be ice cold from the field. The Wolfpack run would stand at 27-5 until the Tar Heel offense began to wake up. UNC would come out of the timeout and score 9 of the next 11 points to cut the lead down to 10 with 2:44 left in the quarter.

The Tar Heel offense began to find a rhythm and the shots started falling for helping them cut the lead to 31-21. After scoring just 5 points in the 1st Quarter, the Tar Heels would use a 21-point outburst in the quarter to cut the lead down to 33-26 at the half. UNC finished the 2nd Quarter shooting 40% from the field and 2-7 from 3-point land.

Aziaha James led the way for NC State in the second quarter scoring all 7 of her points after returning from her brief pause from the game. James would return to the court and instantly made her presence known scoring a quick 5 points giving the Wolfpack an instant spark. James would finish the quarter 4-4 from the line and 1-2 from the 3-point line.

NC State held a big advantage in the paint for the first half. The Wolfpack outrebounded the Tar Heels 24-18 in the first half including a 7-2 advantage on the offensive glass. Points in the paint also went to NC State in the first half as they were able to use their size to gain the 16-8 edge. The Wolfpack would finish the half shooting 34% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc on 4-12 shooting.

3rd Quarter NC State UNC

Both teams returned from the locker room to a bit of a sluggish start with the first points of the quarter being at the 8:44 mark. Aziaha James scored the first 4 for the Wolfpack to get NC State going and finshed the quarter leading the Pack in scoring with 13 points through 3 quarters.

The Wolfpack would extend the lead to 14 after Madison Hayes hit her 2nd 3-point basket of the game giving the Wolfpack a 42-28 lead. The lead would be 11 at the first media timeout with the Wolfpack holding the 44-33 edge. Immediately following the timeout, the Wolfpack would push the lead to 15 with 2:38 to play in the quarter. NC State continued to play ball-pressure defense on Reniya Kelly and the other UNC guards forcing them into tough shots all throughout the quarter.

NC State would continue to use its size and strength on the interior to gain the advantage over a Tar Heel team that was forced to play the game inside the 3-point line. The Wolfpack lead would once again balloon to 17 to end the quarter. The Wolfpack would outscore the Tar Heels 21-11 in the quarter as UNC’s poor shooting woes returned as well in the quarter. The Heels would finish the quarter shooting just 23.5% from the field after shooting 40% in the second quarter.

The Wolfpack offense would continue to feed off the energy of its suffocating defense in the quarter to push the lead to 17 at the end of the quarter. Aziaha James and her 10 points in the quarter were almost enough alone to outpace a struggling UNC shooting night. James would lead all scorers with 17 points. NC State would finish the quarter shooting 46.2% pushing their percentage to 37.5% for the game.

4th Quarter NC State UNC

Both teams began the 4th quarter much like the 3rd, until Aziaha James once kicked off the scoring for the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack continued to put pressure on the Tar Heel defense with the lead peaking at 19 early on in the quarter. The Wolfpack were relentless on the glass as they continued to keep UNC at bay with several key offensive rebounds leading to key second chance points for NC State.

The Tar Heels would not give in though as the lead would get cut to 13 for NC State at the media timeout with the Wolfpack holding the 62-49 lead. The lead would be cut to 10 at 62-52 with 4:02 left in the game as the Tar Heels made it tough to close them out for the Pack.

NC State would withstand the mini run from the Tar Heels though to advance to their 5th ACC Championship apprearance in 6 years. The Wolfpack were able to get off the fast start and never look back. After tying the game at 5 in the first quarter,the Wolfpack would not trail for the rest of the game with NC State carrying a double-digit lead for much of the game.