NC State
5-1,0-0ACC
Vanderbilt
5-2,0-0SEC
NC State Uses Hot Shooting Night to Beat Vanderbilt 82-73
11/24/2022 6:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CANCUN, Mexico – NC State (5-1) shot above 50 percent in each of the final three quarters of its Cancun Challenge opener as the Wolfpack defeated Vanderbilt (5-2) by a 82-73 score on Thursday evening.
The Wolfpack ended the night with a .525 field-goal percentage, shooting 31-of-59 overall while also knocking down nine threes as a squad. Three players finished with multiple triples - Diamond Johnson (4-of-6), Jakia Brown-Turner (3-of-4) and Madison Hayes (2-of-4).
Brown-Turner led a lengthy list of solid NC State performances with 18 points, a season-high for the senior. Johnson added 16 points, and Jada Boyd (12 points) and Camille Hobby (10 points) also scored in double figures.
Johnson came within striking distance of a triple-double as she finished with nine rebounds and seven assists. Both of those numbers were career highs for the Wolfpack junior.
As a team, NC State assisted on 22 of its 31 made buckets. All four of NC State's double-figure scorers had multiple assists in the win. In addition to Diamond's seven, Brown-Turner dished out six, Boyd tied her career high with four and Hobby had two.
The Wolfpack used a dominant second quarter to pull away from the Commodores, shooting 56.3 percent (9-of-16) in the period while limiting Vanderbilt to 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from the floor. Hobby secured NC State's first points of the second quarter at the 7:52 mark, and that started a string of 15 unanswered points scored by the squad. In total, NC State outscored Vanderbilt 20-9 in the second quarter to take a 45-27 lead into the break.
The Wolfpack opened up its advantage to as many as 26 points (62-36, 4:45) in the third quarter, but Vanderbilt scored the last 10 of that period and the first three of the fourth to draw within 11. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with Vanderbilt bringing it back within single digits with late free throws before NC State closed out the nine-point victory.
The outing marked the Pack's second time this season ending a game with a shooting percentage of better than 50 percent. NC State also held a +16 advantage rebound on the boards and in the paint.
Ciara Harbison of Vanderbilt led all scorers on the floor with 34 points.
NC State plays its second and final game of the Cancun Challenge on Friday against West Virginia. The contest is set for a 4 p.m. start on FloHoops.
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