NC State
18-8,8-7ACC
#19/17 North Carolina
18-8,9-6ACC
Wolfpack Wins Overtime Thriller in Rivalry Showdown with #19 North Carolina
2/16/2023 11:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH – Wolfpack women's basketball (18-8, 8-7 ACC) put together another comeback to remember in Thursday night's showdown with rival North Carolina (18-8, 9-6 ACC), overcoming a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to ultimately force overtime and beat the 19th-ranked Tar Heels 77-66.
NC State outscored UNC by a combined 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Tar Heels led by 10 points (55-45) with 4:15 remaining in regulation, but the Wolfpack outscored them 32-11 to close out the fourth quarter and across the five-minute overtime period.
Jakia Brown-Turner and Aziaha James tied for the team lead in scoring with 18 points each. Brown-Turner tied her career high in three pointers made, shooting 4-of-6 from distance to match her best mark that she most recently hit against UNC during the 2020-21 campaign. The 18-point mark tied the senior guard's season high in scoring.
James provided a spark off the bench from the start and went on to score 12 of her 18 in the final 15 minutes of the game. The outing beat out her previous ACC high in scoring by seven points.
NC State hit three of its six triples on the night in the final 3:07 of the fourth quarter, highlighted by Brown-Turner knocking down back-to-back shots to bring the Pack within one (61-60) with 31 seconds remaining. UNC converted on a free throw to go up two points, but the Pack called a timeout to advance the ball, and James hit the tying layup at the 13-second mark. She had a chance for the game winner late in regulation, but the teams went to overtime for the first time since their Jan. 11, 2009 meeting in Chapel Hill.
The Pack absolutely dominated overtime, outscoring the Tar Heels 15-4 and holding them to 1-of-9 (.111) shooting. NC State scored the first seven points of the extra period to go up 69-62 at the 2:01 mark, and UNC did not get closer than five points again.
It was a one-point game after a rollercoaster of a first half that featured eight lead changes and three ties. UNC went up 6-0 to start but NC State quickly climbed back into it, and neither team led by more than three points for the final 15:23 of the opening half. The Tar Heels ended up scoring the final four of the second quarter to carry a 30-29 lead into the break.
UNC jumped out to a nine-point lead (39-30) early in the third quarter as the Pack went without a field goal (0-for-5) for the first five minutes of the second half. A three pointer by Boyd at the 5:07 mark of the third quarter halted Carolina's run, and the Pack brought it within four points twice before ultimately training by seven points (44-37) headed into the fourth quarter. NC State trailed by 10 points twice in the final period of regulation before mounting its comeback.
Jada Boyd (11) and Mimi Collins (10) also scored in double figures in the 11-point victory. Saniya Rivers finished just shy of double figures with eight points and also tied Collins for the team lead in rebounds (8) and dished out a team-best five assists.
The Pack heads away from Raleigh for another pair of back-to-back road games, first taking on 11th-ranked Virginia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 19. Tip-off from Cassell Coliseum is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
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