NC State
23-4,11-4ACC
North Carolina
18-9,10-5ACC
Wolfpack Suffers Road Loss at UNC
2/22/2024 10:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – NC State women's basketball (23-4, 11-4 ACC) had its three-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night as it suffered a road loss at UNC (18-9, 10-5 ACC).
Four Wolfpack players scored in double figures – Aziaha James (24), Saniya Rivers (13), Mimi Collins (11) and Madison Hayes (11). James and Rivers both knocked down multiple threes, with James hitting a team-leading four and Rivers getting three on the night.
The Wolfpack shot 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from three but allowed the Tar Heels to shoot 52.4 percent from distance, with their 11 threes tying as the most NC State has given up in a game this season.
The Pack had a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points, led by five offensive boards and a total of 10 rebounds for Collins who posted her fourth double-double of the season.
NC State faced a seven-point halftime deficit (42-35) after allowing the Heels to shoot over 50 percent (17-of-33) in the first 20 minutes of the contest. The Wolfpack started hot from the floor, hitting six of its first nine shots but only went 5-of-28 (.179) for the remainder of the first half. Despite its shooting woes, nearly half of the Pack's first-half buckets were threes, and the team never let UNC's lead get into double figures.
Five unanswered by UNC to start the second half put its lead into double figures (49-39) for the first time, but NC State powered out a 7-0 run of its own in response to cut the Tar Heel lead to three. The Wolfpack was down just a possession as late as the 3:07 mark of the third quarter but UNC scored the last seven of the period to make it a 10-point game going into the fourth.
The Wolfpack dialed up its fullcourt press in the final period, but UNC stayed hot. The Heels pushed their lead to as large as 14 points in the opening minutes of the fourth, and, despite some late-game putbacks by the Pack, did not let NC State get closer than eight in the final period.
The Pack makes a Sunday trip to Duke for its final road contest of the 2023-24 regular season. Tip-off from Cameron Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. that day with national television coverage provided by the ACC Network.
