NC State
23-5,11-5ACC
Duke
18-9,10-6ACC
NC State’s Comeback Bid Falls Short at Duke
2/25/2024 7:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. – NC State women's basketball (23-5, 11-5 ACC) dropped its second game in a row on Sunday evening as it came up short at Duke (18-9, 10-6 ACC).
The Wolfpack cut what was at one point a Duke third-quarter advantage of 22 (43-21) to as close as eight points (63-55) with under a minute remaining in the game but ultimately ran out of time to complete a comeback.
Graduate center River Baldwin posted her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with nine of those boards coming in the first half alone. As NC State looked to a smaller lineup for much of the second half, Aziaha James (15 points), Saniya Rivers (13 points) and Zoe Brooks (10 points) joined her in double figures.
The Pack shot just 6-of-28 (.214) in the first half and turned the ball over eight times in that span to stare up at a 16-point deficit (35-19) at the break. It marked the team's largest halftime deficit of the season. NC State outscored Duke in both the third (18-17) and fourth (21-17) quarters but could not overcome the Blue Devil lead it stared up at coming into the second half.
Brooks posted eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter to fuel the Wolfpack, and Rivers added six in the final frame. James shot 3-of-6 from distance on the night, her third game in a row knocking down multiple three pointers.
NC State turns its attention to the last week of regular-season actions with a pair of home games. The Wolfpack next takes on Syracuse on Thursday night, with that game set for a 7 p.m. start inside Reynolds Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX, and tickets are sold out but available for resale on SeatGeek, the official fan-to-fan marketplace of the Wolfpack.
