NC State
11-4,3-1ACC
California
15-2,3-1ACC
Pack Falls Short at Cal
1/10/2025 12:28:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BERKELEY, Calif. – The No. 21/19 NC State women's basketball team fell short at No. 24/25 California on Thursday night, 77-71. The Pack cut the deficit to three with under six minutes left in the game, but could not tame Cal's hot shooting. NC State saw four players in double figures, led by Aziaha James' 21 and Tilda Trygger's double-double (19 points and 10 rebounds).
Cal began the game with a 5-0 edge after winning the tipoff, but Zoe Brooks answered with a drive to the basket for the Pack's first points of the game. James hit a triple, but the Pack fell in a three-minute scoring drought, as Cal went on a 5-0 run. Trygger made back-to-back baskets, and Saniya Rivers and Madison Hayes drained 3-pointers to put the Pack ahead for the first time of the game. The Pack's 8-0 run took the team to the media timeout, ahead 18-14 with 1:30 left in the first quarter. Mallory Collier delivered a putback layup, as a part of NC State's 10-0 run. Cal ended the quarter on a four-minute scoring drought, as the Pack led 20-14 after the first quarter.
James kept the run rolling out of the media timeout with a layup, but Cal answered on the other end to put a halt to its drought. That initiated a 16-0 run for the Bears to retake the lead and force the Pack to call a timeout, trailing 30-22 with 5:20 left in the second quarter. Trygger ended the long drought with a 3-pointer and after a triple from James, the Pack climbed within three. Just before half, the Bears nailed its seventh triple of the game, as NC State trailed 39-33.
Cal came up with a putback layup to begin the second half, but Trygger responded with a putback layup to clinch double digits in points for the second straight game. Whenever the Pack would start to get some momentum, the Bears would respond until NC State charged on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a Trygger 3-pointer, as the Pack cut the lead to two, trailing 52-50 with 2:23 left in the third quarter. Out of the timeout, Brooks came up with a layup to tie the game, but Cal quickly answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to end the quarter on an 8-0 to lead the Pack, 60-52, going into the fourth quarter.
Rivers scored quickly to open the fourth quarter, but the Bears answered with a layup. The Bears extended its lead to nine until Rivers connected with a layup through contact. James and Trygger both sunk in triples, including Trygger's third of the game to cut the deficit to three until Cal answered with one of their own. At the media timeout taken with 4:37 left in the game, NC State trailed 70-64. James took it to the basket for two to end a scoring drought for the Pack, but Cal had a response. Trygger delivered her fourth 3-pointer of the game to cut the deficit to four with 25 seconds left, but Cal closed out the game making three of four free throws to hand the Pack its first ACC loss, 78-71.
PACK FACTS
- James led the Pack with her sixth 20-point game of the season with 21 points with four rebounds
- Trygger earned a career-high 19 points with four 3-pointers and tallied a double-double by matching a career-high 10 rebounds. She also played a career-high 34 minutes in the start
- Brooks finished just shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine assists with two steals
- Rivers logged 12 points, seven boards and two blocks, while playing all 40 minutes
- Hayes had three points and seven boards
- The Pack finished with 15 assists
UPCOMING
NC State will stay on the West Coast to play Stanford on Sunday, Jan. 12. That game will tipoff at 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
