NC State
24-5,16-2ACC
SMU
10-20,2-16ACC
No. 9/10 Pack Shares ACC Regular Season Championship
3/2/2025 2:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DALLAS – The No. 9/10 NC State women's basketball team took care of business in Dallas to take down SMU 69-45 on Sunday.
The win earned the Pack its seventh ACC Regular Season title in school history (14th overall), as well as second in the Wes Moore era, as NC State finished the regular season with a 16-2 ACC record, 24-5 overall. With the head-to-head against Notre Dame, the Pack clinched the No. 1 seed in the ACC Championship.
Zoe Brooks and Aziaha James tied for a team-high 19 points, while Saniya Rivers and Madison Hayes earned double-doubles behind 13 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists from Rivers and 18 points with 11 rebounds from Hayes.
NC State led from wire-to-wire in the game in which the Pack had 21 assists on 28 made baskets and outrebounded the Mustangs 48-28. The Pack held SMU to just 45 points, marking the second time in ACC play NC State has held an opponent to under 50 points.
The Pack jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. After the Mustangs made its first field goal two minutes into the game, NC State held the Mustangs to a four-minute scoring drought. The Pack took advantage to cruise on a 10-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by James. SMU called a timeout, as the Pack led 15-2 with 5:35 left in the first. Brooks knocked down a 3-pointer to start the game 4-of-4 from the field, and the Pack held the Mustangs to just nine points and 4-of-19 from the field in the first quarter to lead 24-9.
Hayes came up with a reverse layup to begin the second quarter before the Pack was held in a two-minute scoring drought. SMU took advantage with a 9-0 run, and then Hayes dug the Pack out of the scoring drought with a triple. With 4:45 left in the second quarter, the Pack led 30-18. The Mustangs cut the deficit to single digits until Rivers pulled up with a jumper. SMU outscored the Pack 16-12 in the second quarter, but NC State took a 36-25 edge going into the locker room.
Hayes took it to the basket for the Pack's first score of the second half. The Pack's defense took back-to-back charges and turned those stops on defense into offense by going on a 9-0 run highlighted by a Brooks behind-the-back-pass to James. SMU called a timeout, as the Pack took a 47-27 lead with 5:43 left in the third quarter. The Pack was held in a scoring drought for over four minutes, allowing SMU to go on an 8-0 run. Zamareya Jones then knocked down a triple before the buzzer, as the Pack ended the third quarter ahead 52-35.
The Pack was held scoreless for the first two minutes of the fourth quarter until Hayes came up with a layup. James knocked down a triple and pulled up for a jumper to extend the lead to 17 with 5:41 left to play in the game. The Pack then went on a 6-0 run in under two minutes to extend its lead to 21 to have a 63-42 edge with 4:03 remaining in the game. NC State took care of business in the final four minutes, extending its lead to as many as 25. With the 60-45 win, the Pack shared the ACC Regular Season Championship.
PACK FACTS
- Brooks registered 19 points off 9-of-12 shooting with three rebounds and three assists
- James recorded 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists
- Rivers had a near triple-double behind four points, 13 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists. She also added three steals and logged her seventh double-double of the season
- Hayes recorded 18 points off 7-of-11 from the field with 11 boards
- The Pack pulled down 48 rebounds with 12 offensive boards
UPCOMING
The Pack will find out its ACC Tournament fate on Sunday night, as the bracket will be released following the conclusion of all ACC games. The ACC Tournament is set to run from Wednesday, March 5 to Sunday, March 9 at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
