No. 7 NC State Racks Up Postseason Awards Highlighted by Coach of the Year, Most Improved Player
3/4/2025 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 7 NC State women's basketball team brought home a handful of ACC postseason awards, as announced by the league Tuesday on ACC PM. Aziaha James, Saniya Rivers, Zoe Brooks, Tilda Trygger and Wes Moore were each recognized by the ACC this season.
Brooks was tabbed the ACC Most Improved Player, the first time a member of the Pack has been presented with that award, and Coach Moore earned ACC Coach of the Year, his fourth time by the ACC, 15th overall.
James, Rivers and Brooks were each named to the All-ACC First Team, Trygger was recognized to the ACC All-Freshman Team and Rivers was chosen on the ACC All-Defensive Team.
James is now a two-time All-ACC First Team selection. She is averaging a team-leading 18.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season. Her scoring average is sixth in the league and her 13 20+ point games this season is the fourth most in the ACC. She has shooting splits of 45.9 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from beyond the arc and 70.3 percent from the free throw line. Her 65 3-pointers on the season is No. 15 in school history. In league play, she is averaging 18.3 points and 2.9 assists per game. The senior tallied a career-high 36 points against No. 10/10 Duke and later that week was named ACC Player of the Week and Naismith and USBWA National Player of the Week. James surpassed 1,000 career points this season and sits with 1,483 points, which is 20th in school history, as well as 173 3-pointers, No. 7 in program history.
Rivers earned All-ACC First Team honors and was tabbed to the ACC All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season as well. A weapon on offense and a lockdown defender, Rivers has averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. She has 19 double-digit scoring games, seven double-digit rebounding games and seven double-doubles. She is coming off three near triple-double performances, highlighted by four points, 13 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists at SMU to help the Pack secure the ACC Regular Season Co-Championship. She surpassed 1,000 career points this season and is now No. 38 on the all-time scoring list, as well as sitting at No. 14 in career steals (180) and No. 11 in career blocks (102) at NC State.
Brooks is a first-time All-ACC First Team honoree and won ACC Most Improved Player. She averaged 14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game this season, as well as 15.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in league play. The sophomore stepped up in a big way as the team's point guard, finishing the regular season with 24 double-digit scoring games, two double-doubles and eight 5+ assist games. Her highlight performance of the year came against No. 1/1 Notre Dame, as Brooks' career-high 33 points with 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks was huge in the Pack defeating the Irish. From freshman to sophomore year, Brooks' scoring increased by 5.2 points and her shooting percentages went up from 41.5 percent her first year to 46.0 this season. As the team's starting point guard. Brooks has averaged 31.4 minutes per game this season compared to last year's 26.4.
Trygger has stepped up in a huge way for the Pack as a rookie, rightfully being named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. The freshman has started in the Pack's past 17 games, averaging 6.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game. In ACC play, she has averaged 8.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Trygger has seven double-digit scoring games, five double-digit rebounding contests and three double-doubles. She logged a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double against No. 1/1 Notre Dame, while playing 43 minutes in that double-overtime victory. Her 20 blocks is tied for the 11th most in the freshman record book. As a natural four-player, Trygger has been playing at center most of the season and has excelled down low in a tough league as the ACC.
Coach Moore collected his fourth ACC Coach of the Year honor, 15th overall. Moore has led his team to the program's seventh ACC Regular Season title, second as the head coach. Before Moore's regular season title in 2022, the Pack had not won the regular season in 32 years. Moore has paced the Pack to a 24-5 overall record and 16-2 mark in the ACC, as well as the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament for the seventh time in school history. Moore has led the team to five ranked wins this season, highlighted by victories over No. 1/1 Notre Dame and No. 10/10 Duke. He is on the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year presented by AXIA Time.
Coach Moore's previous Coach of the Year honors at NC State:
2014 - ESPNW (not by league)
2017 - ACC
2021 - ACC (Coaches)
2022 - ACC (consensus)
2025 - ACC
The No. 1-seed Pack will take on the winner of No. 8-seed Virginia Tech vs. No. 9-seed Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Ally ACC Women's Basketball Tournament. That game will tipoff on Friday, March 7 at 1:30 p.m. at the First Horizon Coliseum and will be aired on ACC Network.
2024-25 All-ACC Women's Basketball Team
Player of the Year: Hannah Hidalgo, So., G, Notre Dame
Defensive Player of the Year: Hannah Hidalgo, So., G, Notre Dame
Rookie of the Year: Toby Fournier, F, Duke
Coach of the Year: Wes Moore, NC State
Sixth Player of the Year: Dani Carnegie, Fr., G, Georgia Tech
Most Improved Player: Zoe Brooks, So., G, NC State
All-ACC First Team
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Ta'Niya Latson, Florida State
Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
Aziaha James, NC State
Makayla Timpson, Florida State
Sonia Citron, Notre Dame
Kymora Johnson, Virginia
Saniya Rivers, NC State
Alyssa Ustby, North Carolina
Khadija Faye, Pitt
Zoe Brooks, NC State
Kara Dunn, Georgia Tech
Toby Fournier, Duke
Jayda Curry, Louisville
O'Mariah Gordon, Florida State
All-ACC Second Team
Haley Cavinder, Miami
Ioanna Krimili, California
Ashlon Jackson, Duke
Liatu King, Notre Dame
Maria Gakdeng, North Carolina
Tonie Morgan, Georgia Tech
Reniya Kelly, North Carolina
Nunu Agara, Stanford
Tajianna Roberts, Louisville
Nya Robertson, SMU
All-Defensive Team
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Makayla Timpson, Florida State
Saniya Rivers, NC State
Jadyn Donovan, Duke
Alyssa Ustby, North Carolina
Sonia Citron, Notre Dame
All-Freshman Team
Toby Fournier, Duke
Tajianna Roberts, Louisville
Dani Carnegie, Georgia Tech
Tilda Trygger, NC State
Lanie Grant, North Carolina
Kate Koval, Notre Dame
ACC Most Improved
Zoe Brooks, NC State
ACC Sixth Player
Dani Carnegie, Georgia Tech
ACC Coach of the Year
Wes Moore, NC StateÂ
