Instant observations: NC State cruises past UNC, advances to ACC Tournament Championship

GREENSBORO — As NC State’s offense seemed to rev its engine in the first quarter, senior guard Aziaha James collided with North Carolina center Maria Gakdeng in the post. The impact seemed to rattle the Pack's leading scorer, who was sent to the locker room for a brief period of time.  After a few minutes with the Wolfpack’s training staff, James emerged from the back hallway and quickly reentered the game moments later. It didn’t take long for James to show she felt alright as she buried the first shot she took, an open 3-pointer from the left wing.  Once that went down, James seemed to find a new level of aggressiveness in getting her scoring going. The Virginia Beach, Va., native was able to power top-seeded NC State past fifth-seeded UNC 66-55 in the ACC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at First Horizon Coliseum.  The Pack advances to play in its fifth ACC Championship game under coach Wes Moore, who is looking for his fourth conference tournament title in six years. NC State will face the winner of second-seeded Notre Dame and third-seeded Duke.  James led NC State with 19, while senior guard Madison Hayes added 10 and freshman forward Lorena Awou chipped in with 10. Here are three observations from the Wolfpack’s second postseason win of the 2024-25 campaign.