Skip to main content
nc-state logo

Madison Hayes surpasses 1,000-point milestone as No. 10 NC State squeaks past Miami

image_6483441 (3)by:Noah Fleischman•02/13/25•

fleischman_noah

Madison Hayes
NC State guard Madison Hayes. (Photo courtesy of NC State athletics)

The clock wound down in the first quarter, but Madison Hayes was determined to beat Father Time and get to the rim. She cut along the baseline and managed to release the ball just a fraction of a second before the buzzer sounded for her first made field goal of the game. 

While the layup, which cut NC State’s deficit to 8 points after a frame of action against Miami on Thursday night, seemed routine, there was a lot more behind it. Hayes, who knew she was just 3 points away from her 1,000th point of her collegiate career entering the night, hit the milestone on that basket. 

Not only did she get to bask in the excitement of hitting the mark in front of a sold-out crowd inside Reynolds Coliseum during the Wolfpack’s 76-74 win over the Hurricanes, but Hayes did it on her late-grandfather’s birthday. The culmination of honoring him and being able to celebrate with 5,500 NC State fans was the ultimate moment for the Pack’s star wing. 

“It was really special to me,” Hayes said with a smile postgame. “Scoring it at home, it’s just amazing. I have a great team.”

That layup, though, was the only field goal Hayes managed to hit in the first 20 minutes. She was just 1-for-5 from the field, including a trio of missed 3-point attempts, but that didn’t seem to discourage Hayes. 

It might have fueled her instead. 

Hayes exploded for 16 second-half points to help propel NC State past Miami, which marked the Wolfpack’s ninth straight win. Hayes hit five of her seven shots in the second half, including four of the six 3-point attempts she unloaded long-range attempts one after another in what appeared to be the old version of the Mississippi State transfer. 

When Hayes arrived through the transfer portal, Hayes was a spot-up shooter known for hitting triples on a 38.5 percent clip. But her role has gradually changed. This year, she’s playing as a small forward, usually against taller players. 

Although that may be the case, Hayes was back in her 2022-23 form. And it paid off as the Wolfpack needed her offense to skate past the Hurricanes. 

“In the second half, she really stepped up,” NC State coach Wes Moore said postgame. “That’s what you can hope players do on a night where they struggle early. They’ve got the confidence to come back and play a big part. She did that.”

Hayes broke through the glass ceiling from 3-point distance that seemed to be on her this year. She hadn’t made more than a trio of triples in any game this season, but turned in a quartet of treys against the Hurricanes. 

A majority of the Chattanooga, Tenn., native’s 3-pointers came off kick-out shots from the corner, which seemed to bring joy to Hayes both in-game and afterwards. 

“I’m just fortunate enough to have teammates that will pass the ball,” Hayes said. “A lot of teams don’t have that, and I have a good group of teammates. Just taking in the confidence that Coach Moore and the team has to keep giving me the ball to shoot it.”

While Hayes, who became the Wolfpack’s third player on the current with 1,000 points as she joined senior guards Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers, appreciated her teammates, she deflected most of her own praise for them. 

Moore, however, raved about his do-it-all wing after her historic night. 

“What a blessing,” Moore said. “She’s a glue player for us. She holds everything else together, she gets some rebounds, she gets some big threes, makes some plays on defense — kind of does it all. I’m really happy for her, that’s a great milestone.”

Most of Hayes’ winning plays aren’t flashy. They’ve propelled NC State to multiple wins this season. But this time, it was her much-needed scoring that did the job. And she did it on one of the most special nights of her collegiate career.

You may also like