NC State falls to Princeton on heartbreaking 3 in final seconds

After shooting 58.6 percent in the first half and carrying a 4-point lead into the final period, NC State’s offense did not score for almost 6 minutes in the fourth quarter as the game slipped away. The No. 7-seeded Wolfpack fell 64-63 to No. 10-seeded Princeton Friday night following Grace Stone’s go-ahead three-point shot with 4 seconds left in the matchup. 

A total of 15 second-half turnovers by NC State contributed to the round of 64 loss. Princeton only turned the ball over twice in that span. Mimi Collins scored 14 points off the bench to pace the Pack, and all eight active players scored at least 4 points, but that was not enough to secure the win. 

The Wolfpack ends the season with a 20-12 record and its earliest tournament exit since 2014— Wes Moore’s first year as head coach. 

“Our kids, I thought, played hard,” Moore said. “They battled, and I have got to do a better job, to be honest, down the stretch, make better decisions, put us in a better position to finish that game off. It is a tough loss. Heart-breaking.”

NC State started the game 0 of 5 from the field, and Princeton opened up an early 4-0 lead in the first quarter. Collins broke the Pack’s scoring drought with 6:06 left in the opening period on an and-one bucket. She scored the team’s first 5 points before Saniya Rivers added to the scoring total with a jumper.

Rivers was outstanding throughout the game despite 4 turnovers. The sophomore guard scored 7 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 6 assists in 38 minutes.

Princeton opened up a lead after hitting 4 of 5 attempts going into the media timeout. In the final minutes of the quarter, the Wolfpack’s shots started to fall. Collins converted another and-1, Jakia Brown-Turner scored, and a great pass from Aziaha James found Madison Hayes, who scored 5 points in the period, for three. NC State finished the period trailing 18-17.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, NC State took the lead on a Collins layup. The Wolfpack lit up the scoreboard up from there, shooting 10 of 13 and scoring 24 points to take a 41-35 lead at the break. Hayes hit another 3 and went into halftime with 10 points, tying Collin for the team lead. 

James left early in the second quarter with an apparent lower-leg injury. With Diamond Johnson already out due to injury, the Pack played most of the period 7 available players before the sophomore returned later in the matchup. NC State’s bench dominated Friday night, outscoring Princeton’s second unit 28-2. 

Shortly after James returned to the game in the second half, the sophomore guard drilled a jumper. At that point, every member of the Pack had scored at least 2 points. Princeton missed its final 12 field goal attempts in the third and trailed 55-51 going into the final period. 

NC State scored just 8 points in the fourth and, following a layup by James that extended the team’s lead to 8 with 5:44 to go, the Pack did not hit another shot.

“Their defense was good, but I feel like we did run the right stuff,” Collins said. “Our shots weren’t falling in that stretch.”

After the Wolfpack forced a crucial stop while leading by 2 with 18 seconds to go, it looked like the Tigers would have to play the foul game, but a critical turnover gave them the ball back with 12 seconds remaining.

“Looking back, I wish I had been more conservative, got it in and let them foul us, have an opportunity to go clinch the game at the foul line,” Moore said. “That is the one that bothers me.”

The Tigers hit a trio of three-point shots in the final minutes— punctuated the winner from Stone on a perfectly executed out of bounds play that put Princeton ahead by one. Moore said the Pack tried to get a play going to the rim on its final, possession, but the Ivy League opponent shut it down and left with the upset win.

“In hindsight, I wish I ran something different,” Moore said. “We were trying to get downhill over there and have someone in the weak side corner if the drive wasn’t developing all the way to the rim.”