NC State women's basketball ends regular season with win over Pitt
NC State women’s basketball ended the regular season with a hard fought 68-63 win Sunday over Pittsburgh in front of a sold-out crowd at historic Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, and in the process secured the No. 8 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament. The Pack heads into postseason play with a 19-10 overall record and concluded league play with a 9-9 mark.
NC State women’s basketball honored seniors Jada Boyd, Camille Hobby and Jakia Brown-Turner pregame. That group then helped the Pack avoid an upset loss to the Panthers, who fell to 10-19 overall and 3-15 in the league, finishing in last place in the conference standings.
Hobby had a career-high 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds against Pitt’s zone defense. She made 9 of 14 shots from the field. NC State never trailed after Hobby scored back-to-back buckets when Pitt was ahead 4-2.
The Panthers tied the score on three occasions, including for the final time at 27-27 with 6:30 left. NC State appeared to have pulled away in the second half when taking an 11-point lead on a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Saniya Rivers with 7 minutes remaining.
Pittsburgh did not quit, however, and clawed back to cut the lead to 3 points at 65-62 with 1:28 left. Pack sophomore guard Azaiha James answered with a jumper with 1:01 remaining.
Junior forward Madison Hayes added 15 points and 7 rebounds in the win for NC State.
NC State women’s basketball has won three consecutive ACC Tournament championships but will be regarded as an underdog to make it four in a row.
The Pack begin tourney play against No. 9 seed Syracuse at 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. The two teams met on New Year’s Day in Syracuse, with NC State rallying for a 56-54 win, The Pack had a 34-26 halftime edge, but the Orange outscored the Wolfpack 23-6 in the third quarter to lead by nine with 10 minutes left.
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NC State responded with a 13-0 run at the outset of the fourth quarter and then needed a defensive stop in the final second to secure the victory. Hobby led NC State with 12 points in the win. Ironically, the same eight available players Sunday vs. Pittsburgh were the same eight used at Syracuse.
Junior guard Diamond Johnson did not play against the Orange, and she has also missed the past three contests with an ankle injury.
The winner of NC State-Syracuse will face top-seeded Notre Dame in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Wolfpack knocked off Notre Dame in Raleigh the lone time the two teams met, 69-65, behind Johnson’s team-high 20 points.
Notre Dame star sophomore guard Olivia Miles, who had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists vs. the Pack, suffered a knee injury in the Irish’s regular season finale win at Louisville.
