March Madness. Everyone is familiar with the brackets and the inevitable, unpredictable upsets that bust them. But in No. 2 seed NC State women’s basketball’s first round matchup against No. 15 seed Vermont, it looked as though the red-and-white might fall victim to one of those early upsets.
Fresh off an ACC Championship loss, NC State (27-6) earned the right to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament — a huge advantage for the Wolfpack given that it was undefeated in Reynold Coliseum this season. But from the tip off, it was clear that Vermont (21-13) was no ordinary 15 seed. The Catamounts held claim to the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation, holding opponents to just 52.2 points per game.
While NC State was prepared for Vermont’s strong defense, it was caught off guard by the Catamounts’ offensive attack. It didn’t look like the team that lost just three conference games all season, a team that peaked at No. 7 on the AP Poll.
NC State’s go-to scorer, senior guard Aziaha James, was shooting just 25% from the field and the Wolfpack was just 2-11 from beyond the arc. But when the team is struggling, sophomore guard Zoe Brooks can take over and carry the Wolfpack when needed. Though Brooks was 0-3 from 3-point range, she had 10 points at halftime that kept NC State afloat when it needed it most.
“Zoe was keeping us in it,” said head coach Wes Moore. “We didn’t have anybody else hitting shots and we weren’t creating like we needed to. We were settling for 3s. There comes a point where you’ve got to recognize and say ‘You know what? This isn’t working right now. I need to get to the foul line, get to the rim. Be the aggressor.’ But I thought Zoe did a great job of picking up the scoring slack in the first half and really carried us.”
By the time the dust settled after the first 20 minutes, NC State barely had the edge over Vermont with a score of 35-33 — struggling against a team that they were projected to beat by 20 points or more.
“When a team scores 16 points in the first quarter, it’s an automatic red flag for us,” said senior guard Saniya Rivers. “We knew that we had to turn around immediately or else they were going to run us out of there.”
Moore has preached defense all season. Even in wins, he gets upset whenever a team scores 60 or more, and NC State was on pace to let up almost 70 points to a non-Power Four school.
“I said we wouldn’t be having dinner tonight if we didn’t step it up,” Moore said with a smirk on his face. “We knew they could score the ball and we knew we had to apply more pressure. Sometimes it’s gotta happen to you for you to believe things. Even though we watched a lot of film, we didn’t quite have the urgency or we weren’t locked in enough when things happen.”
NC State emerged from the locker room looking like a completely different team. Though the offense stayed relatively the same, the defense looked revitalized, holding Vermont to just 29% from the field in the third quarter. Brooks continued to thrive, scoring two and-1 layups that brought Reynolds to its feet. The red-and-white rallied behind Brooks’ scoring effort, ending the quarter on a 6-0 run while holding Vermont scoreless for the final three minutes.
“You just can’t relax,” Moore said. “You gotta stay on edge when you’re playing somebody that can score the ball. And the thing is, you can’t let them get happy. They get happy, they get confident.”
Moore’s tough philosophy shone through in the fourth quarter as NC State kept its foot on the gas. The Wolfpack outscored the Catamounts 23-9 in the fourth quarter, scoring more in the 10-minute frame than Vermont did in the entire second half.
The quarter punctuated NC State’s 75-55 win as it advanced in dominant fashion. The relentless approach set a tone for the rest of the tournament, silencing any halftime doubters that questioned NC State’s authenticity.
Brooks led the team with 19 points while James and Rivers each supplied 15, but none of it would have been possible if not for NC State’s domination on the glass. The Wolfpack out-rebounded the Catamounts 45-34 and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 21 second-chance points. After grabbing just seven offensive rebounds in its loss to Duke, Moore clearly wanted to attack the boards and made sure his team played as hard as possible.
“Coach Moore says if you don’t crash the boards and don’t run, you’re not going to play,” Rivers said. “I know me personally, I got subbed out in the first half because I wasn’t crashing the boards. It just shows that he has high standards for us.”
NC State moves on to the Round of 32, facing Michigan State on Monday. But as much as Wolfpack fans will love to see NC State in Reynolds Coliseum one last time, it’ll be the final time that Rivers, James and graduate guard Madison Hayes don the red-and-white in Raleigh.
“Monday is the last one,” Rivers said. “It’s bittersweet. I’ve had a great three years here. If I could have another one, I definitely would. I’m surrounded by great family, great fans, great teammates and great coaches. I’m blessed that they gave me a second opportunity to come here.”
