When NC State trailed late in the fourth quarter, there was one player the Pack trusted the most with the game on the line — junior guard Saniya Rivers. The Wolfpack star nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game at 64 with just over a minute left and assisted on graduate center River Baldwin’s layup to put the Wolfpack up by two with 24 seconds left.
It did not end up as the game-winning play because Syracuse (23-6, 13-5 ACC) knocked down two free throws to send the game to overtime. The junior guard also came through in the extra period. With NC State (24-5, 12-5 ACC) up two with 16 seconds to go in the extra session, Rivers once again was trusted to have the ball in her hands and hit both free throws to give the Pack a 75-71 victory in overtime.
Rivers was the Wolfpack’s best player all night, finishing with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists while also recording two steals and a block. She played calm during the game’s most intense moments, but she’s still human and felt the pressure of the moment.
“You got to keep the towel ready because my hands get so sweaty when I know I have to take care of it,” Rivers said. “My teammates are putting that trust in me, and it feels good. They’re big shoes to fill, but I mean it just gives me confidence, and it just motivates me to keep that ball tight.”
After back-to-back losses that dropped NC State to 12th in the country, this felt like a must-win game — especially with ACC Tournament seeding on the line. The win keeps the Pack on track for a double-bye in the tournament while a loss would’ve dropped the Wolfpack outside the top four of the conference.
“It doesn’t take much to realize how big this game was,” said head coach Wes Moore. “It was about as pressure, big game as we’ve probably been in this year. It was a lot on the line, so that’s why I said I’m proud of them.”
While Rivers paced the Wolfpack throughout the night and came up with the clutch plays, freshman guard Zoe Brooks had the most impressive game of her freshman campaign. After Syracuse guard Dyaisha Fair — fifth on the NCAA Women’s Division I career scoring list — scored 11 points in the first quarter, Brooks was tasked with locking down the star guard.
During the overtime period, Brooks hounded Fair on every possession. The freshman guard blocked Fair twice and stole the ball away from her, which led to two made free throws for Brooks the next possession. Brooks held Fair to two points in overtime and helped hold the Orange to five points in the period.
Brooks also guarded Fair for the entire second quarter and held her to two points after she scored 11 in the first quarter. The former five-star prospect isn’t known for her defense, but she guarded Fair with intense passion, chasing her around ball screens and heavily contesting every shot she put up.
Brooks is better known for her offensive game, and she still ran the point guard role effectively with eight points and five assists, but she stepped up to the challenge and disrupted one of the best scorers in the country.
“I love that girl to death,” Rivers said. “ I was really excited about Zoe coming in this year just because I was excited to play wing and have someone else step in at point guard. Point guard is a hard role. It’s a lot. You have to get your teammates involved. You got to look out for you. You have to control the floor. It’s a lot. And just seeing her tap into that role and also be so good tonight on the defensive end, it just shows that she’s growing.”
While Rivers and Brooks were holding it down in the backcourt, Baldwin continued to be the anchor of NC State. Baldwin snatched down a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with 13 points. She also recorded three blocks, making life tough for the Orange in the paint. Her frontcourt mate, graduate forward Mimi Collins, poured in 15 points but sat most of overtime and the fourth quarter due to foul trouble.
NC State needed a team effort and got it, claiming its seventh ranked win of the year and putting itself in a good position for a double-bye in the ACC tournament.
Next, the Wolfpack will conclude its regular season at home against Wake Forest on Sunday, March 3. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
