Despite a regulation buzzer-beater and halfcourt-heave with less than a minute in overtime remaining, NC State women’s basketball held off Georgia Tech to secure control of third place in the ACC. Led by junior guard Aziaha James’ 30 points, the Pack came up clutch and battled back against a Yellow Jackets team shot lights out.
“It shows that we can fight through adversity,” said junior guard Saniya Rivers. “We stayed mentally locked in as they were hitting big shots. … It shows we can fight and push through them together.”
Within the first five minutes of the game, Georgia Tech (15-12, 6-9 ACC) was seven-for-seven from the field as they took it to the Wolfpack (23-3, 11-3 ACC). Taking advantage of the man-to-man defense, the Yellow Jackets were moving the ball quickly and kicking it out to the perimeter where everyone was nailing shots.
Despite the hot start for Georgia Tech, the Pack remained calm and collected, keeping the score close throughout the first quarter. The Wolfpack struggled from 3 all afternoon going 3-20 from beyond the arc, but that didn’t stop it from staying in the game.
“[I’ve] been preaching all week since the Virginia Tech game about rebounding,” said head coach Wes Moore. “We went and got 13 offensive boards. They got [five] and then outscored them 15-4 on second-chance points so that was the ball game.”
Second-chance points were crucial in the end. As Georgia Tech kept on sinking shots, NC State was less efficient from the field but used its size advantage against a team utilizing four guards and was able to get plenty of put-back points including what many thought was the game-winner from Rivers late in the fourth quarter.
No one was more instrumental to the Wolfpack going into halftime with the lead than James. Twenty-two of her 30 points came in the first half including a buzzer-beater three to give the red-and-white its first lead of the game. Many of James’ points came off of turnovers and on fast breaks. All game she was playing tough defense and was rewarded when she took the ball the other way and scored.
In the first minute of the third quarter, senior guard Madison Hayes knocked down a 3-pointer, and James finished at the rim to give the Wolfpack its largest lead of the night at six points. After this, however, things quickly went south.
In the third quarter, NC State was at its worst shooting-wise. In the third frame, the team shot 27.7% from the field and 12.5% from 3. Coupled with a sequence of turnovers, Georgia Tech was not just back in the game but in the lead heading into the fourth.
The entire fourth quarter was back-and-forth as the teams were trading buckets in one of the Pack’s closest games so far this season. With 45 seconds left, a fadeaway jumper from graduate center River Baldwin tied it at 73.
With 14.6 seconds left and the game tied, the Pack called a timeout to draw up a game-winning play. After moving the ball around, James took it herself to the basket and missed, but off the board, Rivers put it back in and drew the foul. Sinking the free throw for the and-one, NC State had a three-point lead with under five seconds to go.
As fans were on their feet to watch the final play, Georgia Tech guard Kara Dunn got the ball off an inbound and with an off-balance shot nailed a 3 at the horn. Just seconds after standing with arms in the air, State fans were sitting with their head in their hands.
Undeterred by an emotionally-crushing 3-pointer, the Pack jumped out to a six-point lead in overtime with Baldwin leading the charge. As a product of the game flow, Baldwin wasn’t utilized much until late as NC State was forced to play catchup considering the Yellow Jackets were leading for well over half the game.
However, Moore leaned on his veterans as time whittled down, and Baldwin continued to come up clutch. With her off-hand, Baldwin came up with two huge layups for the Pack late in overtime.
Off a couple of free throws, Georgia Tech cut the lead to four with a minute and a half left. Dunn was the game’s leading scorer with 31 points and she played to the final whistle — literally. On a broken play with the shot clock falling to zero, Dunn wasn’t done as she heaved a ball from almost half-court to bring the game within one.
After NC State couldn’t convert on its next possession, Georgia Tech went down the floor, but its last shot also came up short, and NC State walked away from a nail-biter with the win.
“It shows the battle that every game in the ACC is,” Baldwin said. “Everybody’s going to come with their best every night, so you have to be ready”
With two big away games coming up against triangle rivals UNC and Duke, NC State will have its hands full as it tries to close the season with a high-tournament seed in mind. The Wolfpack will take on the Tar Heels next in Chapel Hill on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m.
