No. 3 NC State rounded out the calendar year with an unbeaten record as it secured its first conference win of the season in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Following an up-and-down first half, NC State (13-0, 1-0 ACC) dug deep for a convincing road win over Virginia (8-4, 0-1 ACC). After only shooting 28% from the field and a lowly 10% from beyond the arc, the Pack regrouped in the second half, shooting 45% from the field and 44% from three.
To open the game, Virginia struck first with an early three-pointer. It took the Pack close to three minutes to score its first field goal, which came when graduate forward Mimi Collins cashed in a three-pointer. Over the next several minutes, the Cavaliers were able to limit any further offensive action from NC State. With the score standing at 9-5 in favor of Virginia, junior guard Saniya Rivers took over and scored back-to-back baskets to knot the game at nine. Rivers had one of her best performances of the season, finishing the game two assists shy of a triple-double with 10 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists.
Rivers’ efforts kickstarted a shift in momentum for the Pack as it rode a 12-1 run for the remainder of the quarter and claimed its first lead of the game at the 2:26 mark. Not long after, the team continued to assert its presence as freshman guard Zoe Brooks made a heads up play, stealing an inbound pass to give the Pack another basket. At the end of the quarter, NC State had put together a solid showing to give itself a 17-10 lead.
Opening the second quarter, it was Virginia’s turn to make noise on the hardwood. The Cavaliers started the period on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 19. The Pack, on the other hand, was mostly silent in the meantime as it had only one made field goal until senior guard Madison Hayes cashed in a jumper at the 3:38 mark, after which she picked up a questionable technical foul. A little more than 30 seconds later, the red-and-white scored another basket accompanied by another controversial technical foul. For the remainder of the half, both teams traded blows, and the Wolfpack headed to the locker room at half trailing 32-31.
To begin the second half, NC State regained momentum as Collins quickly garnered five points and the Pack jumped out to a 7-0 run. Graduate center River Baldwin put forth a solid performance in the third quarter, tallying six points and five rebounds which included an and-one layup. Baldwin finished the game with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Pack was effective in preventing much offense from the Cavaliers in the third quarter, holding them scoreless from the floor until nearly five minutes in the quarter. NC State outscored Virginia 23-8 throughout the period. Despite the Pack’s third quarter prowess, one noticeable hole in its game was its ineffectiveness from behind the arc. For the majority of the quarter, it had not cashed in on any shots from deep, but Rivers and Collins cashed in a pair of three-pointers to finish the period strong.
NC State rode a 54-40 lead as it headed into the fourth quarter. The team picked up where it left off as Collins put forth nine points to finish with a season-high 25 points over the course of the game and a 60% efficiency mark beyond the arc. As she continued to take care of business within the paint and from deep, the Cavaliers had trouble finding answers for her. Rallying behind its high-powering forward, the Pack cruised along to a 72-61 win.
Heading into a new calendar year, NC State will take the court again against Florida State on Thursday, Jan. 4 in Reynolds Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
