When Camille Hobby banked in a 3-pointer a minute and a half into the second quarter — just her second made 3 of the season and the 10th of her college career — you knew it was her day.
In her final college game in Reynolds Coliseum, the senior center scored a career-high 21 points and led NC State women’s basketball to a 68-63 win over Pitt in the team’s last game of the regular season.
Against the ACC’s bottom-ranked team, it was perhaps a little too close for comfort for the Wolfpack (19-10, 9-9 ACC), but the team led for nearly the entire contest and made the plays it needed to at the end against the Panthers (10-19, 3-15 ACC).
“Good day for our seniors — good way for them to go out in their last home game,” said head coach Wes Moore. “We didn’t always click offensively, but I thought Camille was somebody we could go to and count on to make the big shot.”
While it wasn’t her Senior Day, junior guard Madison Hayes had one of her better games of her college career, coming off the bench to score 15 points and grab seven rebounds. She also tied a career-high with four made 3-pointers.
“I feel like I’m supposed to do whatever is best for the team,” Hayes said. “Whether I’m starting or whether I’m coming off the bench, I’ve got to give 110%, and that’s what I did tonight.”
From the beginning, it was obvious that Hobby and Hayes were going to be the stars as the two combined for 25 of the team’s 40 points in the first half, and the Pack took a 40-36 lead into the break.
After taking a nine-point lead at the end of the third and leading by as many as 11 in the fourth, it looked like NC State may have been on its way to a comfortable win. However, the Panthers refused to go away, cutting the lead down the three with less than five minutes to go.
But the Pack held on down the stretch, getting enough stops and scoring timely points to secure the win.
In addition to Hobby, this was also Senior Day for senior forward Jada Boyd and senior wing Jakia Brown-Turner, who scored six apiece in their last game in Reynolds.
The trio of Hobby, Boyd and Brown-Turner has been a part of one of the most successful runs in NC State women’s basketball program history, which has included three-straight ACC Tournament championships, back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight appearance for the ages.
“They all three played big roles in that stretch — there’s not many teams that have done that, put that kind of streak together, so I think it says a lot about them,” Moore said. “I think they leave somewhat of a legacy here for the success they’ve had, especially in the last three years. We still have a chapter or two to write here, so hopefully we can build on that.”
It was in that Elite Eight game against UConn that Brown-Turner also hit one of the most memorable shots in program history, a buzzer-beating, game-tying 3-pointer that sent the game into double overtime before ultimately falling to the Huskies in an instant classic.
Hobby has proven to have some ice in her veins as well, hitting a buzzer-beating 3 of her own to send the Pack’s game against Virginia Tech into overtime in 2021.
In addition to the team accolades, this year’s seniors brought in a number of individual accolades during their time in Raleigh as well. Both Boyd and Brown-Turner were named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2020, while Brown-Turner made First Team All-ACC in 2021 and Boyd was named the ACC Co-Sixth Player of the Year in the same season.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything — getting to know them on the court and off the court, seeing them have so much success,” Hobby said. “When you’re surrounded by people who are successful, it has a way of following you. I’m just so blessed to have opportunities to meet them, to be at NC State with them and just see them work and shine in so many ways.”
Next up is the 2023 ACC Tournament in Greensboro where the Pack begins play on Thursday, March 2 against Syracuse as the 8-seed. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum.
