Any other sporting event in Raleigh this weekend will be hard-pressed to top the one that just took place in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Old Barn was rocking just like the good old days, and the NC State women’s basketball team proved it’s still got it with a thrilling 77-66 overtime win over No. 19 North Carolina.
It looked bleak for the Wolfpack (18-8, 8-7 ACC), who trailed for nearly the entire second half and was down by 10 to the Tar Heels (18-8, 9-6 ACC) with less than five minutes to go.
But if the 2021 NC State football team taught anyone anything, no late lead is insurmountable against UNC.
The Pack turned it on, getting stops and hitting clutch shots to tie it up and send the game into an extra period. From that point on, it was all NC State, who outscored the Heels 15-4 in the final frame to earn a much-needed win after going through many ups and downs throughout conference play.
“It would have been real easy to say ‘It isn’t gonna happen and isn’t our night,’” said head coach Wes Moore. “They kept battling, and it made for an unbelievable win and memorable game. The only thing we didn’t have was an onside kick to help do it.”
After an evenly matched first half, UNC outplayed NC State for most of the second, but the Pack was still afloat late in the game due in large part to the play of senior wing Jakia Brown-Turner. Her 18 points tied for a game-high, and her biggest buckets came in the biggest moments.
After a 9-2 NC State run cut UNC’s lead to three with 2:15 left, Brown-Turner hit two 3s on back-to-back attempts, the latter of which cut it down to one with 31 seconds remaining.
“I definitely shot it with confidence,” Brown-Turner said. “My teammates and my coaches have been telling me to shoot it with confidence, without thinking, so I knew they had confidence in me and I just knocked it down.”
But Brown-Turner wasn’t the only hero of the night for the Pack. Sophomore guard Aziaha James came off the bench and had one of her best games in the red-and-white, scoring 18 points. With 13 seconds left, she layed in the tying basket to notch it at 62.
In a jaw-dropping sequence of events, the Heels turned the ball over while trying to take the ball up the court on the ensuing possession, and James had nothing but open court ahead of her to score the game-winning basket on a fastbreak.
But James’ attempt doinked off the front of the rim, and a moment that would have brought the house down in Reynolds turned into one of disbelief as the two teams were headed for five extra minutes.
However, the momentum was clearly on NC State’s side, and with the crowd in a frenzy and the team finally finding its groove, there was little UNC could do to stop the oncoming freight train that was the Wolfpack.
On a mission, James scored the first bucket of overtime and seven of the Pack’s first 10 in the period as NC State dominated the Heels the rest of the way. Once the Pack went on a 7-0 run to begin the final frame, there was little doubt that the fans in red would be going home happy.
For James, it was quite the turnaround to go from the low of missing the potential game-winner to coming through clutch and willing her team to victory against the opponent every fan in the stands — except for the few in blue — wanted to see beaten.
“My team and my coaches told me not to be down on myself,” James said. “We still have overtime, we still have time to fight. … We needed that win, we needed that win to get us back on track.”
In addition to finding a groove offensively, the Pack turned it up a notch on defense, switching to a press late in the fourth quarter and forcing 16 UNC total turnovers. NC State ended up outscoring the Heels 40-22 in the fourth quarter and overtime combined.
The NC State teams of the last three seasons have set a standard of excellence for this program, and after losing 80% of last year’s starting rotation, this year’s Pack hasn’t quite lived up to expectations thus far.
A win over North Carolina can turn the narrative on any season, however, just look at 2022 NC State football.
The Pack will try and build off its momentum with another big contest, a rematch on the road against No. 11 Virginia Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19 with the broadcast on ESPN2.
