NC State women’s basketball demolished Cincinnati 79-45 to extend its win streak to six games and collect its second win at the Paradise Jam. Senior guard Madison Hayes led the red-and-white with a game-high 16 points.
The Pack (6-0) asserted its dominance over the Bearcats (2-3) in the two teams’ first all-time meeting. The difference between the two squads was undoubtedly Cincinnati’s lack of a strong presence in the paint — the Wolfpack outscored the Bearcats 34-10 in the paint and grabbed 12 more rebounds.
Unlike the previous game against Kentucky, the red-and-white allowed Cincinnati to hang on during the first five minutes of the game. Cincinnati forward Malea Williams scored her team’s first ten points of the game, but she couldn’t compete with the Pack’s much more balanced attack. NC State stepped up its defense on Williams, limiting her to just five points throughout the rest of the game.
On the offensive end, the Pack went on a 16-4 run to close out the quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Hayes gave it all on the court to jumpstart the game for the red-and-white, scoring 10 of her 16 points in the first seven minutes of play.
The Wolfpack extended its 12-point lead to 28 in the second quarter to head into the locker room with a 50-22 advantage. NC State’s freshmen accounted for half of the team’s points this quarter — guard Zoe Brooks, center Mallory Collier and guard Laci Steele made an impact immediately after they stepped onto the court. All three scored in the double digits by the end of the game, with Steele and Collier setting new career-highs at 11 and 10 points, respectively. Defensively, the Pack limited the Bearcats to just eight points in the quarter.
The second half of the contest was much more competitive than the first, but the Pack was able to rest comfortably on its 28-point lead. The red-and-white outscored Cincinnati by just three points in quarters three and four and never let the Bearcats get closer than 29 points.
NC State turned to its bench players to close out the game, giving everyone on the roster time a chance to log minutes. Steele sank a jumper in the last minute of play to bring the final score to 79-45.
This win gave the Pack more to be proud of — six players scored in the double digits and the team totaled 11 assists to the Bearcats’ five. NC State also shot 43.2% from the field while keeping Cincinnati to just 24.2%. But despite these accomplishments, NC State committed an alarming 16 turnovers, tying its season high. To the team’s credit, the Wolfpack forced 19 turnovers on the defensive end and scored 26 points off turnovers to Cincinnati’s 11, but the bottom line is that the red-and-white needs to do a better job of taking care of the ball.
Up next, the Pack will face a difficult challenge in No. 3 Colorado for its final game of the Paradise Jam. Tipoff against the Buffaloes is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25 and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
