Celebrating the holiday from the beautiful U.S. Virgin Islands, No. 10 NC State women’s basketball still enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast. That is, a feast on Wildcats, demolishing Kentucky 84-55 in game one of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas.
This one was never close as the Wolfpack (5-0) dominated right from the jump, opening the game on a 15-2 run and leading by as many as 42 in the second half to dismantle the Wildcats (2-3).
A total of four NC State players scored in double figures compared to none for Kentucky, and the Pack shot an efficient 54.8% from the field while holding the Wildcats to 27.1%. The Pack also dominated the rebounding margin 45-28 and won the assist battle 19-8.
Senior guard Madison Hayes led the way for the red-and-white with 15 points on 5-6 shooting, while her backcourt teammate, junior guard Saniya Rivers, wasn’t far behind with 13 herself, 11 of which came in the first quarter. Graduate forward Mimi Collins and graduate center River Baldwin kept a strong presence inside with 10 and 11 points, respectively, while six other members of the Pack got on the board as well.
After Kentucky scored the game’s first points 20 seconds in, the Wildcats did not score again for nearly five minutes as NC State scored the next 15 and held a 31-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. If it hadn’t already, the Pack turned it up a notch defensively in the second quarter, holding Kentucky to just one made shot from the field and took a 55-24 lead into halftime, its largest halftime lead of the season.
NC State kept the heat turned on in the third quarter, outscoring Kentucky 21-10 in the period and taking an outrageous 42-point lead into the fourth. The Pack was on cruise control in the final frame, allowing its starters to rest in preparation for another two consecutive days of games as the bench finished it off for a resounding 84-55 victory.
This marked yet another impressive win in the Pack’s young season as the team improved to 5-0 and earned its fifth all-time win over Kentucky and its third straight of the series. The last time these two teams met was in the 2019 NCAA Tournament when NC State advanced to its second-straight Sweet 16 with a win over the Wildcats.
NC State will be at it again on Friday, Nov. 24 when it takes on Cincinnati at 3:15 p.m. before a highly-anticipated matchup against No. 3 Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 25. In its matchup on Thursday, Colorado defeated Cincinnati 77-60.
Friday’s game against Cincinnati will be broadcast on ESPN+.
