In front of yet another sold-out crowd, NC State women’s basketball defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 93-66. A dominant performance from freshmen guards Zoe Brooks and Laci Steele — alongside veteran players in graduate forward Mimi Collins, senior guard Madison Hayes and junior guard Aziaha James — grew the target placed on the Wolfpack’s back.
The No. 6 Wolfpack (15-1, 3-1 ACC) came into the game with the taste of revenge in its mouth, hoping to get back into the win column after falling 63-62 to No.11 Virginia Tech on Sunday. Going up against the Cavaliers (8-7, 0-4 ACC) was a refresher for the Wolfpack — the team defeated UVA 72-61 in Charlottesville on Sunday, Dec. 31. This win completes the Pack’s regular season sweep of the Cavaliers and extends the red-and-white’s home streak to 11 games.
“Still not over what happened Sunday as a coach,” said head coach Wes Moore. “It’s heartbreaking when you’re that close to getting a big win on the road, but again, the players are probably a lot more resilient than the coaches, and they came out and played well.”
NC State jumped out quickly in the first quarter, with James scoring six of the Pack’s first eight points. The Pack played fast and gave the visiting team no time to rest, quickly moving the ball up and down the court. Brooks jumped out early on the hardwood by forcing turnovers and taking shots, and she went 4-4 from the field by the end of the quarter.
“I feel a lot more comfortable now later on in the season,” Brooks said. “Even though we’re in conference play and it’s a lot harder, I’m definitely a lot more confident.”
Shooting 61% from the field in the first quarter — plus 88.9% from the free-throw line — is what the Pack needed to settle into its style of play. Alongside the sharp shooting early on, the red-and-white forced turnovers left and right. By the end of the first half, the Wolfpack tallied 23 points off of fast break attempts and 15 points off turnovers.
Heading into the second quarter up 31-13, there was an electric feeling inside Reynolds Coliseum, especially when Hayes hit a three pointer within the first minute. The energy got to the Pack; the team made timing errors and failed to follow through on shots. Steele came into the game to bring a change of pace and she did exactly that. Finishing the quarter with 11 points — 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from the 3-point line — Steele proved herself to be a clutch player.
“Even though we’re freshmen, we still know how to play,” Brooks said. “Don’t downgrade us, and just worry about the older kids because we’re going to do what we need to do in order to win.”
The Pack went into halftime shooting 60% in both 3-pointers and from the field, and Brooks led the team with 12 points. She wasn’t alone on the scorecard, though. Three other NC State players went into the break with 10 or more points.
While the first half was filled with electricity on the court and high-scoring halves, the second half started off much slower for both benches. The red-and-white shot 7-20 in the third quarter and 4-11 in the fourth, 35% and 36.4%, respectively. The key to the offensive struggles came from the lack of offensive rebounds throughout the half. NC State only had one offensive rebound compared to the Cavaliers’ six.
“We’ve got to understand how critical every possession is,” Moore said. “When you lose a game by one point, you realize with one more rebound, one more stop and you win that game.”
Despite the slow second half, the Pack outperformed and outscored UVA in all but one quarter, leading in points through the whole game. Four NC State players finished with over 14 points, and Collins was one rebound away from a double-double.
Next up, the Pack will travel down to the University of Miami, taking on the Hurricanes on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m.
