NC State upset by Virginia Tech at the buzzer

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Third-ranked NC State women’s basketball (14-1, 2-1 ACC) suffered its first loss of the season in a road thriller on Sunday afternoon, as the 13th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies (12-2, 3-0 ACC) hit a last-second shot to win 63-62.

Wolfpack guard Saniya Rivers laid one in off the inbounds play to put the Pack up 62-61 with 2.1 seconds remaining, but Virginia Tech advanced the ball to set up a play for veteran center Elizabeth Kitley who knocked down what would be the winning shot with .09 seconds on the clock.

Madison Hayes led the Pack in scoring and set a new career high in scoring with 21 points. The senior guard shot 7-of-9 and knocked down 4-of-5 three pointers to tie her career high in threes made. Rivers also finished in double figures with 12 points after playing all 40 minutes.

NC State led from the jump and never trailed until the Hokies went up one (61-60) with 1:28 remaining in the game. That came near the end of a nearly eight-minute scoring drought for the Wolfpack during which it shot 0-of-11 from the floor. NC State went up 60-49 early in the fourth quarter to force Virginia Tech to take its first timeout of the game, and the Hokies scored 12 unanswered out of that break before Rivers’ late layup that briefly put the Pack in front.

After leading by three (28-25) at the half and scoring nine of the first 12 points of the third quarter, NC State held onto a 7+ point lead until just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

NC State returns home on Thursday, Jan. 11 for its second tilt of the season with Virginia. Tip-off between the Wolfpack and the Cavaliers is set for 7 p.m. from Reynolds Coliseum, and the game will be broadcast on ACCNX.