NC State Wolfpack, Saniya Rivers,
Sports

NC State Snaps Two-Game Losing Streak Against Syracuse

Kamryn Adams @Kammrynnk @SpecMagSports

RALEIGH, NC. – Saniya Rivers scored 22 points to lead the North Carolina State Wolfpack to a 75-71 overtime victory over the Syracuse Orange Thursday night in the Reynolds Coliseum. 

Mimi Collins got the Wolfpack going with a three-pointer to start the game. The Wolfpack started hot and fast-paced with a 6-0 run.  

Things took a turn when Syracuse went on a 7-2 run to get the lead and forced NC State on a two-minute scoring drought. 

The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. NC State stepped up defensively, resulting in poor scoring for the Syracuse Orange. The score remained close until NC State came back and took the lead going into halftime after trailing most of the quarter. 

Syracuse showed its effort coming into the second half. The Orange went on a 10-0 run and forced another Wolfpack scoring drought of three minutes. 

NC State had a slow start to the third quarter. The Pack only scored eight points in the first six minutes of the third quarter before regaining the lead with an 8-0 run to close the quarter.  

The Syracuse Orange started the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run. Much like the second quarter, the fourth quarter was a battle and came down to the wire.  

A foul on NC State at the last second of the game sent the game to overtime. 

Overtime was quiet until a foul committed by Syracuse gave Zoe Brooks a couple of free throws. 

After multiple timeouts and fouls committed on both ends, NC State came out victorious with the 75-71 victory. 

NC State struggled by allowing second chances for Syracuse. However, the Wolfpack capitalized off Syracuse turnovers. The first two scores for the Wolfpack were due to turnovers. Syracuse made 16 turnovers in Thursday’s game. 

Syracuse showed more urgency and flourished playing one on one defense. They also flourished by rebounding the ball 52 times, 26 on each side of the ball. 

River Baldwin stepped up for the Pack in the paint and led the team in rebounds with 13.  

Moving forward, NC State needs to be more active while attacking the gaps and continue distributing the ball to everyone. 

Up next, NC State will host Wake Forest on Mar 3 at 2 P.M.