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Duke falls to NC State in Quarterfinals

@SpectacularMag
GREENSBORO, N.C.- Aziaha James scored 16 points, as No. 10 NC State overcame three quarters’ worth of offensive struggles to hold off Duke 54-51 in Friday night’s quarterfinals at the 2024 Ally Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Freshman Zoe Brooks added 12 points for the second-seeded Wolfpack (26-5), including a critical driving basket past Taina Mair with 58.8 seconds left that made it a two-possession game. Yet this one came down to the final play, with Duke getting one final shot to try to tie the game after Mair tied up Madison Hayes to get the ball back with the possession arrow and 9.7 seconds left.

Mair raced the length of the court and to the right side before launching a 3-pointer over Hayes, but the ball struck the front iron. Duke’s Oluchi Okananwa got the rebound but didn’t have time to race back to the arc before time expired to end it.

The Wolfpack moved on to Saturday’s 2:30 pm. semifinal game versus No. 3 seeded Syracuse or No. 6 Florida State. The seventh-seeded Blue Devils (20-11) will await word of their postseason destination when the NCAA bracket is unveiled on March 17.

NC State started the game by making 10-of-16 shots but made just 12-of-41 (29.2 percent) the rest of the evening.

Okananwa had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils, including Duke’s last basket on a drive with 38.4 seconds left to keep the Blue Devils within range. But Duke shot just 29 percent for the game, including 3-for-16 in the fourth quarter and 1-of-13 from 3-point range overall.

Aside from that early flurry from the Wolfpack, this turned into a defensive battle with both teams struggling to make shots. NC State had a stretch of 12 straight misses in a nearly 8 1/2-minute scoreless drought spanning halftime. And the teams came down the stretch in a one-possession game each unable to make anything, combining to go scoreless for 4 1/2 minutes with each managing long runs of missed shots.

Brooks finally ended the joint drought with her score that helped send the Wolfpack to Saturday’s semifinals.

Of Note

  • NC State has now won its first ACC Tournament game each of the past seven seasons. The Wolfpack is 27-16 all-time quarterfinal games and 59-39 in the tournament overall.
  • Friday’s meeting was the 15th between the Wolfpack and Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament. Duke holds an 8-7 advantage.
  • The Blue Devils slipped to 51-38 all-time in the ACC Tournament and to 40-15 in games played at the Greensboro Coliseum.
  • NC State is 2-1 versus Duke this season. The teams split their two regular-season games, with each side winning at home.
(Courtesy of the Atlantic Coast Conference)