NC State Advances in Nail Biting Win against Duke

GREENSBORO, N.C.- The North Carolina State Wolfpack advanced to the ACC Semifinals with a 54-51 victory over the Duke Blue Devils on Friday in the Greensboro Coliseum. 

NC State started with a burst of energy and got ahead; however, the Blue Devils did not trail for long. River Baldwin stepped up in the paint on defense, challenging the Blue Devils to make their shots. Duke went on an 8-0 run to close its deficit to 29-27 at the half. 

Jadyn Donovan started the second half with a layup as the shot clock expired to tie the game back up again. After the back-and-forth throughout the third quarter, NC State snagged the lead with a three-pointer made by Madison Hayes five seconds before the buzzer.  

Duke began to make costly mistakes in its play, such as multiple fouls and turnovers as the clock wound down.  

The two teams battled, and the score remained close the entire 40 minutes. NC State secured the 54-51 win with a layup from Zoe Brooks with 58 seconds remaining. 

Aziaha James led the Wolfpack with a solid performance of 16 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Zoe Brooks followed with 12 points, two rebounds, and five assists. 

” That was big for us. They had a lot of post presence tonight. Hitting a lot of mid-range pull-ups. So them not hitting [the] three point line allowed us to try to flood down on the post,”  Saniya Rivers response to holding Duke to its worst three-point  shooting game of the season.

The Blue Devils were able to get defensive stops but could not contain the Wolfpack offense.