James Scores 1000th Point, NC State Defeats Kent State

RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State women’s basketball earned its way back into the win column after a 79-51 victory over Kent State. The Pack led the entire game to claim its 17th home win in a row over an unranked non-conference opponent, as well as the seventh straight home win. The Pack outscored Kent State 46-6 in points in the paint.

Aziaha James surpassed a career milestone in the victory, becoming the 38th member of the 1,000-point club after knocking down a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the half. James finished with a game-high 20 points and freshman Zamareya Jones followed with 16 points. All 11 available players scored a point and played at least six minutes in the game.

The Pack shot 49 percent from the field (33-of-68) and logged a 17 assist to 10 turnover ratio. NC State also outrebounded the Flashes 44-33.

NC State won the tip for the third straight game. Aziaha James started things off with a 3-pointer, which initiated a 7-0 run. The Flashes got its first points two minutes into the game off a 3-pointer, but James quickly answered with a floater. Madison Hayes then knocked down a triple, and at the media timeout, NC State led 14-5. Out of the break, Kent State went on a 9-0 run off three 3-pointers to tie the game with less than two left in the first. Saniya Rivers found James under the basket and Hayes had a layup of her own, as NC State led, 18-14.

Laci Steele scored the first points of the second quarter with a driving layup and followed that up with another floater as the shot clock expired. Saniya Rivers found James, who surpassed the career milestone of 1,000 points off a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the half to extend the Pack’s lead to eight. The Flashes then logged their eighth 3-pointer of the game just before the buzzer, but NC State still led, 33-28. That five-point lead is the closest the game would get.

James kept it rolling out of the break with a 3-pointer, which sparked a 9-2 run. The senior knocked down another triple, as Kent State fell in a scoring drought for three minutes. The Flashes made it a single-digit deficit after a jumper, but a James triple pulled the Pack back ahead by 15. At the media timeout, the Pack led, 52-37. Steele knocked down a 3-pointer and Maddie Cox made one of two free throws to push the Pack lead to 17. The Flashes closed out the quarter on a 5-0 run, as NC State led, 56-46 going into the final quarter.

NC State cruised on a 14-0 run to begin the fourth quarter, which was big in the Pack outscoring the Flashes 23-7 in the fourth. Jones scored 11 of her 16 points in the quarter, including a basket through contact to convert a 3-point play with one minute left in the game. The Pack led by 31 until Kent State logged another 3-pointer before the buzzer. NC State went on to win, 79-51.

The Pack will travel to TCU on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. Eastern TIme.