Wolfpack Stay Hot, Defeat Wake Forest on the Road

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The NC State Wolfpack women’s basketball team picked up its sixth straight win, 13th of the last 14, with a 90-83 victory at Wake Forest. NC State led by as many as 24 late in the third quarter, and although the Demon Deacons cut the lead to six with 15 seconds left in the game, the Pack pulled through for its third consecutive road win and 11th straight victory over Wake.

Four Wolfpack players reached double digits in scoring, paced by Zoe Brooks’ 18 and Zamareya Jones’ 17 bench points. The Pack shot 53.3 percent from the field (32-60) and outrebounded the Demon Deacons 36-22. NC State also had 15 offensive rebounds.

The Wolfpack won the tipoff, which set up for a Tilda Trygger basket, as NC started the game with an early 6-0 lead. Wake then started to find its groove offensively and after a 7-0 run, the Demon Deacons took an 11-7 lead. Saniya Rivers then came up with a basket through contact and made the free throw to knot the score up at 11 with 4:41 left in the first. The Demon Deacons then went on a 10-2 run to lead 21-13. The Pack would cut the deficit by four three times, including with a layup by Trygger, as NC State trailed 25-21 at the end of the first.

Wake opened the quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers to extend its lead to 10. Jones delivered the Pack’s first triple of the game, and Brooks drove to the basket, which started an 8-0 run for the Pack. A Jones layup off a steal gave the Pack a lead for the first time since early in the first, and the Pack led 36-35, forcing the Demon Deacons to take a timeout with 5:48 left in the second quarter. The Pack led for over two minutes until the Demon Deacons crawled its way back on top, but that lead did not last for long, as Brooks continued to attack the basket to drive the Pack on a 7-0 run to lead 47-41 at the half.

The Wolfpack forced back-to-back turnovers, which both set up for Trygger baskets. Madison Hayes then knocked down a triple to extend the Pack’s lead to 13. Wake called a timeout, as the Pack led 54-41 with 7:42 left in the third. A James jumper made it a 10-0 run for the Pack in the third, and at the under-5 media timeout, NC State led by 16. Out of the timeout, the Pack kept it rolling, as Rivers delivered four points to extend the Pack’s lead to 20.

The Demon Deacons scored its first basket of the second half six minutes into the quarter, but the Pack kept moving along, and with a 6-0 run, the Pack led 67-43 with under two to play in the second. Wake hit a shot at the buzzer, but the Pack outscored the Demon Deacons 23-8 in the third to lead 70-49 after three quarters.

Wake opened the quarter with a 3-pointer and a 3-point play, but Laci Steele, coming off the bench, knocked down a triple. The Pack was held without a field goal for three minutes until a Jones triple. After Maddie Cox found Mallory Collier under the basket, the Pack led 81-61 with 4:39 left in the game.

The Demon Deacons then went on a 20-4 run capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a two possession game with 15 seconds left, Jones hit three of four free throws down the stretch, and despite the Demon Deacons outsourcing the Pack 34-20 in the fourth, NC State closed out the game for a 90-83 win.

The Pack will return home to host No. 10/10 Duke on Monday, Feb. 3 for NC State’s 20th annual Play4Kay game. That game will tipoff at 7 p.m.