NC State is 14-4 (6-1).
Virginia gave NC State its best effort and badly out-shot the Wolfpack from the floor—the sort of shooting differential that almost always results in victory. But not this time. In an exciting back-and-forth affair Madison Hayes played hero down the stretch with key buckets and offensive boards to see her team through.
With the game deadlocked at 64, Madison Hayes finally took advantage of multiple second-chance opportunities with an and-one to push State ahead 67-64. Virginia clawed ahead 68-67 with 1:43 to go, but Hayes delivered again with a baseline spin and score—another second-chance opportunity—to put the Pack ahead for good. (Though a very fortunate travel call against UVA erased the would-be go-ahead bucket not long after this.)
This is one of the more unique box scores you’re gonna see, as the only way the Pack overcame its poor shooting was by owning the glass, finishing +12 in turnovers, and shooting 15-16 at the free throw line. Not a combo you’re gonna be able to rely on often. In this case, it was just enough to squander Virginia’s season-best shooting performance.
UVA shot 10-21 from three and also made 57% of its twos, which, again, is an effort that’s going to mean victory far more often than not. Just wild that it wasn’t enough, but the turnovers especially were costly—11 of those came after halftime. And State’s ability in those last handful of minutes to grab offensive boards was a difference-maker as well.
Hayes and Tilda Trygger had 13 offensive boards between them; Hayes grabbed 11 boards total, and scored 19 points. Trygger had nine points to go with her 13 rebounds, though she didn’t make a shot after the first quarter.
Aziaha James led the team with 20 points, and while she was just 1-8 on threes, she shot 7-13 inside the arc.
Next up for NC State is a road trip to Syracuse on Thursday.