Give Pittsburgh credit for a feisty effort in Raleigh, as the Panthers were able to hang around for the bulk of the evening, but NC State just had too much offense and was able to pull away down the stretch.
It looked like Pitt might get buried early, with NC State coming out scalding hot from the field and beyond the arc in particular. The Pack led 23-13 in the first quarter, but Pitt scored the next eight points and put together a good second quarter to make this a tight one at the break.
State never led by fewer than two possessions in the second half and mostly controlled the action, yet every time it looked like the Pack might break the game open, Pittsburgh found answers. Center Khadija Faye scored 28 points on 12-22 shooting for Pitt, and the Panthers were over 50% inside the arc as a team thanks largely to her efforts.
By contrast, State had a prolific night from the perimeter, knocking down 13-25 threes. Aziaha James had a vintage performance, shooting 6-10 from three on the way to a team-high 22 points. She hit three of those in the fourth quarter, just to make sure Pitt didn’t get any ideas, and the Pack was able to extend its lead to 20 points down the stretch. That was more than enough for an exhale.
Pitt exposed NC State’s difficulties defending good post players, as Tilda Trygger was not up for that battle physically. But Faye also made some pretty tough shots with multiple defenders around her.
Zam Jones was back on the floor for the first time since mid-December and knocked down a three in the second half, which was very good to see.
Saniya Rivers knocked down a couple key three-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 15 points, as well as seven assists. Zoe Brooks scored 14, while Madison Hayes had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. It was a bit of an odd game in that there were very few second-chance opportunities: only eight offensive boards combined for the two teams. State didn’t much need those, though.