No. 7 NC State women beat No. 14 North Carolina 66-55 to advance to ACC Tournament final
North Carolina State's Zoe Brooks (35) attempts a shot between North Carolina's Lexi Donarski, left, North Carolina's Reniya Kelly, second from left, and Alyssa Ustby (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday, March 8, 2025. Credit: AP/Ben McKeown
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Aziaha James scored 19 points and No. 7 N.C. State jumped out to a big lead to beat No. 14 North Carolina 66-55 in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Madison Hayes and reserve Lorena Awou each had 10 points as the Wolfpack (26-5) avenged a one-point regular-season road loss. N.C. State faces either No. 11 Duke or No. 6 Notre Dame in Sunday’s Atlantic Coast Conference final.
Indya Nivar had 13 points and Maria Gakdeng had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina (27-7), which shot 27.9% from the field.
The Wolfpack rattled off the last 16 points of the first quarter for a 16-5 lead, delighting the decidedly pro-N.C. State crowd. North Carolina’s scoring drought extended for almost 11 minutes, creating a 21-5 hole.
Takeaways
North Carolina: The Tar Heels won two games in the tournament with a couple of comebacks following a two-game skid to end the regular season, when starters Alyssa Ustby and Reniya Kelly were out with injuries.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack will play in the ACC final for the fourth time in five years. To win it, they’ll have to defeat a ranked opponent for the seventh time this season.
Key moment
James, who exited for a stretch after a hard first-quarter fall, scored the Wolfpack’s first six points of the second half to rebuild a double-figure lead after North Carolina made it 33-26 at halftime.
North Carolina State's Madison Hayes (21) drives as North Carolina's Indya Nivar (24) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday, March 8, 2025. Credit: AP/Ben McKeown
Key stat
It marked the second day in a row that North Carolina was limited to five points in a quarter. Unlike against No. 22 Florida State in the quarterfinals, the Tar Heels couldn’t recover.
Up next
North Carolina awaits a bid to the NCAA Tournament as a possible first- and second-round host.
