NC State women's basketball improved to 4-0 for the 10th time in 11 seasons of the
Wes Moore era as it came from behind to defeat visiting Rhode Island 67-58 on Sunday afternoon.
The Wolfpack scored 14 of the final 16 points of the contest to go in front for good with 3:38 remaining in a game that featured seven lead changes. The Pack limited Rhode Island to 1-of-9 shooting over the final five minutes while shooting 5-of-7 itself in that same time span. NC State shot a blistering 72.7 percent (8-of-11) in the fourth quarter.
NC State had four players score in double figures
Saniya Rivers (19),
Aziaha James (17),
Mimi Collins (10) and
Zoe Brooks (10). Rivers had a near triple-double with a team-leading seven assists and six steals on the afternoon.
Collins led the team in rebounds with 11, her first double-double as a member of the Pack. She also hit the 1,000 career point mark, having scored 267 of those in her last two seasons at NC State.
In the first half, NC State dug itself out of a 10-point hole to trail by four (30-26) at the break. After taking a timeout with the score at 23-13 in Rhode Island's favor (9:02, 2Q), NC State scored on three possessions in a row and went on an 8-0 run to bring it back as close as two points in the second quarter. The Wolfpack held the Rams scoreless for nearly six minutes during that run.
At the start of the third quarter, NC State's paint attack sent it to the free throw line quite a few times to keep the team within striking distance. The team took a brief lead with 1:12 remaining in the third quarter, but the Rams hit a three to end the period to go back in front. NC State never trailed by more than three in the opening phases of the fourth quarter before going on its run to take the lead and close out the win.
NC State will play its first games away from home this coming week as it makes the trip to St. Thomas, USVI for the 2023 Paradise Jam. The Wolfpack will take on Kentucky on Thursday, Nov. 23, Cincinnati on Friday, Nov. 24 and fifth-ranked Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 26 with all three contests set to be streamed on ESPN+.
https://gopack.com/news/2023/11/19/womens-basketball-nc-state-guts-out-67-58-win-over-rhode-island-to-remain-perfect