Fifth-ranked NC State women's basketball (8-0) handed Vanderbilt (7-1) its first loss of the season on Wednesday night in Reynolds Coliseum, knocking off the Commodores 70-62 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
The victory wrapped up a perfect 8-0 November for the Pack, was the team's 13th non-conference home win in a row and extended the squad's home streak against unranked non-conference opponents to 56 games. Additionally, Wednesday marked 11th-year head coach
Wes Moore's 250th victory at NC State.
The Pack was led by
Saniya Rivers, who finished with a game-high 22 points, while
Aziaha James,
River Baldwin and
Zoe Brooks also each finished in double figures with 14, 12 and 10 points, respectively. Baldwin also collected a team-best ten rebounds, securing her first double-double of the season. A strong offensive performance was aided by four assists from Brooks, while the Pack's defense forced Vanderbilt into 13 turnovers and blocked seven Commodore shots.
An evenly-played first 15 minutes of action saw neither the Wolfpack or Commodores extend a lead to anything greater than four points. The Pack held early edges of 15-11 and 18-14, while Vanderbilt never led by more than a single point.
NC State found its rhythm on both ends of the floor in the waning minutes of the second quarter, with the Pack using a 17-7 run to close the period. The Wolfpack stretched its advantage to as many as 11 points late in the second frame while proceeding to carry a 35-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
NC State got moving quickly after the break, opening the second half on a 12-6 spurt to pull away from the Commodores. Kicking off the third quarter with a made three-pointer by
Aziaha James, the Pack grabbed a 12-point lead and pushed its edge to as many as 26 points in the second half at 62-36 in the fourth quarter.
The Commodores were able to bring the score within single digits late in the game, trimming NC State's lead to nine points with 2:13 left in the contest and then cutting it to eight with 1:02 left. Despite the late surge from Vanderbilt, the Wolfpack's 15-2 run that spanned from 3:29 in the third period to 8:07 in the fourth quarter proved to be too much to overcome.
The Pack is back in action at home on Sunday, Dec. 3 to host Illinois State. Tip-off for the game between the Wolfpack and the Redbirds is scheduled for 2 p.m on ACCNX, and
limited tickets remain for the contest that will also serve as the team's annual alumni reunion.
https://gopack.com/news/2023/11/29/womens-basketball-nc-state-improves-to-8-0-with-acc-sec-challenge-victory-over-vandy