The third-ranked NC State women's basketball team (11-0) remained unbeaten on the 2023-24 season and handed South Florida (7-4) its first home loss of the year in 66-54 fashion on Saturday night.
The Wolfpack's 11-0 start is the fourth such start in 11 seasons of the
Wes Moore era and the fifth in program history. Prior to the team's victory, the Bulls had not lost a non-conference game at home since falling to fourth-ranked Baylor on Dec. 1, 2020.
River Baldwin and
Aziaha James tied for the team lead in scoring with 16 points apiece. Both of them put together a well-rounded night, with Baldwin shooting 7-of-8 and pulling down 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the year and James pacing the team with five assists and no turnovers.
Madison Hayes and
Zoe Brooks both finished with 12 points to also hit double figures in scoring, and
Mimi Collins finished just short of that with nine points.
The Pack led by 12 (40-28) at halftime after owning a +6 margin in both of the first two quarters. Baldwin and James combined for 18 of NC State's 22 first-quarter points and shot a collective 8-of-9 in the first 10 minutes of the game, leading the way for the Wolfpack's 66.7 percent (10-of-15) field-goal clip as a team in the period.
South Florida scored the first six of the second quarter to briefly tie it up but then went cold from there as the Pack held the Bulls to zero field goals for 6:44 to go up by as many as 14 (38-24) in the first half.
The Bulls burned two of their timeouts in that stretch and were never able to make up that distance in the second half. The squads pretty much traded shot for shot in the third quarter, and NC State managed to extend its lead to 15 (59-44) headed into the fourth. South Florida brought it within 10 after scoring the first five of the final period but never came closer down the stretch.
As a team, the Pack shot 28-of-56, its fourth time this season shooting 50+ percent from the floor. After giving up a pair of offensive rebounds to the Bulls in the first quarter, NC State went on to out-rebound USF 10-7 on the offensive glass and 42-28 (+14) overall. The Wolfpack also dominated the paint, scoring 42 of its 66 points there.
NC State plays another road game at Old Dominion on Wednesday, Dec. 20 before taking a break for the holidays. Tip-off between the Wolfpack and the Monarchs is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
https://gopack.com/news/2023/12/16/womens-basketball-3-wolfpack-beats-bulls-66-54-in-teams-first-road-game-of-2023-24