Wolfpack women's basketball (13-0, 1-0 ACC) took care of business in its first conference game of the season, winning 72-61 in a road test at Virginia (8-4, 0-1 ACC) to also close out the 2023 calendar year.
The Pack took advantage of a 15-point scoring margin in the third quarter to put its lead into double figures where it stayed for the final 11:21 of the game. The victory marked NC State's eighth season in a row winning its ACC opener.
Mimi Collins led the way in scoring for NC State, setting a new career high of 25 points while shooting 9-of-15 and knocking down three triples.
River Baldwin (14 points, 12 rebounds) and
Saniya Rivers (10 points, 16 rebounds) both posted double-doubles, with Rivers' 16 rebounds marking the most boards for a member of the Pack since Feb. 6, 2020. The Wolfpack guard finished just two assists shy of a triple-double with her team-leading eight.
NC State trailed by one (32-21) at the half after struggling to shoot the ball in the opening 20 minutes. After Virginia took the lead early, NC State went on a 12-0 run to go up by eight points (17-9) to mark its largest lead of the first half. The Pack held the Cavaliers to 0-of-6 shooting and three turnovers in that span and led 17-10 after the first frame, but Virginia outscored NC State 22-14 in the second quarter to take that lead into the locker room, the Pack's first time in nine games (Nov. 19) trailing at the break.
In the third quarter, the Pack scored seven unanswered in the first three minutes to regain its lead. Virginia started the second half shooting 0-for-4 and turning the ball over six times to result in the Pack leading by 10 for the first time (43-33), and NC State's 14-point lead after three quarters (54-40) was too much for the Cavaliers to chip away at in the fourth.
The Wolfpack limited Virginia to 27.8 percent shooting (20-of-72) and out-rebounded one of the league's best teams in that category by 12 (56-44).
NC State returns home for the first time in three and a half weeks to host Florida State on Thursday, Jan. 4. Tip-off between the Wolfpack and the Seminoles is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ACCNX, and tickets for the game are sold out but available for resale on
SeatGeek.
https://gopack.com/news/2023/12/31/womens-basketball-3-pack-beats-cavaliers-72-61-in-first-acc-game-of-season