South Raleigh News

The NC State women's basketball team concluded their non-conference schedule with a victory over James Madison, securing a 61-47 win. This marks the team's 12th consecutive home win under head coach Wes Moore, who celebrated his 1,100th game as a head coach. The Wolfpack established an early lead with a significant 16-2 run in the first quarter and maintained control throughout the game. They held James Madison to 27 percent shooting from the field, marking the fourth time this season they have restricted an opponent to such low accuracy.

Aziaha James was the leading scorer for NC State with 21 points, while teammates Madison Hayes and Zoe Brooks contributed 11 and 10 points respectively. Tilda Trygger led in rebounds with seven.

The game began with Saniya Rivers scoring quickly after winning the tip-off. Brooks scored six of the team's initial ten points, contributing to an early lead of 12-5 within four minutes. The team extended their run to 12 unanswered points with three-pointers from James and Hayes. By the end of the first quarter, NC State led James Madison by a score of 20-7.

The second quarter saw less scoring activity, with NC State being outscored by James Madison 10-6. Despite hitting cold streaks, including a scoring drought lasting four and a half minutes, NC State managed to maintain their lead at halftime with a score of 26-17.

In the third quarter, Mallory Collier converted a three-point play after drawing contact on a layup. Although James Madison reduced their deficit to six points at one stage, Aziaha James responded by scoring three consecutive baskets for NC State. Her performance helped extend their lead back to double digits before entering the final quarter ahead by nine points.

James continued her strong performance into the fourth quarter by opening it with two jumpers. Despite another small run from James Madison cutting into their lead again, Hayes responded promptly with another three-pointer for NC State. Devyn Quigley also contributed significantly in this period by making two free throws followed by a successful three-pointer during an eight-point run that further solidified their victory.

Coach Wes Moore's milestone game saw several standout performances: Aziaha James achieved her fifth game this season scoring over twenty points; Hayes recorded her fourth double-digit scoring effort; Brooks registered ten first-half points along with assists and steals; Quigley added eight crucial late-game points; Trygger provided valuable rebounding support off-the-bench.

NC State now looks forward to resuming ACC play against Clemson on December 29th at Reynolds Coliseum where tickets are currently sold out but may be available through secondary markets like SeatGeek.