No. 3 seed NC State holds off No. 6 seed Tennessee
RALEIGH, N.C. — Aziaha James scored 22 points and No. 3 seed North Carolina State blew nearly all of a 20-point lead before holding off No. 6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Monday’s second round of the NCAA Tournament, sending the Wolfpack back to the Sweet 16.
Saniya Rivers added 20 points for the Wolfpack (29-6), who dominated the second quarter to build that huge margin before the Lady Vols (20-13) started creeping their way back.
Tennessee got as close as two points in the fourth, but N.C. State did just enough to protect its lead. That sent the Wolfpack on to a date with No. 2 seed Stanford in the Portland 4 Region.
James came up big in the critical moment amid the Lady Vols’ surge. First the 5-foot-9 junior scored on a floater over the outstreched arms of 6-6 post Tamari Key. Then, after Baldwin blocked a shot from Rickea Jackson from behind, James curled around the left wing to catch and feed from Saniya Rivers and stick a huge 3-pointer for a 70-63 lead at the 2:48 mark.
Tennessee didn’t get it back to a one-possession game again.
Jackson had 33 points and 10 rebounds to lead Tennessee, which was trying for its third straight trip to the regional semifinals. And the Lady Vols flirted with tying the second-biggest comeback in women’s tournament history, fighting back to within a single bucket with about 4 minutes left.
N.C. State appeared on its way with a strong finish to the first quarter and an absolutely dominant second. After trailing 23-17 early, N.C. State outscored Tennessee 32-8 for the rest of the half — including a 16-2 burst that carried right into the locker room with reserve Maddie Cox’s catch-and-fire corner 3 giving the Wolfpack an 18-point margin.
Mimi Collins scored in the first minute of the third quarter, pushing N.C. State to its biggest lead at 51-31 before the Lady Vols started the long climb back.
The game marked the first meeting between
the programs, as well as deeply intertwined sidelined connections. There was Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper facing off against a program she led for four years in the difficult aftermath of the passing of late Hall of Famer Kay Yow.. There was also coaching against Wolfpack coach Wes Moore after working on his staff at Chattanooga.