NC State women's basketball holds off Lady Vols in March Madness, advances to Sweet 16
RALEIGH — NC State women's basketball fought off the Tennessee Lady Vols in Reynolds Coliseum on Monday for a trip to the Sweet 16 of March Madness.
Junior guard Aziaha James scored 10 of her team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as the No. 3-seeded Wolfpack eliminated potential WNBA lottery pick Rickea Jackson and No. 6-seeded Tennessee 79-72, holding off a last-gasp charge by the Lady Vols.
The Wolfpack moved on to face No. 2 Stanford at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, in the 16th Sweet 16 in program history.
NC State (29-6) had too much offense for No. 6-seeded Tennessee (20-13) on Monday, but just barely. The Lady Vols shaved a 20-point deficit down to only two in the second half, led by Jackson, who finished with 33 points and 10 boards.
The Pack fought off the rally behind a tough defense anchored inside by River Baldwin and timely shooting from James, Saniya Rivers and Zoe Brooks. All four scored in double-figures for NC State.
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NC State women's basketball's Aziaha James sparks offense
James scored six points in each of the first two quarters, but how she scored them added a boost to the Wolfpack. Pushing tempo and playing aggressively, James forced turnovers on defense and got downhill on offense for several athletic layups to ignite the home crowd.
Brooks and Rivers, too, finished well in transition and found Tennessee's defense on its heels. The Wolfpack outscored the Lady Vols 20-5 in fast-break points before halftime, 40-26 for the game.
Lady Vols' Rickea Jackson is a bucket
Tennessee’s leading scorer and rebounder, Jackson was on fire to start the game. She put up 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first quarter alone, hitting both of her 3-point attempts as the Lady Vols trailed 24-23 after 10 minutes.
NC State was clearly looking to go inside early on offense, feeding Baldwin and outscoring Tennessee 24-8 in the paint in the first half. The Lady Vols shot 58.8% in the first quarter, but that shooting dropped to 30% in the second quarter as the Wolfpack opened an 18-point halftime lead and held Jackson to just two points in the second quarter. The drop-off was partly due to Madison Hayes' defense on Jackson and a team defense that gave up just eight points in the second quarter.
Wolfpack, Lady Vols basketball share coaching tree
Wes Moore and Kellie Harper carry the legacies of not only legendary programs but also game-changing coaching giants Pat Summitt and Kay Yow.
Harper followed both icons, coming to NC State from Western Carolina in 2009. After four seasons with the Wolfpack, she coached at Missouri State and then was hired in 2019 by Tennessee — where she won three straight national titles as Summitt's point guard.
Harper and her husband Jon, a current Lady Vols assistant, were on Moore's staff at Chattanooga 20 years ago. Moore polished his chops on Yow's staff after growing up in Tennessee and starting his coaching career in Pat Summitt's home of Maryville, Tennessee, working her camps and learning, especially about defense, from the Lady Vols coach.
"On one hand it's great to see them and visit with them a little bit," Moore said Friday. "On the other hand, I wish they weren't here. You hate to play really close friends. We've been fortunate to dodge it as long as we have."