RALEIGH, N.C. (Courtesy of NC State Athletics) – The Wolfpack women’s basketball team (29-6) is headed to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time in program history and the fourth time in the last five NCAA Tournaments after beating sixth-seeded Tennessee (20-13) by a 79-72 score in Monday afternoon’s second-round showdown.
Four members of the Wolfpack reached double figures in the contest led by Aziaha James with a 22, a personal best for the junior in NCAA Tournament action. James additionally passed out a team-high seven assists while collecting three rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Saniya Rivers with 20 points, while freshman Zoe Brooks contributed 16 and River Baldwin posted 11. Baldwin additionally grabbed seven rebounds while tossing in a pair of blocked shots.
In what was the first-ever NCAA Tournament matchup between two storied programs, the Pack put together a 34-8 run stretching from 1:50 in the first quarter to 9:10 in the third period that pushed NC State ahead by a game-high 20 points.
After trailing by as many as six points in the opening frame at 23-17, the Wolfpack held the Lady Vols scoreless over the next 4:17 of action while firing the final seven points of the first period and the first six of the second. The 13-0 spurt within the 34-8 run erased the Pack’s six-point deficit and reversed it into a seven-point edge, the largest by either team to that point.
NC State outscored Tennessee 25-8 in the second period, taking an 18-point lead into the locker room at halftime. While the Wolfpack’s lead was pushed to 20 points after a Mimi Collins layup to open the half, the Lady Vols fought back to a single-digit deficit at the end of the third quarter, limiting NC State to just nine points in the frame.
Tennessee worked the Wolfpack’s lead down to as few as two points in the fourth after a 7-0 run, but a quick 5-0 spurt from James that included a runner and a three-pointer stretched the lead back to seven.
NC State’s defense limited the Lady Vols to just three field over the final 4:15 of play, outscoring Tennessee 14-9 and advancing the Pack to the second weekend of tournament play.
The Wolfpack men’s basketball team punched its ticket to the next round on Saturday, making this the third season in school history (1985, 1989, 2024) that both teams advanced to their respective Sweet 16s. NC State joins Duke as the two ACC schools with both of its programs playing in this year’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
The Wolfpack heads to Portland, Ore., for regional action where it will face second-seeded and fourth-ranked Stanford on Friday, March 29. The tip-off time and television designation for that Round of 16 contest will be posted on the GoPack schedule page when available.