NC State drops final regular season road matchup vs. Duke

NC State kept it close for a half on the road, and the Wolfpack’s offense put up points despite Diamond Johnson’s absence, but a hot three-point shooting shooting night for the hosts helped lead to a  77-62 win for No. 11 Duke. 

The Pack shot 3 for 14 from deep. Per the ACC Network broadcast, this was Duke’s first regular season sweep of NC State since 2010. The Blue Devils, who had not scored 70 points since its Dec. 29 matchup against the Wolfpack, shot 8 of 21 three-point attempts and scored its highest point total since Dec. 4. 

Aziaha James started her second-consecutive game at point guard and came out playing well in every phase of the game. She found Jada Boyd for an easy transition layup and assisted on 2 of the Pack’s opening possessions. After crossing up a Duke defender and hitting her first shot of the game, she then drew an offensive foul on the other end of the court to cap off an extremely impressive sequence. 

Boyd looked for her shot early in the matchup, scoring 7 of the team’s first 11 points Thursday night. She finished the matchup with a team-leading 19 points. NC State took a 15-14 lead into the second period after the Blue Devils turned the ball over 4 times. 

Transition offense was huge for the visitors early in the game, as they looked to break an intense full court press by Duke that regularly held opponents to fewer than 50 points this season. 

NC State scored one field goal, a layup by Jakia Brown-Turner, in the first 5 minutes of the second quarter. Over the first 15 minutes of the ACC showdown, the Blue Devils scored just 2 points in the paint, but jumped out to a lead of as many as 6. The Wolfpack offense then started to surge behind 5-consecutive points by Brown-Turner, who scored 12 points Thursday. With 1:48 to go, Mimi Collins hit a jump shot, and NC State retook the lead 28-26.

The Blue Devils finished the half on a 7-2 run and held a 33-30 advantage going into the break. While the No. 11-ranked hosts average only 4.9 three-point attempts, they hit 4 in the first half alone Thursday night. Both squads turned the ball over 8 times in the opening 2 periods. 

Camille Hobby scored twice early to start the second half, hitting shots that bookended a nearly three-minute scoring drought for NC State. The Wolfpack trailed by 6 going coming out of the third-quarter media timeout but then allowed 5 points in fewer than 60 seconds as the Blue Devils lead ballooned to 11. Duke held a 54-44 lead going into the fourth after scoring 11 second-chance points on 5 offensive rebounds. 

Head coach Wes Moore called a quick timeout in the final period after a 5-0 run by the hosts. After the Blue Devils built a 17-point lead at the 5:33 minute mark, the Pack made one last push on an 8-0 run headlined by threes for Brown-Turner and Saniya Rivers, who scored 9 second-half points and 11 overall. Duke hit timely shots down the stretch, and the hosts held off the Wolfpack to secure the win. 

Celeste Taylor paced the Blue Devils with 21 points.

NC State now stands 18-10 on the year and 8-9 in the ACC. The program hosts Pittsburgh Sunday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m..