NC State powered through ‘adversity’ in overtime win against Georgia Tech

With the game on the line against Georgia Tech, NC State junior guard Saniya Rivers drove to the rim with nine seconds left and got her shot to fall through contact. She hit the free throw, which gave the Wolfpack a 3-point advantage, and all the red and white needed was a stop.

NC State played solid defense on the other end, but Georgia Tech’s Kara Dunn, who was red-hot from distance all day, made a triple from the top of the key — even though she was draped by Aziaha James. 

Once that happened there were two thoughts that flowed through a pair of Wolfpack members’ heads. 

Coach Wes Moore wondered “is this meant to be?” The Yellow Jackets were able to knock down several three-point shots, including the game-tying triple, with stout defense from the Pack. 

While Moore had that thought, Rivers’ mind went somewhere else: the Pack’s 1-point loss at Virginia Tech. She hit a go-ahead layup with two seconds left in that one, but the Hokies were able to get the game-winner as time expired on the other end. 

 “That’s probably not what you’re supposed to be thinking, I was like, ‘No way I just hit this big shot and she came down [and did it],’” Rivers said. 

But, luckily for both Moore and Rivers, the Wolfpack was able to hold on for an 86-85 win over the Yellow Jackets on Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum. 

NC State survived against Georgia Tech, who is in the bottom half of the ACC standings, but the Wolfpack thought the contest was a positive experience at this point in the season. They were taken to the wire by a team hungry for a nationally-ranked victory.

“It shows that we can fight through adversity,” Rivers said. “It showed that we’re strong, we stay mentally locked in. They were hitting big shots. We expected it, we scouted it. It was a tough game, but I think we showed that we can push through together.”

While Rivers said the team proved it could overcome things not going its way — like a 47.6% three-point percentage allowed — graduate forward River Baldwin pointed to the depth of the ACC being a good challenge

“I think this just shows the battle that every game in the ACC is,” Baldwin said. “Everybody is going to bring their best, and when you carry yourself like we do, everybody’s going to come with their best every night. We just have to be ready for that.”

NC State withstood a 51.6% shooting clip from Georgia Tech, and a season-defining 31-point effort from Dunn to avoid an upset in Raleigh. The Wolfpack has dished a couple upsets this season — a 92-81 win over then-No. 2 UConn and a 78-60 victory over then-No. 3 Colorado in November.

Now, the Wolfpack is the prey with the target on their back. Rivers and Baldwin equated the entire season to the NCAA Tournament, no matter who the opponent is, including the Georgia Tech win.

“That’s March Madness for you, right there,” Rivers said. “That’s a tough game. You have to play until the buzzer. This game wasn’t even 40 minutes, it was 45. You have to play until the buzzer and you can see that anybody could have won that game.”

The Wolfpack, like it will try to do in the NCAA Tournament in March, survived and advanced (to its next regular season game) against the Yellow Jackets. 

Moore was happy his team did not throw in the towel and was able to come out on top. 

“I’m proud of the fact that they hung in there,” Moore said. “When you’re shooting 3-of-20 from three yourself, and they’re throwing everything in, it would be real easy to get discouraged and say ‘that’s not our day.’ This game was too important for that.”

NC State was able to pull it off, and Moore, who wondered if it was his team’s day, was able to draw from the concert he attended last night at PNC Arena. He saw the band Journey live, and as he walked out of his press conference. 

“Don’t stop believing,” Moore bellowed as he walked out of the interview room.