North Carolina State University

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In a game in which the Pack led for just three minutes, NC State found a way to win and gut out a 74-66 win. NC State outscored the Orange 20-9 in the fourth quarter and closed out the game on an 11-0 run. Zoe Brooks led the Pack with 19 points, while Madison Hayes followed with another big game behind a  double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pack logged 22 points off 12 Syracuse turnovers and logged 24 fast break points to Syracuse’s two. With the win, the Pack improved to 15-4 and 7-1 in league play, while winning its ninth straight over the Orange. The Pack has won 11 of its last 12.

NC State won the tipoff, and Madison Hayes hit a 3-pointer on the Pack’s second possession off a steal. Syracuse took an early 12-7 lead at the media timeout, as the Pack started 3-of-10 from the field with 4:52 left in the first. The Orange banked in a shot to take a seven-point lead. After the Pack was held in a scoring drought for over two minutes, Mallory Collier came up with a putback basket. Syracuse closed out the quarter on a 10-6 run, as the Pack trailed 24-15 after the first quarter.

Syracuse extended its lead to 11 in the second quarter and Zamareya Jones answered with a tough jumper. The Orange went back up by 11 until the Pack took a 7-0 run initiated by a Hayes layup. Syracuse dug out of its three-minute drought with a triple, but James responded with a jumper, and with 4:51 left in the second quarter, the Pack trailed 31-26. When the Pack would chip at the lead, getting as close as three, Syracuse would answer. Just before the half, Syracuse nailed a triple, as the Pack trailed 42-32 at the half.

James hit a jumper to start the scoring for the Pack in the second half. The Pack used better defense in the second half and a James jumper started a 4-0 run, as Syracuse took a timeout. NC State trailed 44-38 with 6:29 left in the third quarter. The Pack’s tough shooting night continued and Syracuse nailed a 3-pointer to push its lead back to 11. Hayes then nailed a triple and Lorena Awou came up with a putback. A Hayes layup cut the deficit to three, as the Pack was on a quick 8-0 run. Syracuse then made two quick baskets to make it a 53-46 game with 1:30 left in the third. The Pack took another quick run with a 5-0 run, as Hayes hit another triple and Brooks picked the pocket for a layup and cut the deficit to two. Syracuse made four free throws, but right before the buzzer, Jones knocked down a corner three to trail 57-54 heading into the fourth quarter.

Hayes capitalized on the Pack’s first possession of the fourth quarter, as she came up with an and-1 to tie the game, 57-57. The Pack went 0-of-6 on its next attempts until James hit a jumper to tie the game once again, 59-59. The Orange did not have a field goal for nearly five minutes until a jumper, as Syracuse led 62-59 with 3:53 left in the game. James made two free throws and drew a charge, which led to a Brooks jumper to help the Pack take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game, 63-62. The Orange retook the lead by one until Brooks made two free throws, giving the Pack what would be the lead for good, 67-66 with 1:19 left in the game. James then delivered a jumper to extend the Pack’s lead to three with under a minute to play. The Pack got a stop on defense and Rivers got fouled off the rebound, making one of two shots. NC State made another stop with 14 seconds left in the game. The Orange fouled quickly and Syracuse’s head coach picked up a technical. NC State made three of those four free throws to pull out the 74-66 win.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Zoe Brooks

On gutting out the win:

I think we are very used to playing in front of a very big crowd at home and sometimes when you go away, it’s hard for us to feed off the other crowd’s energy because obviously it’s not as loud, but… we played together and found a way to win.

On the value of playing close games:

On any given night, any team can win at the end of the day. We are all Division I basketball players so anybody can win, it doesn’t matter if we are supposed to win… Whoever wants to win more is going to win the game.

Madison Hayes

On gutting out the win:

It was just big. We had to really rely on our bench and Lorena [Awou] gave really great minutes, just rebounding for us and being physical… A lot of our rolls didn’t go our way, but that’s fine. We just played through it and that was the biggest emphasis of blocking that out at halftime.

On having those big open looks from beyond the arc:

I am just trying to give more opportunities  for my team. I’m just trying to help wherever I can while being aggressive. I feel like that’s what I did tonight… Just rebounding defensively, being a big even though I’m undersized, so just trying to be better on that end. There are always things to work on, but I feel like I did a good offensively.

Mindset of team coming back from behind:

We were just confident and trying to keep our team together. We just kept making sure to keep getting stops because it’s hard to win a game when you are going score to score, so just trying to get stops on their end and score on our end and that’s what we did.

Wes Moore

On the win:

I knew it was going to be a tough game. We struggle looking at scores and comparisons and you just can’t do that in this league, especially with them coming off a rough loss Sunday. I knew they would come ready to play and that [Felisha Legette-Jack] would have them ready and we came out not ready… We have a night where Saniya [Rivers] and Aziaha [James] both struggled and some other people had to step up. Zoe [Brooks] is playing at a really high level right now, her assist to turnovers, and really just anything. She’s doing a lot for us. Madison Hayes posted almost another double-double and then Lorena [Awou] came in and gave us some solid minutes. Her presence inside helped a little bit defensively because they were having their way on the block, but it just shows you that you have to be ready to play every night in this league.

On individual performances:

Zoe Brooks – on evolving into the point guard he imagined:

Yes, she is. She had six assists to one turnover tonight. Last game she had seven assists, one turnover. Her ratio right now is unbelievable… She can score on her own definitely, but she is also getting everybody else involved, which is what you want from a point guard. And then she went out and got eight boards tonight so like I said, almost had a double-double, so heck of a job.

Madison Hayes:

We ask Madison to do stuff we probably shouldn’t ask. She is having to guard on the block some, she is having to really be a contributor on the boards and then obviously she knocks down some big three-pointers for us. She does a little bit of everything and she is playing at a high level right now… We need her to keep going like this. She is maybe playing her best basketball right now.

Lorena Awou:

Her presence, she has the length and all of it to really be a factor [inside]. To be honest, we were kind of struggling at the spot and the coaches were encouraging to try her and she stepped up in a big way. We see glimpses of it. If we can get her consistent because she’s a freshman… Luckily when she got in there she did a nice job and that probably earned her some more opportunities.

PACK FACTS

• Brooks logged 19 points, including seven big points in the fourth quarter. She registered eight rebounds and six assists with just one turnover in 38 minutes
• Hayes registered her third straight double-double behind 18 points and 10 boards with two blocks and two steals
• James recorded 14 points and two assists with one block and two steals
• Awou tallied six points and five rebounds with one block and one steal. She played a big 10 minutes, including seven in the fourth quarter and came up with a big board for the stop
• Jones logged five points off one 3-pointer with three boards in 18 minutes
• Rivers had four points and added six assists and two steals

UPCOMING

NC State will head back to Raleigh to host Virginia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.