Tobacco Road turf war: NC State women start strong, hold off UNC to reach ACC final
One women’s basketball team from the Triangle was guaranteed a spot in the ACC Championship on Saturday. With revenge on its mind, N.C. State will be that team.
After the Wolfpack lost to North Carolina by one point during the regular season — Aziaha James unable to score the last-second go-ahead shot — top-seeded N.C. State ran out to an early lead and held off fifth-seeded UNC, 66-55, in their rematch at the ACC Tournament semifinals.
The Wolfpack will now play in the ACC title game for the second consecutive season and fifth time in six years.
“We want this game. We want to play them,” N.C. State’s Tilda Trygger said Friday night. “It’s very important for us to win this one, because losing by one wasn’t fun at all. This is the matchup. We want to play them, and we want to win.”
Mission accomplished.
N.C. State will play the winner of No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Duke at 1 p.m. Sunday, seeking its fourth title in six years. North Carolina will head home to Chapel Hill and prepare for the NCAA Tournament.
“It feels good,” Aziaha James said after the win. “I don’t mess with those blues. Everything about them blues … They can stay away.”
N.C. State’s defense looked much better and more locked in Saturday, with the Wolfpack jumping on the Tar Heels in the first quarter. UNC scored five points early, but the Wolfpack then held the Heels scoreless for 8½ minutes and forced seven first-quarter turnovers. UNC’s five first-quarter points marked its lowest-scoring quarter of the season.
The Pack used its defensive effort to create offense, scoring nine points off Tar Heel turnovers and three in transition. North Carolina missed 12 consecutive shots, and the Pack capitalized with a 21-0 run between the first and second periods.
Trygger scored N.C. State’s first eight points after finding success in all three phases. The freshman knocked down a layup on the pick-and-roll, a putback after Alyssa Ustby blocked Madison Hayes’ shot, pulled up from 3 and made a free throw.
N.C. State forced nine first-half North Carolina turnovers, including three steals, and scored 11 points off the miscues. The Tar Heels committed a turnover on 25.7% of their opening possessions. UNC averages 13 turnovers per game and a turnover rate of 18.6%.
Carolina finished with 13 total turnovers, which the Wolfpack turned into 15 points.
UNC made a push in the second quarter, outscoring N.C. State, 21-17, to cut the Wolfpack’s lead to six points at halftime. The Tar Heels were led by Lexi Donarski and Grace Townsend. Donarski scored six points and Townsend added seven.
Carolina continued its effort after the break to get back in the game. The Tar Heels focused on working inside to take the N.C. State bigs one-on-one, where they attempted to take advantage of size and experience mismatches. Fatigue appeared to set in for Carolina, as it finished with 11 points in the third. James nearly out-scored the opponent, adding 10 points by herself.
Indya Nivar took over scoring for the Tar Heels down the stretch, contributing 13 straight and cutting the Wolfpack’s lead to 11 points.
“Our players did a great job of the scout, applying the scout,” N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said. “They’ve got some players that are unbelievable 3-point shooters. They’ve got other players that are really hard to guard off the bounce, and you’ve got to try to take away their strength.
“Now, they can score other ways, but you’ve got to try to take away their strengths. A big emphasis was transition, trying to slow that down, and then second-chance points. I’m so proud of them. They carried those two things out unbelievably well and tried to take away player strengths.”
The Tar Heels finished with one fast-break point and 11 on second-chance opportunities.
James hit the floor in the first quarter after Maria Gakdeng’s shoulder appeared to hit James in the face on a drive to the basket. James briefly went to the locker room but returned to the game shortly before the quarter break. The guard returned to play in the second and immediately hit a 3 to give N.C. State a 16-point lead. The senior shot 1 of 6 from the field in the opening half, but picked things up after the intermission — primarily at the line. She led the team with 19 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 free-throw performance, and nine rebounds.
“We knew Za wasn’t going to stay down too long,” Saniya Rivers said. “She is made for these moments, made to play on these stages. It just created a big momentum shift for us, and we’re just glad that she was able to come back in and physically finish it out with us.”
Depth became a significant concern for N.C. State in the second half when all three post players were called for at least three fouls. Trygger was called for her third foul with seven minutes left in the game. Lorena Awou, who replaced Trygger, picked up her fourth midway through the quarter. Then, officials called Mallory Collier for three in the fourth.
Zamareya Jones and Zoe Brooks faced foul trouble as well. The Pack was called for 11 fouls in the fourth.
Despite concerns about the post play, Collier and Awou made big plays in the second half. Collier grabbed an offensive rebound and muscled in a layup to put N.C. State up, 52-37. Awou scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including the Wolfpack’s final three shots.
“It was really exciting just to come off the bench and help my team win the game and move on to the next,” Awou said.
James said the underclassmen played a key role in the win. They scored 29 points and contributed 15 rebounds.
“Coach Moore always emphasizes those McDonald’s fries; staying hot and salty and ready,” James said. “They definitely gave an example of that. Mallory came out, Zamareya came out, Tilda came out. They all came out ready and fresh, and they knocked down their shots.
“They’re playing like upperclassmen. They’re ready for the spotlight, and I’m so proud of all of them.”
Officials called Ustby for two fouls in the first five minutes of play and she committed three of the Tar Heels’ early turnovers. Ustby was called for her third with 2:38 left in the third quarter after a hook-and-hold on Hayes.
Overall, the Pack’s defense shut down the graduate student. Ustby, an All-ACC first-team selection, was limited to six points on 2-of-9 shooting.
“Have to apologize, we just didn’t play very well. You can’t not play well in March,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “You can say any detail you want, but we just didn’t play well enough. There were times where we played hard enough, but just none of our guys, myself included, we just weren’t good enough today. We regroup and have another chance.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 2:11 PM.
