NC State women survive Ole Miss. Three takeaways from ACC-SEC Challenge matchup
Zamareya Jones yelled “Let’s go” and pounded both fists toward the floor after hitting a 3-point shot to put the Wolfpack ahead by 16 with 39 seconds remaining in the first half. Jones embodied N.C. State’s intensity in its return to Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack women have struggled this season with energy and stamina, but it finally looked like a complete team — at times — Thursday, defeating Ole Miss, 68-61, in the second annual ACC-SEC Challenge.
N.C. State (5-3) led by as many as 22 points with 3:45 to play in the third quarter, and looked like it had the win secured. Ole Miss (5-3) threw just about everything at the Wolfpack to stay in the game, though, and made things interesting down the stretch.
“What a way to make a living, huh? Obviously, got off to a great start,” N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said. “We knew they were going to make a run. We knew they had that in them ... but good win.”
The Rebels’ press challenged the Pack in the fourth quarter, especially on inbounds plays. Moore’s squad was flustered as it tried to break down the traps and had to put up a fight just to get the ball past midcourt. Ole Miss’ late-game effort forced seven turnovers in the final period alone.
That was expected to be an issue, as Ole Miss’ defense averages 24.6 turnovers per game. The Wolfpack played with relative discipline in the first half, committing three turnovers in the first quarter and five in the second.
The wheels came off after intermission. N.C. State turned the ball over 22 times, which the Rebels turned into 24 points, leading to the visitors’ comeback attempt.
Zoe Brooks said the pressure increased the tempo, which led to the turnovers. She admitted that seeing a 20-point lead dwindle creates anxiety.
“It’s like, I don’t want to mess up and be the reason why they come back or why they just scored two or three points,” Brooks said.
The Pack shot 4 of 14 in the fourth. Additionally, the Pack shot a season-low 10-20 (.500) from the free throw line.
“I was concerned about our players,” Moore said. “Were they panicking? Were they getting down and thinking, ‘Oh, here we go?’”
Brooks said it took a lot of mental fortitude and desire to win. Thankfully, N.C. State built up a lead large enough it could weather the storm and forced 13 turnovers of its own.
Brooks led all scorers with 19 points, on 8 of 13 shooting, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. She hit a pair of clutch free throws to create a two-possession lead with seconds left. Jones added 14 points and shot 4 of 4 from the perimeter.
“That’s a good team. They’re not going to quit. They obviously didn’t,” Saniya Rivers said. “They’re a well-coached, well-disciplined team. Shout out to them for fighting, but, luckily, we scored a couple more points than them.”
Here are three takeaways from N.C. State’s win in the ACC-SEC Challenge.
Wolfpack puts together strong first half
N.C. State’s first-half performances this season have left something to be desired. Such was not the case on Thursday.
The Wolfpack took a 37-21 lead into the halftime break, its best first-half performance against a Power Four opponent and second-best this season. It scored 47 in the first two quarters against Coastal Carolina two weeks ago.
It shot 13 of 27 from the field (.481%) and 7 of 9 (.778%) from the perimeter to take the 16-point lead. Guard Zamareya Jones led all scorers with 12 points, hitting all four attempts from 3-point range.
Entering the contest, N.C. State had only scored 29 first-half points against ETSU, LSU and Southern. The team scored between 30 and 33 points in three other contests.
The Pack still has work to do offensively. While it finished with 12 assists on 25 made shots, it still took too many 1-on-1 shots, reflecting its need to work on movement and communication. But, N.C. State showed much-needed improvement that it can build on.
“We have a tendency for one person to get it and and be in attack mode, and everybody else to stand around and watch,” Moore said. “That’s not what we want. We’ve we still got a long ways to go. Maybe I over scheduled considering some of the losses we had interior wise, but hopefully it’s going to make us better.”
Rivers leads early efforts
Rivers entered the game averaging 9.9 points per game on just 37.7% shooting, nearly four points lower than her 2023-24 season average. The senior guard had made just four 3-point field goals in the first seven games of the season. She finally seemed to find a stride against the SEC opponent.
Rivers made the Wolfpack’s first two buckets of the night — a stepback 3 on the first possession and transition layup — to give her team a 5-0 lead. She went 3 of 6 in the first half and scored eight points.
Rivers was quiet in the second half and scored just two points. But, she added six rebounds, four assists and a block in the win.
“Coming in, hitting two 3s and then the layup, it felt really good to me,” Rivers said. “My teammates kept feeding the rock. I didn’t score a whole lot more after the first half, but I do other things. I’m playing both sides of the ball, rebounding, contributing where I can. I’m just glad I can help, contribute in whatever way to help with the win.”
N.C. State has a relatively young group, featuring eight underclassmen, so it needs the veterans to play efficiently. Even though she didn’t continue her hot shooting after the break, hopefully, Rivers’ strong start can spark something going forward.
Rebounding over the Rebs
N.C. State can credit its effort on the glass for its first win over an opponent from a major conference.
The Wolfpack out-rebounded the Rebels, 25-18, in the first half and finished with a 45-35 advantage. Of those rebounds, N.C. State notched 14 offensive boards and scored 15 second-chance points.
Ole Miss entered the game averaging 43 rebounds per game, which was good enough for No. 28 in the nation. It ranked No. 5 for offensive rebounds per game (19.4) and No. 3 for offensive rebounding percentage (.474%).
The Rebels typically finished games with a plus-10.9 rebounding margin.
On the other side, N.C. State averaged 38.4 rebounds per game. That put the Pack at No 134 in the nation. It ranked No. 137 for rebounding margin (plus-2.9).
The seniors led N.C. State’s effort, with Madison Hayes finishing with nine boards, while Rivers and James combined for 11.
“I think that all those losses that we had (were) just off of pure rebounding. We got out-rebounded,” Brooks said. “Today we came out and we just made that an emphasis that we’re gonna out-rebound them. I think that’s why we won.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 9:28 PM.
