No. 7 NC State stifles No. 14 UNC, reaches ACC tourney final

Aziaha James poured in 19 points and No. 7 NC State bolted to a double-figure lead en route to defeating No. 14 North Carolina 66-55 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon at Greensboro, N.C.

Top-seeded NC State (26-5) will meet the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between Duke and Notre Dame in Sunday’s final. Madison Hayes and Lorena Awou both added 10 points as NC State avenged a one-point road loss on Feb. 16.

Indya Nivar’s 13 points and Maria Gakdeng’s 10 points and 10 rebounds paced fifth-seeded North Carolina (27-7), which shot just 27.9 percent from the field.

Tilda Trygger scored the Wolfpack’s first eight points as part of a 16-0 stretch that produced a 16-5 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Tar Heels endured a scoring drought of nearly 11 minutes as NC built a 21-5 edge, but North Carolina was within 33-26 at halftime.

–Field Level Media