RALEIGH — Aziaha James scored 28 points to help No. 3 NC State outlast No. 15 Louisville 77-67 in front of a sellout crowd on Monday night.
James shot 10 of 18 from the floor and had seven rebounds for the Wolfpack (20-2, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) in their fifth straight win. NC State was also boosted by 12 points and 10 rebounds from Madison Hayes and 10 points from River Baldwin.
“The first half was a whole lot more fun,” NC State coach Wes Moore said. “Obviously it helps when you’re knocking down shots. But we were also getting out in transition, getting to the rim or kicking and knocking down 3s. So, that was good.”
Olivia Cochran powered the Cardinals (19-4, 8-2) with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Kiki Jefferson added 16 points and Jayda Curry chipped in 12.
After trailing by four points early on, NC State ended the first quarter with a six-point advantage after an 18-8 run. The stretch was kickstarted by back-to-back 3-pointers from James, who scored 16 points in the opening frame.
“I saw the bucket getting bigger and bigger every possession,” James said. “So, just attacking, attacking, attacking. I knew they were fouling, so getting to the free-throw line was helping us as well.”
That momentum carried into the second quarter, which the Wolfpack opened with a 19-4 run punctuated by a steal and short jumper from Zoe Brooks that gave NC State a 21-point lead, its largest of the day. Louisville trimmed the deficit to six points in the fourth quarter, but never got any closer.
“We can play with anybody, but there’s a mindset to it. There’s a toughness to it,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. “You have to play for 40 minutes. I told them, that’s what my concern is. … And you can’t get emotional when you miss a shot.”
Players from both teams wore uniforms featuring pink in celebration of N.C. State’s “Play4Kay Game” which aims to honor former Wolfpack coach Kay Yow and everyone who has battled cancer.
It was the second consecutive game against a ranked opponent for both Louisville and NC State. Each will play a third on Thursday, and Louisville will play a fourth on Sunday against No. 23 Syracuse.
The ACC had five teams ranked in Monday’s poll — tied for the second-most among conferences — and a sixth team, UNC, was just on the outside with 27th-most received votes.
“This was a stretch here where you have an opportunity to make a statement,” Moore said. “This stretch is kind of like what you would see in an NCAA Tournament, trying to go to a Final Four. You’re going to have to go through at least three really, really good teams to get there.”
The ACC also had nine teams in the top 45 of the NCAA’s NET rankings entering Monday, the most of any conference.
The Wolfpack host No. 16 Virginia Tech on Thursday.
