NC State Lets a Ticket to the Elite 8 Slip Out of Their Hands in the Final Minutes, Falling 73-80 to LSU in the Sweet 16

#2 Seed NC State simply couldn’t hold onto victory when it was within grasp tonight, falling 73-80 to #3 seed LSU in the Sweet 16.

The Tigers dominated the 1st Quarter, leading by as much as 11 points. Freshman Zam Jones rallied the Wolfpack in the 2nd Quarter, scoring 11 consecutive points in less than four minutes and giving NC State the lead. Jones finished the game with 13 points in 17 minutes, shooting 4 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from three.

The Pack entered halftime with a 40-36 lead.

LSU roared back in the 3rd, reclaiming the lead at the 6:32 mark and maintaining it through the period, leading by 4 heading into the 4th quarter.

NC State didn’t give up, regaining the lead with 8:03 left in the game through a layup from Sophomore Maddie Cox, who had the best game of her career. On a night when the stars weren’t shooting well, someone else had to step up for victory to be plausible. Cox scored a career-high 8 points and grabbed a season-high 7 rebounds, making 3 of her 4 shots and 2 out of 3 from beyond the arc. To put her offensive outburst into perspective, Cox hadn’t scored in a game since January 30th, when she had 2 points against Wake Forest. Entering the contest, she was 2 for 18 from three for the year.

The Wolfpack led by as much as 5 points in the 4th but were overtaken when LSU’s Mikaylah Williams made a layup with 1:07 left, giving the Tigers a 1-point lead. In the final 1:48, LSU went on a 10-0 run.

Sophomore Zoe Brooks did all she could to will the Pack to victory, leading the team with 21 points and tying for most assists with 5.

Remarkably, NC State was in a position to win the game with a minute left despite shooting only 37.3% from the field—roughly 6 percentage points lower than the Tigers. LSU outrebounded NC State by 16 overall, including 8 on the offensive glass. The only reason the Pack was in contention was that they made 6 more three-pointers and were +9 in points off turnovers.

NC State can hold its head high. The Wolfpack won the ACC Regular Season Championship for only the second time in the past 35 years, advanced to the ACC Championship Game for the fifth time in the last six opportunities, and reached their 17th Sweet 16, which is tied for the 10th most in the history of Women’s College Basketball. They placed three players on the All-ACC First Team (Aziaha James, Saniya Rivers, and Zoe Brooks), and one on the All-Freshman Team (Tilda Trygger).

Tonight was bittersweet. Not only did Wolfpack fans watch their team miss the chance to advance to the Elite 8 due to a final minute gone wrong, but we also watched one of the best guard trios (Saniya Rivers, Aziaha James, and Madison Hayes) in school history play their last game together.

Despite the loss, the impact these three made over the past couple of years, and the foundation they laid, will not soon be forgotten.