RALEIGH – Third-ranked NC State women’s basketball (10-0) closed out its home non-conference slate with a perfect record thanks to an 80-67 victory over Liberty (3-7) Sunday afternoon in Reynolds Coliseum.
Zoe Brooks headlined the afternoon by securing NC State’s first triple-double since the 2000-01 season, with the freshman recording 14 points while tabbing a career best 11 rebounds and ten assists in her first career start. Brooks’ performance marked just the second triple-double in program history, with the first coming from Tynesha Lewis on Feb. 21, 2001 in a win over North Carolina.
Aziaha James led the way offensively for the Wolfpack with 18 points sparked by four made three-pointers, and James and Brooks served as two of five members of the Pack to finish in double figures in scoring. NC State’s scoring effort was boosted by a pair of 15-point performances by Mimi Collins and Madison Hayes as well as a 10-point showing from Laci Steele.
In addition to Brooks’ team-high 11 rebounds, River Baldwin and Collins each collected ten boards, while Brooks’ ten assists were the most passed out by a Wolfpack player since Raina Perez distributed ten in the 2022 NCAA Tournament against UConn.
NC State went on a 10-2 run in the middle of the second quarter to lead by as many as 14 (34-20), but Liberty scored the final six of the opening half to make it just a six-point game (37-31) at the break.
The teams traded buckets to start the second half, and Liberty drew within three points twice. The Pack responded by rallying off seven unanswered points to put its lead back in double figures with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter and ultimately scored 15 of the final 20 points of the period to lead by 13 (60-47) going into the final 10 minutes.
The Flames were able to shrink the Pack’s lead to as few as five points in the final frame, but a three-point play from Hayes with 2:14 left in the game gave the Pack an eight-point edge that proved to be insurmountable.
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