NC State women’s basketball rallies late for a stunning 77-66 overtime win over UNC

N.C. State coach Wes Moore joked that the only thing missing from Thursday night’s 77-66 overtime win over No. 19 North Carolina in women’s basketball was, “we didn’t have an onside kick to help do it.”

That reference, of course, was to the Wolfpack’s improbable rally from down nine points the final 1:49 in the fourth quarter in 2021 to beat the Tar Heels 34-30 in football. Thursday’s rally in Reynolds Coliseum was just as unlikely based on the way the Pack was shooting the ball as they watched Carolina grab a 10-point lead with 4:15 remaining in regulation.

“It would have been really easy just to say it’s not gonna happen and it wasn’t our night,” Moore said. “But they kept battling and it made for an unbelievable win and memorable game.”

Carolina (18-8, 9-6 ACC) led 52-42 on a Deja Kelly layup. And when the Pack got the crowd back into it chipping their deficit down to seven, Paulina Paris completed a three-point play with 4:15 left in regulation that seemed to be the answer the Heels needed as they extended their lead back to 10.

State (19-8, 8-7 ACC) had extended its defense to full court pressure since the end of the third quarter. But it wasn’t until they trailed double digits that it seemed to kick in full gear. The Pack finally sped the Heels up, forcing two turnovers and otherwise luring them into rushed shots.

“I felt like the press just brings energy in us,” said State’s Aziaha James, who had 18 points. “It gets the momentum going in the game not just to stop their ball but just to give us more energy to get some steals and gets some layups for us.”

The result was a furious rally — one that saw a little luck when Jakia Brown-Turner had a 3-pointer take a high bounce but still roll in the basket. Brown-Turner’s next 3 with 31 seconds left didn’t need a generous bounce and pulled the Pack to 61-60.

“We were up by 10 and I think everyone felt good — I think we got a little too comfortable,” UNC forward Kennedy Todd-Williams said. “And then they brought out the press and we kind of just shut down a little bit. But I mean, that comes with just maturity and just us sticking together.”

UNC guard Kayla McPherson, who did not play the first meeting, made one of two free throws with 17.4 seconds left, which left an opening for the Pack to tie it on James’ layup four seconds later.

James had a chance to win the game in regulation after she stripped the ball from McPherson and was headed for a layup. But Kelly, trailing from behind, contested the play enough to cause James to miss it.

“I don’t think it was really them, it was mostly us,” said Kelly, who scored 18 points, but had five turnovers. “I think that we just didn’t attack hips as well. Me personally, I didn’t attack hips, how I usually do in the press and I thought we just didn’t open up to open spots for easy outlet passes in the press.”

Carolina finished with 16 turnovers and it helped power a season-high 32 fast break points allowed to the Pack. The previous season-high for fast break points by an opponent for UNC was 17 by Notre Dame. It had entered the game averaging only six per game.

“How many turnovers, 16? It felt like we got 28,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said.

The Heels are still without Alyssa Utsby, which forced their fourth difference starting lineup in the past five games. Banghart said it led to lineups where some players where at new positions and they failed to consistently have a “safety” rotate back to prevent those transition baskets.

The Wolfpack had not led in the game since it was 29-28 in the second quarter but scored the first seven points of overtime — including Brown-Turner’s fourth 3-pointer — and powered its way to a win. Brown-Turner scored a game-high tying 18 points before fouling out with 1:16 left.

“Once we got going, making plays and we’re in rhythm, it makes us want to keep going out there and getting after it,” Brown-Turner said. “So we knew that we had a chance and we took it.”

UNC did not score a basket in overtime until 20 seconds remained, missing its first seven shot attempts from the floor.

It was the Pack that seemed a bit discombobulated offensively earlier. They not only missed their first five shots from the floor to start the second half, but twice in those early possessions it scrambled in the final seconds to avoid a shot-clock violation.

The Wolfpack didn’t make a field goal until midway through the third quarter when Jada Boyd made just its second 3-pointer of the game.

Leading scorer Diamond Johnson, who averaged 12.8 points per game, epitomized State’s struggles offensively. Johnson needed just seven points to reach 1,000 for her career. But she never found a rhythm and finished with just two points on 1-for-10 shooting including misfiring on six 3-pointers.