GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Things haven’t always come easy for NC State during the 2022-23 basketball season, but the eighth-seeded Wolfpack closed out Thursday’s Ally Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Tournament second-round game looking every bit the three-time defending champion.
Fueled by a 68-percent shooting effort in the second half and solid work on the backboards, NC State pulled away from ninth-seeded Syracuse, 83-58, in the second game of the day at the Greensboro Coliseum.
In addition to advancing to Friday’s 2 p.m. quarterfinal versus top-seeded Notre Dame (24-4), the Wolfpack (20-10) presented head coach Wes Moore with his 800th career victory and posted its 10th straight win in ACC Tournament play. The 20-win season is NC State’s eighth in a row and the ninth in Moore’s 10 years at the helm of the program.
The Wolfpack won its opening ACC Tournament game for the sixth consecutive year and has now started in or advanced to the quarterfinal round every year since 2016.
A balanced scoring effort played big dividends for NC State on Thursday, as Camille Hobby and Jakia Brown-Turner led five players in double figures with 16 points each. River Baldwin went 7-for-7 from the floor and added 14 for the Wolfpack, which shot 61 percent for the game and outrebounded the Orange 41-23.
NC State's 25-point margin of victory was the largest ever in an ACC Tournament second-round game.
NC State led just 32-26 at halftime and it appeared as if Syracuse would remain within striking distance the outset of the third quarter. But Sophomore guard Aziaha James played a role in four straight buckets during a key stretch that saw the Wolfpack push its lead to double digits.
Following a steal and driving layup, James fed Brown-Turner for a layup, scored again herself on a pull-up jumper, and then found Hobby with yet another pin-point pass and score to put NC State up 45-33.
The Orange (18-12) came no closer than nine the rest of the way. Teisha Hyman led Syracuse’s scoring with 15 points, and Georgia Wooley had 14.
NC State will be going after its second upset win of the season versus nationally 10th-ranked Notre Dame on Friday. The Wolfpack defeated the then-No. 7 Irish 69-65 when the teams met in Raleigh on Jan. 29.