NCAAW: No. 13 NC State takes down No. 1 Notre Dame in 2OT thriller

For the second-straight week, the country’s No. 1-ranked team was taken down. Here’s how NC State toppled Notre Dame, in addition to other significant developments from the past week of women’s college hoops:

Wolfpack outlast Irish

Notre Dame entered Sunday’s matchup at NC State ranked No. 1 in the nation, with a chance to clinch the regular-season ACC championship and a 20-game winning streak. After 50 minutes of high-level hoops that featured 21 lead changes, the Irish exited Raleigh with none of those honors, as the Wolfpack took down the nation’s top-ranked team 104-95 in a double-overtime thriller.

When grad guard Madison Hayes hit a pair of pressure-packed free throws with four seconds remaining in regulation, giving NC State a three-point lead, it seemed like the home team had secured the upset. Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron, however, had other plans, with the senior guard salvaging a broken in-bounds play by draining a contested 3-pointer with less than one second on the clock to tie the game and force overtime.

Usually such situations would send all the momentum in the Irish’s direction, with the Wolfpack, spirits sapped, resigned to a hard-fought overtime loss. Instead, NC State maintained their composure during the competitive, back-and-forth overtime. Hayes stayed clutch at the stripe, sinking a pair of free throws with just over a minute left to tie the game. Citron once again responded, making a layup this time. Aziaha James then hit a tying jumper with 20 seconds left in the first overtime, the final points scored before the second extra period began.

Here, the home team discovered an extra reserve of energy, beginning the second overtime on a 10-0 run and never looking back, winning 104-95. The 20th-straight home win for NC State, it’s the program’s first win over the nation’s No. 1-ranked team since 2021, as well as the third time an NC State team has beaten a top-ranked team under head coach Wes Moore.

Appropriately, Tilda Trygger got the scoring started for the Wolfpack in the final five minutes. It was a career day for the 6-foot-6 freshman forward from Sweden, as she scored 19 points, going 8-for-9 from the field, and grabbed nine rebounds. It was a performance that provided NC State with the kind of inside-outside threat from the frontcourt that they’ve lack for much of the season.

That said, it was one of NC State’s outstanding guards who carried much of the load, with sophomore guard Zoe Brooks dropping a career-high 33 points, which included a 14-for-14 masterpiece from the foul line. She also collected 10 rebounds for the double-double. Seniors James and Saniya Rivers also were excellent, with James scoring 20 points and Rivers nearly notching a triple-double with 14 points, 13 boards and nine assists. Hayes ended the afternoon with 13 points.

Notre Dame’s three guards also crossed the 20-point mark, with Citron netting 23 and fellow senior Olivia Miles reaching 22 points, while sophomore Hannah Hidalgo led the way with 26 points. However, NC State was able to induce Miles and Hidalgo into more inefficient games than usual, in addition to keeping both of their assists down. Hidalgo also fouled out in the second overtime.

While the Irish will lose their No. 1 ranking, they shouldn’t fall too far down the standings. Texas, which returns to the court on Monday against Georgia, their first game since defeating LSU last Sunday, stands to benefit and rise to the No. 1 spot. NC State likely will not creep into the top 10, although they remain alive for the regular-season ACC title with just two conference losses.

Pre-March masterclasses

These players joined Zoe Brooks in delivering some spectacular performances just before the calendar flips to March:

The duo of grad guard Diamond Johnson and senior forward Kierra Wheeler led Norfolk State to their 25th-straight home win on Monday, defeating Delaware State, 92-44. Johnson scored 31 points, filling out the box score with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Wheeler put up 18 points and grabbed eight boards. Norfolk State continued their MEAC dominance on Saturday, defeating Coppin State 76-54 to reach 10-0 in conference play. Wheeler starred with 28 points and nine boards.

Jaloni Cambridge helped save Ohio State from a near-collapse on Monday. After an incredible surge by Iowa in the game’s final 90 seconds forced overtime, the freshman guard scored half of the Buckeyes’ 12 points in the extra period, finishing with a game-high 29 points in the 86-78 overtime win. Older sister Kennedy, a sophomore guard for the Buckeyes, scored a career-best 16 points from off the bench. The Cambridge sisters were a matching 2-for-2 from downtown.

Nebraska outlasted Oregon for a 94-90 overtime win on Wednesday behind a big-time double-double from senior center Alexis Markowski, who posted 35 points and 15 rebounds, both of which were season highs.

Richmond, the top team in the Atlantic 10, defeated George Washington on Wednesday, 67-57, with junior forward Maggie Doogan leading the way with a 26-point and 11-rebound double-double. Doogan delivered another big game on Sunday, putting up 33 points, six boards and four assists in Richmond’s 68-55 win over VCU.

Sophomore forward Grace Grocholski helped Minnesota outpace Purdue on Wednesday, 74-61. She contributed 27 points, six rebounds and five assists.

On Wednesday, Paige Bueckers passed Diana Taurasi on UConn’s all-time scoring list, rising to ninth in program history. The redshirt senior star finished the night with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals as the Huskies handled Seton Hall, 91-49. On Saturday, Bueckers again put up 23 points, while also grabbing 10 boards for the double-double in UConn’s 86-47 win at Butler.

Senior forward Prencis Harden powered Kennesaw State past UTEP on Thursday, 68-56. She scored 39 points—more than half her team’s total! She did so by making 13 shots from the field and 13 from the line. Along the way, she reached 1,000 career points. Harden also grabbed 14 rebounds for the double-double.

Oklahoma rang up 101 points on Vanderbilt on Thursday, winning 101-81 behind a 30-point and 14-rebound double-double from junior center Raegan Beers. She scored another 30 points on Sunday, shooting almost 86 percent from the field and making all three of her 3-point attempts to lead the Sooners to a 30-point win, 94-54, over Arkansas.

En’Dya Buford did everything for Old Dominion in their 95-88 win over Arkansas State on Thursday. The senior guard scored a career-high 32 points, going 5-for-9 from 3 and 13-for-14 from the line. She also dished 10 assists, collected seven rebounds and snagged four steals.

Senior guard Ja Harvey dropped a career-best 34 points for Omaha on Thursday, leading her team to a 71-57 victory over South Dakota State. Harvey made four 3s, handed out four assists and accumulated four steals, in addition to grabbing six boards.

On Thursday, New Orleans’ Nora Francois messed around and got a triple-double, with 19 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for the senior center in the 78-52 win over East Texas A&M. Francois also added five steals and three blocks for good measure.

On Thursday, Indiana handed Ohio State their fourth loss of the season. A double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds from junior guard Yarden Garzon helped the Hoosiers get the job done. Garzon, who was 3-for-6 from 3 and made her 200th career 3, also distributed six assists.

Louisville put an exclamation on their season-long improvement with the upset of Duke on Thursday, 70-62. Senior guard Jayda Curry led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 24 points, which included going a perfect 9-for-9 from the line. She added five steals and three assists as Louisville delivered Duke their first home loss of the season.

Skylar Treadwell stuffed the box score for Bellarmine on Saturday, as the grad forward totaled 29 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals in the Knight’s largest victory in program history. The team also tallied a record number of points in the 93-65 domination of North Florida.

With four 3-pointers and an 8-for-8 effort from the line, junior guard Esmeralda Morales scored 28 points and led Montana State to a 98-66 win over in-state foe Montana on Saturday. The 5-foot-5 Morales also finished with five assists, five boards and three steals.

TCU took care of West Virginia, 71-50, on Sunday due to an efficient afternoon from Hailey Van Lith. The grad guard shot nearly 67 percent from the field, hitting three 3s on her way to 26 points. She also had six rebounds and four assists. The victory also established a new single-season wins record for TCU with 26.

A career-high 32 points from junior guard Sydney Bowles helped Florida State get the road upset at Georgia Tech on Sunday, 73-70. An Atlanta-area native, Bowles also chipped in six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Virginia took care of Stanford 89-69 on Sunday, spurred by a season-high 33 points from sophomore guard Kymora Johnson. Along with hitting six 3s, Johnson dished 12 assists and captured eight rebounds. She also reached 1,000 career points in the contest.

A look ahead

The game of week is scheduled for Saturday: UCLA-USC II. The Trojans will shoot for the inter-city sweep, while the Bruins will aim to exact revenge. The rest of week also features a stacked slate of must-watch conference matchups.

Monday, February 24

Texas vs. Georgia (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

Baylor vs. Kansas State (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Wednesday, February 26

Michigan State vs. Ohio State (7 p.m. ET, B1G+)

Thursday, February 27

Creighton vs. UConn (7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

North Carolina vs. Duke (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Tennessee vs. Kentucky (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

Texas vs. Mississippi State (7:30 p.m. ET, SECN+)

Florida State vs. Notre Dame (8 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

South Carolina vs. Ole Miss (9 p.m. ET)

LSU vs. Alabama (9 p.m. ET)

Saturday, March 1

USC vs. UCLA (9 p.m. ET, FOX)

Sunday, March 2

Louisville vs. Notre Dame (12 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Kentucky vs. South Carolina (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Alabama vs. Oklahoma (2:30 p.m. ET, SECN+)

Ole Miss vs. LSU (4 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

Ohio State vs. Maryland (5 p.m. ET, FOX)

Duke vs. Florida State (6 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

TCU vs. Baylor (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1)