Aziaha James poured in 22 points as third-seeded NC State outlasted sixth-seeded Tennessee 79-72 on Monday afternoon in a Women’s NCAA Tournament Portland 4 second-round game in Raleigh, N.C.
Saniya Rivers added 20 points for NC State while Zoe Brooks hit for 16 and River Baldwin scored 11.
The Wolfpack (29-6) advanced to the Sweet 16 and will face second-seeded Stanford on Friday in Portland, Ore.
NC State was up by 18 points at halftime and by 10 after three quarters before the Lady Volunteers rallied to within 65-63 on a layup by Tamari Key with 4:16 remaining. James made a jumper and then a 3-pointer, the latter with 2:48 left, to stoke the Wolfpack’s advantage back to seven points.
Tennessee (20-13) pared the deficit to four points after Jewel Spear’s 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining, but the Wolfpack responded with a pair of free throws from James and had enough to hang on.
Rickea Jackson racked up a season-high 33 points and took 10 rebounds for Tennessee in the loss. Jasmine Powell added 13 points and Key had 11 for the Lady Volunteers.
–Field Level Media
