N.C. State’s James scores 27, No. 3 Wolfpack uses first-half run to down No. 1 Texas in Elite Eight

AUSTIN (KXAN) — North Carolina State rode a 17-2 run in the second quarter to topple Texas 76-66 in the NCAA women’s basketball Elite Eight on Sunday in Portland, Oregon.

The Wolfpack’s Aziaha James hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 27 points, and whenever the Longhorns started to make a move, N.C. State always had a response.

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Texas cut the Wolfpack’s lead to six points near the end of the third quarter, but James cashed her sixth 3-pointer to stop the Longhorns’ momentum headed to the final frame.

“Their whole group played well,” Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer said. “It wasn’t our day. The first half, we really struggled guarding. We’re all disappointed, but this group has accomplished so much, I will not let them or anything take anything away from this season.”

N.C. State shot 50% from 3-point range, making 9 of 18 attempts, while Texas made just one 3-point field goal in six tries. The Wolfpack also held a huge advantage from the foul line, making 19 of 25 free throws while Texas made 7 of 11. N.C. State had 16 fastbreak points to Texas’ 3, and a lot of those came during the run that put them ahead for the rest of the game.

For the Longhorns, Madison Booker had 17 points on 8 of 21 shooting and Shay Holle chipped in 12 points. It took a while for Booker to get going after shooting 4 for 13 in the first half. Texas outscored the Wolfpack 44-24 in the paint and outrebounded them 44-31 including 18-4 on the offensive glass.

“We kept fighting the odds to get here,” Booker said. “This doesn’t feel good right now, but it’ll push me in the future.”

Taylor Jones, who sat out Friday’s Sweet 16 game while in concussion protocol, was cleared and came off the bench to score 11 points in 10 minutes. Aaliyah Moore scored 10 points on 5 of 14 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds.

“Today, we probably weren’t as tough as we’ve been in the past two months,” Schaefer said. “These kids played their hearts out today, maybe didn’t play well but give our opponent credit for that.”

Before the game began, it was pointed out that the 3-point lines on the floor in Moda Center weren’t the same distance from the goals. Tournament officials measured the distances and confirmed there was a difference, but the coaches agreed to play the game without a delay to fix them.

The NCAA issued this statement before the game: “The NCAA was notified (Sunday) that the 3-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance. The two head coaches were made aware of the discrepancy and elected to play a complete game on the court as is, rather than correcting the court and delaying the game.”

Schaefer said he was told about it when his team was warming up, and he was told the lines were off by “about a foot.” It would have taken “at least an hour” to remark the floor, Schaefer said. While he wasn’t thrilled he had to deal with that before the game, he said he wasn’t going to be the person to delay the game.

“It is what it is,” Schaefer said. “It’s a shame.”

Texas ends its season with a 33-5 overall record.

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