IN the battle of two undefeated division one women’s basketball teams, it was North Carolina State who was the last one standing of the pair, defeating Colorado by 18 points in the NCAAW on the weekend. A 22-6 opening term set up the memorable 78-60 victory.
The win moved North Carolina State to a 7-0 record, while Colorado dropped to 6-1 and down to 10th on the overall power rankings. The colleges have essentially traded spots over the past week, with the previously 10th ranked Wolfpack now into third, while the Buffaloes were on the podium.
The Wolfpack roared early, swamping the Buffaloes and racing out to a 16-point lead at quarter time. That really set up the game for them, as Colorado managed to cut into the lead by one, but a 22-14 third term saw the margin grow to 23. The Buffaloes did manage to outscore their opponents in the final term 20-15, but it was never going to be enough and suffered their first defeat of the season.
North Carolina was particularly effective at getting to the charity stripe and then executing from the spot. The Wolfpack scored 20 of a possible 21 free throws, with River Baldwin producing a huge game that was highlighted by eight free throws at 100 per cent.
Baldwin did it all at the five spot though, scoring 24 points – eight of 11 from the field – with eight rebounds, two assists and one steal. But she was far from alone with the starting five all putting up four or more rebounds and four of those players hitting double-digit points.
Aziaha James (15 points, six rebounds), Madison Hayes (11 points, five rebounds) and Mimi Collins (10 points, four rebounds) all chipped in with ticking the scoreboard over. In a well-balanced performance, distributor Saniya Rivers was the playmaker with seven each of points, rebounds and assists.
For Colorado, Jaylyn Sherrod (20 points, four rebounds and four assists) and Frida Formann (14 points) were left to do the bulk of the scoring. The Buffaloes will need a more even scoring performance going forward, but are still among the top schools in the Division One conference.
North Carolina Wolfpack line up against Vanderbilt Commodores tomorrow, before a clash with Illinois State on Monday morning AEST.
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