That’ll do.
I’ve said it a lot this season, but you can set your watch to this NC State group responding well to a sub-par effort or performance, and unfortunately for the Spartans, they were next up after a sub-par effort.
Aziaha James and Madison Hayes got to cooking out of the gate and NC State led wire-to-wire in a romp of Michigan State, and the Pack is off to Spokane for the Sweet Sixteen.
The Pack got out to a 12-4 start, forcing a Michigan State timeout early and the situation did not improve from there for Sparty. MSU went scoreless over the last five minutes of the first quarter, and that drought helped NC State turn a 15-9 lead into a 30-9 lead. James and Hayes put together a three-point barrage that MSU could not hold up against, and that 15-0 run was very much the kill shot of the game. The Spartans managed a quick 7-0 run to get back to within 15, but State scored the next eight to end any thoughts of a rally for MSU before halftime.
Hayes made her first five three-pointers, while James scored 17 in the first half, finished with 26, and was 6-11 from three. Saniya Rivers also had an outstanding afternoon, almost putting together a triple-double: 17 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds.
Forcing turnovers has been MSU’s calling card this year—it ranks 17th with a defensive turnover rate over 29%—but the Pack was up to the challenge and mostly discouraged the Spartans from pressing.
NC State also held Michigan State to 15-43 shooting inside the arc while limiting the Spartans to six offensive rebounds. That is a combination that works real well, as the whole 34-point win thing illustrates.
NC State will head west for the second straight year for the Sweet Sixteen, and this time around will play either LSU or Florida State. That game will be on Friday night.