PORTLAND, Ore. — Aziaha James scored 29 points and North Carolina State stormed back from a 10-point deficit early in the second half to overwhelm Stanford 77-67 Friday night in the Portland Regional semifinal.
The No. 3 seed Wolfpack (30-6) outscored the second-seeded Cardinal (30-6) 50-30 in the second half to advance to the Elite Eight. NC State will face No. 1 Texas on Sunday.
James was brilliant in leading the win, scoring 25 of her points in the second half. For the night, she was 8-for-14 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 10-for-11 from the foul line. She had five assists and only two turnovers in 35 minutes.
“Down 10 at halftime and we were in some foul trouble, these young ladies came out the third quarter and turned the game around,” NC State coach Wes Moore said. “Great defense, and Aziaha was really clicking. We kept going to her, and she kept making big shots.”
James was the catalyst in the third quarter.
“We were saying in the huddle, ‘Keep your head up, don’t worry about missed shots, don’t worry about foul calls, just keep going,'” James said. “We handled that very well.”
Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen scored 18 of her 26 points in the second half and finished with 10 rebounds. Senior All-American Cameron Brink finished her college career with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. She played only 24 minutes before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
NC State was 7 for 17 from beyond the arc while Stanford was 5 for 25.
After trailing 37-27 at the half, NC State closed to within 41-36 early in the third quarter on a basket by James.
Brink picked up her third foul with 5:35 left in the quarter and departed with Stanford in front 43-36. NC State quickly scored seven straight points to tie the game at 43-43.
After a Stanford basket, James knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Wolfpack a 49-45 lead.
Brink returned and was quickly hit for her fourth foul with 1:14 remaining in the quarter. Seconds later, teammate River Baldwin was whistled for her fourth personal, and both players left the game.
After outscoring Stanford 28-10 in the quarter, NC State carried a 55-47 edge into the final period.
James sank what seemed like a dagger, burying a 3-pointer from logo distance as the shot clock was about to expire for a three-point lead. She hit a layup to push the cushion to 60-47. Then Brink was called for her fifth foul with 8:10 to go.
The Wolfpack were in front 70-55 with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Iriafen quickly scored five points to trim the margin to 70-60, but the Cardinal could get no closer.
“We had a very good first half, but I compliment NC State for how hard they played and the things they did in the second half,” Stanford coach Tara Vanderveer said.
Brink had nine points, eight rebounds and five blocks in the first half for Stanford. She started the game 1-for-7 from the field but made three shots in a row — including one trey — to break open a tight game just before halftime.
Both teams started slowly offensively. NC State was 3 for 11 from the field, Stanford 2 for 10 midway through a first quarter that ended with the Cardinal on top 12-11.
Stanford found the range in the second quarter, going 12-for-18 from the field, while NC State continued to struggle, going 7-for-18. The Wolfpack were 12 for 36 (33.3 percent) in the half.
Iriafen, who went scoreless and played only one minute in the first quarter, sank 4 of 5 shots to give Stanford a lift early in the second quarter.
–By Kerry Eggers, Field Level Media
