Hayes leads No. 10 North Carolina State to 79-45 rout of Cincinnati

Nov 24, 2023, 11:19 pm

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- — N.C. State’s Wes Moore wanted to see a strong performance out of his players before taking on another “giant killer” in the Associated Press’ Top 25.

The Wolfpack delivered, as Madison Hayes had 16 points and 12 rebounds to help No. 10 North Carolina State roll to a 79-45 win over Cincinnati on Friday at the Paradise Jam tournament.

Hayes led six players in double figures for the Wolfpack (6-0), who have four wins by at least 30 points this season.

And next up is another Top 3 opponent – No. 3 Colorado in the final game of the Reef Division’s bracket Saturday.

“We had two good wins and had good focus, especially here where there’s so many distractions,” Moore said. “We know tomorrow is another opportunity to pad our resume. It’s a big challenge against a great team, hopefully we can keep the momentum going.”

Aziaha James added 13 points, Zoe Brooks had 12 points, Laci Steele 11 points, and Mallory Collier and River Baldwin scored 10 points each for N.C. State, which led by as many as 36 in the second half and was never seriously challenged by the Bearcats (2-3).

“Our starters only played about 20 minutes the last two days,” Moore said. “I’m sure tomorrow they’re going to play closer to 30 (minutes) or whatever.”

Malea Williams finished with 15 points for Cincinnati, which is now 0-3 this season against Top 25 teams.

The Wolfpack shot 52.9% from the field (18 of 34) over the first two quarters in building their 28-point halftime lead. They went ahead 26-14 at the end of the first quarter, and held the Bearcats to eight second-quarter points in doubling their margin.

N.C. State took its biggest lead (36 points) twice -- late in the third quarter, going up 62-26 on Collier’s layup with 3 minutes, 17 seconds remaining; and again late in the fourth at 77-41 on Reagan Jackson’s jumper with 2:09 left.

“There’s quite a few things, and for us, foul trouble is always one of them,” said Cincinnati head coach Katrina Merriweather, whose Bearcats were called for 26 fouls Friday. “The minute that our rotations aren’t what we practiced, we don’t pivot very well – probably me included.

“If we haven’t prepared for certain lineups and certain things to do defensively, then it throws a wrench in the game plan a little bit, and it takes us a while to get settled in again.”

BIG PICTURE

N.C. State: Two double-digit wins over Power 5 schools Kentucky (SEC) and Cincinnati (Big 12) should have the Wolfpack ready for their Paradise Jam finale against their second top-three opponent this season.

UP NEXT

N.C. State: Plays its second top 3 team this season, facing No. 3 Colorado in their final Island Division game Saturday.

Cincinnati: Plays Kentucky on Saturday in the teams’ Paradise Jam finale.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball