Aziaha James' late free throws help No. 7 NC State beat Georgia Tech 73-72 in ACC quarterfinals

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James hit two free throws with 7.1 seconds left to help No. 7 N.C. State beat Georgia Tech 73-72 in Friday's quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

James scored 16 points for the top-seeded Wolfpack (25-5), who had a tough grind to advance to Saturday's semifinals. N.C. State trailed by nine in the first quarter and neither team led by more than four in the fourth.

But this one ended unceremoniously for the ninth-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-10), who failed to get a shot off before the horn on the final possession.

Tonie Morgan and Kara Dunn each scored 21 points for Georgia Tech.

Takeaways

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets stumbled down the stretch, losing four straight and five of six before beating Virginia Tech in Thursday's second round. They very nearly followed with a bigger win.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack ran down No. 6 Notre Dame in the final week to share the regular-season title and take the top seed in Greensboro by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with a double-overtime win. The first game here was an adventure, but Wes Moore's club advanced.

Key moment

After James’ shots and with Georgia Tech having no timeouts, Morgan pushed the ball up court and gave it to Dani Carnegie on the left wing as time wound down. But Carnegie didn't shoot and instead tried to dribble to her right near the 3-point arc as time expired, igniting a Wolfpack celebration in front of a home-state crowd.

Key stat

N.C. State made 8 of 14 shots (.571) in the period, while James' winning free throws came on her only trip to the line.

Up next

The Wolfpack advanced to Saturday's semifinals to play No. 14 North Carolina, which beat No. 22 Florida State earlier Friday. The Yellow Jackets await their NCAA Tournament destination.

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