Hayes scores 24 to lead No. 7 NC State past Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Madison Hayes scored a career-high 24 points and No. 7 North Carolina State won its 15th straight over Clemson, 71-49, on Thursday night.

The Wolfpack (17-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) had gone 2-2 after opening the season 14-0 including road losses at Virginia Tech and Miami.

But Hayes and North Carolina State took control of this one in a hurry. The Wolfpack opened with a 13-2 run. After Clemson closed to 18-15, they went on a 14-0 burst to restore the big lead.

The Tigers (8-12, 1-7) could not respond and lost their seventh straight. North Carolina State beat Clemson by double digits for the 13th time in the past 15 meetings.

Hayes, the 6-foot senior guard, surpassed her previous high of 21, set in a loss to Virginia Tech earlier this month. She also had half her team's six 3-pointers, a team-best nine rebounds and a pair of steals.

Mimi Collins scored 14 points and Saniya Rivers 13 for the Wolfpack.

Aziaha James, North Carolina State's top scorer this season at 15.4 points a game, was limited to seven points on 3-of-16 shooting.

Ruby Whitehorn led Clemson with 11 points. The Tigers' leading scorer, Amari Robinson, was held to 10 points after coming in averaging nearly 18 points a game.

THE BIG PICTURE

North Carolina State: The Wolfpack are versatile and constantly moving the ball for an open shot, traits that should keep them in the ACC chase. But the two league losses already have them a game behind one-loss league leaders Syracuse, North Carolina and Louisville.

Clemson: The Tigers opened 8-5 including a victory against Duke in their ACC opener. But it has been a difficult return to league play in January with Clemson falling to ranked ACC opponents North Carolina, Florida State, Syracuse, Louisville and Virginia Tech before getting slammed by the Wolfpack.

UP NEXT

North Carolina State plays at Boston College on Sunday.

Clemson is at home to face Wake Forest on Sunday night.

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