No. 6 NC State holds on to beat Georgia Tech in OT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James scored 30 points and the No. 6 North Carolina State women held on in overtime to beat Georgia Tech 86-85 on Sunday.

N.C. State made its first five shots in overtime, but Kara Dunn nearly orchestrated a comeback from six points down for Georgia Tech.

Dunn, who hit a 3-pointer to force the extra session, banked in a desperation heave from close to midcourt with the shot clock about to expire with 46.7 seconds to play in overtime to cut the gap to 86-85.

After a defensive stop, the Yellow Jackets had the last shot, but Tonie Morgan’s baseline jumper was off the mark.

River Baldwin had 16 points and Madison Hayes had 15 points for N.C. State (23-3, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Dunn finished with 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting. Morgan had 23 points, including a hot fourth-quarter stretch, and Kayla Blackshear had 16 points for Georgia Tech (15-12, 6-9), which was aiming for its first back-to-back victories since winning its first three games of January.

The Yellow Jackets dropped to 0-7 vs. ranked teams. They led 73-70 with less than 2 ½ minutes left.

Baldwin tied it on a jumper from the lane with 45.8 seconds to go. After a Georgia Tech miss, N.C. State held for the final shot and Saniya Rivers converted a three-point play off an offensive rebound with 4.2 seconds left.

Dunn drained a deep, contested 3 at 0.4 seconds to force overtime.

N.C. State, which held No. 16 Notre Dame to 43 points in its previous game, gave up 18 points in the first seven minutes on Sunday. Georgia Tech led 30-22 just 70 seconds into the second quarter.

Mimi Collins, who missed Thursday’s victory at Notre Dame with a leg injury, was back in the starting lineup and finished with nine points.

BIG PICTURE

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets looked poised for an upset for most of the afternoon, but their perimeter shooting faded after the hot start. Other than Dunn’s desperation launches, they made just two of their last 12 attempts on 3-pointers.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack has gone through a gauntlet of ranked opponents, but were in danger of a second loss to an unranked ACC opponent. Now, they stay in contention in the top-heavy ACC.

UP NEXT

Georgia Tech: Hosts No. 18 Louisville on Thursday night.

N.C. State: Visits North Carolina on Thursday night.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here.

___

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