Princeton women top NC State 64-63 in March Madness opener

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Grace Stone is making a behavior of game-winning jumpers for the streaking Princeton Tigers.

“She’s received ice in her veins. She has that look in her eyes and you understand she’s gonna make a play. She’s gonna hit a shot,” Princeton coach Carla Berube mentioned.

Stone scored 22 factors, together with her fifth 3-pointer of the sport with 4.7 seconds remaining, to raise Tenth-seeded Princeton to an exhilarating 64-63 win over North Carolina State within the first spherical of the ladies’s NCAA Match on Friday evening.

“That’s a shot I’ve taken in a recreation earlier than and my teammates have all the arrogance on the planet in me,” mentioned Stone, who hit game-winners in opposition to Columbia and Rhode Island earlier this season.

Kaitlyn Chen, who additionally scored 22 factors, made a 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining to chop the Tigers’ deficit to 63-61 after which Madison St. Rose and Stone each got here up with steals within the last minute to provide the Tigers an opportunity.

On North Carolina State’s last possession, the Tigers created chaos — as that they had achieved all recreation lengthy — and knocked the ball free to stop the seventh-seeded Wolfpack from getting a shot off.

St. Rose “received her hand on the ball after which I feel all people dove on the ball,” Berube mentioned, who was then drenched by a “water social gathering “ within the locker room and carried out her press convention all moist.

The Tigers (24-5), who held the Wolfpack scoreless for the ultimate 5:43 of the sport, ran to the middle of the courtroom screaming for jubilation at their unlikely victory.

It’s the second straight season that Princeton has received a first-round recreation. The Tigers beat Kentucky final season earlier than falling to Indiana within the second spherical by some extent.

The Tigers’ males’s and ladies’s groups are the primary Ivy League duo to each advance within the NCAA Match after the boys’s staff upset second-seeded Arizona on Thursday.

“We watched that recreation and checked out one another and mentioned, ‘All proper, we’re subsequent. It’s our flip,’” mentioned Julia Cunningham, who had 14 factors and eight assists for the Tigers.

Mimi Collins scored 14 factors and Madison Hayes and Jaki Brown-Turner every had 10 factors however the Wolfpack missed their last 5 photographs and had 5 turnovers down the stretch.

“We received the photographs that we needed. A few of them rimmed out and in. They’re protection was good, however I really feel like … our photographs simply weren’t falling,” Collins mentioned.

Aziaha James was the catalyst in pushing the Wolfpack’s (20-12) result in 63-55 with a steal and back-to-back layups with 5:44 to play however they didn’t rating once more.

“It’s a troublesome loss. Heartbreaking,” North Carolina State coach Wes Moore mentioned.

The Tigers scored the primary 10 factors of the third quarter however then went chilly in opposition to the Wolfpack’s defensive strain. North Carolina State regained the lead 55-51 by forcing 12 straight misses from Princeton over the ultimate 6:52 of the interval.

“We’ve gone by means of stretches the place we’ve struggled to attain and we all know that our protection goes to maintain us in video games,” Stone mentioned and cited their motto — ‘Protection Travels!’

The Wolfpack began the sport lacking level guard and main scorer Diamond Johnson, who has an ankle damage that has been hobbling her for weeks. They appeared out of kinds and missed their first seven photographs.

To make issues worse, her backup James, who received the beginning, suffered a decrease leg damage with 9:21 left within the second quarter and needed to be helped off the courtroom. She later returned to spark North Carolina State.

However the Wolfpack used their bodily benefit inside to stake a 41-35 halftime lead on the power of submit gamers Collins and Hayes each scoring 10 factors off the bench within the first half.

The Tigers have now received 16 in a row heading right into a matchup with host Utah (the second seed) on Sunday afternoon.

“Wow! Simply so thrilled with that win. I imply, that’s what it’s all about,” Berube mentioned because the Tigers superior. “Now we simply have to take that subsequent step.”

BIG PICTURE

Princeton: The Tigers used protection when their offense sputtered and got here up large when it mattered most. The Tigers solely allowed 52.5 factors a recreation this yr and their tenacity received the day even after they received down by eight factors.

NC State: The Wolfpack arrived with their lowest seed since 2016-17 however appeared to have the expertise and power to regulate the sport. However the Wolfpack couldn’t get clear seems when the Tigers received determined and disruptive. ___

AP March Insanity protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25