James scores 19 for No. 8 NC State women in rout of Davidson

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James matched her career high with 19 points as No. 8 North Carolina State ran away from Davidson for an 81-47 victory on Thursday night.

James also had three assists — and shot 5 of 6 on 3-pointers — as the Wolfpack (10-1) won their sixth straight game and final nonconference contest of the season. Camille Hobby added 14 points for N.C. State, while River Baldwin chipped in 11 points and a team-high 11 boards.

Davidson (4-7) was led by 10 points from Issy Morgan. Elle Sutphin, who started her collegiate career at N.C. State, contributed an all-around effort of six points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but N.C. State quickly rallied and finished the opening period on a 17-7 run to take a 10-point advantage into the second quarter. James gave the Wolfpack a boost off the bench, making all three of her 3-point attempts during that stretch.

N.C. State then outscored Davidson 19-7 in the second quarter to take a 22-point lead into intermission. Baldwin had six points and seven rebounds for the Wolfpack in the second quarter.

The Wolpack flipped 14 Davidson turnovers into 19 points, while the Wildcats only scored three points off N.C. State’s nine turnovers. N.C. State also outscored Davidson 44-30 in the paint.

BIG PICTURE

Davidson: This is the third time this season the Wildcats have lost to a Power 5 opponent. Davidson had won two straight games coming in, but was outmatched against N.C. State. The disparity in skill and size showed on the glass, where the Wolfpack outrebounded the Wildcats 43-24.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack were without two starters and still outplayed their opponent by a comfortable margin, leading by as much as 36 points. While Diamond Johnson and Jada Boyd got to nurse their injured ankles, reserves Saniya Rivers and Mimi Collins got the chance to start and played more minutes than usual. Building that sort of confidence in its bench could help N.C. State when it gets into the thick of Atlantic Coast Conference play.

UP NEXT

Davidson: Keeping it in-state, the Wildcats travel to Elon on Sunday.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack open ACC play Sunday by hosting Clemson.

___

AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25