3 ranked women's ACC teams fall victim to upset, including No. 4 NC State in blowout loss to unranked Miami
The ACC was rife with women's basketball upsets Thursday as three ranked teams fell to unranked opponents, including No. 4 NC State in a blowout.
Miami dominated NC State, 73-59 at home in a game it largely controlled from the opening tip. The Hurricanes opened a 21-10 first-quarter lead and carried a 43-32 edge into halftime.
Miami went cold in an eight-point third quarter, and the Wolfpack threatened to rally, cutting their deficit to 54-48 with a Saniya River and-1 with 7:21 remaining in the fourth. But the Hurricanes closed the game with a 19-11 run to secure the upset and pick up their second ACC win in six games.
NC State labored from the field on a rough shooting night almost everywhere on the court. The Wolfpack shot 28.1% from the field and 26.1% from 3-point distance. The Hurricanes countered with a 53.6% shooting effort from the floor while connecting on 8-of-18 (44.4%) 3-point attempts.
Shayeann Day-Wilson and Jasmyne Roberts led the Miami effort with 18 points each while combining on 5-of-12 3-point attempts.
.@roberts_jasmyne making 'em pay with the second-chance trey ❕ pic.twitter.com/T8YDXXwR2r
— Hurricanes Women’s Basketball (@CanesWBB) January 19, 2024
Rivers led NC State with 17 points on a 5-of-14 shooting effort. Aziaha James shot 2 of 16 from the field in a six-point effort while missing all six of her 3-point attempts.
No. 14 Virginia Tech, No. 15 Florida State also fall
Duke secured another blowout upset in a 63-46 home win over No. 14 Virginia Tech. The Blue Devils limited the Hokies to 33.3% shooting from the field while Reigan Richardson paced the Duke offense with 22 points on a 10-of-15 shooting night.
In Syracuse, the Orange rallied from a 48-36 halftime deficit to No. 15 Florida State for a 79-73 win. Syracuse broke free in a 25-11 fourth quarter to improve to 15-2 and 5-1 in ACC play, making a case for its own entry into the top 25 in next week's polls. Dyaisha Fair led all scorers with 31 points on a sizzling night from 3-point distance, where she connected on 9-of-14 attempts.